4 August 2012
FOOD ON SHOW
I’m recovering from two fantastic days at The Food Show. If I may say so myself my Duck & Pinot masterclass was a knockout success....two delicious Saveur duck recipes, about 90 people who now know how to bone and twice roast a duck, three divine Sacred Hill pinot noirs (we’re having the Prospector tonight to toast NZ’s gold medals) and the best goodie bag at the show, thanks to New World Remuera and Lucy Meek of Saveur duck.
The Show itself is always filled with surprises and being the veritable showcase of all that’s good, new or trusted, it's an endless feast of great food. Here are just some of the exciting products that caught my attention:
Lewis Road Butter – the standout new product. I have been waiting all my life for this superbly smooth creamy butter. It’s made with a hint of culture so now I will never need to buy Lurpak again...I can rejoice in a pure, artisan butter, made with milk from the Bay of Plenty.
Little Paddock’s Captain Vanilla Ice cream. This company that uses Green Valley milk has some whacky flavours (baby cup cake) but their vanilla is the best.
Butlers Chocolates. Gorgeous European chocolate and they are opening a chocolate café at Sylvia Park next week.
Zany Zeus’s new range of smoked products. I was the privileged recipient of a preview of smoked Brinza, smoked ricotta and smoked yogurt. All coming to a store near you soon. The mind boggles at the new recipes we will come up with.
The Original Kumara Chips from Temptations of Kerikeri. Fabulously crisp, a real kumara taste and quite healthy. Yum!
Tomette single meal portions that are made by real French men (quite dishy they are too). Love the lamb Provencale with creamy mashed potato, the coq au vin (who could resist that?) and the fragrant saumon l’aneth (salmon with dill sauce and pilau rice.) www.tomette.co.nz
Granpa BB’s toasted muesli. Absolutely the best muesli I have had and the only problem is it’s only available on line. www.granpabbs.co.nz But it’s worth the trouble!
Cloudy Bay chilled diamond clams and surf clams. Simply the freshest and most briny shellfish imaginable. Blanched so they open easily and I am going to love my clams with pasta for my dinner tonight!
Mahana Red apples & Angelys pears. Two new fruits make the entrée to the market. The apples are crisp and sweet, and the juicy pears are great keepers with amazing fragrance.
Hungry Bin. This is the other product I have been waiting for all my life. An easy care, economical compost bin that creates an ideal environment for worms to use up my scraps, turning them into fertiliser for my garden. Love it!
And I can’t explain how proud I felt when I saw the clever section where Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development had gathered together so many of my artisan food producing friends. A smart, snappy alley filled with the likes of Mahurangi Oysters, Clevedon Buffalo products, Salumeria Fontana sausages, Heron’s Flight grape juice, the Mustard Makers, Perfect Produce, Wild Wheat and more. So many great local stories.
Well done Dona White of Northport Events and her Food Show team for another successful year.