Lauraine’s blog
27 September 2016
It’s a long way to St Petersburg, but as we were in Stockholm, we would probably never be closer again. So we flew in and were immediately daunted by the heavy rain, the grim attitude of everybody (no smiles) and the endless traffic jams. This is a city to visit if you love Russian history and museums.
Personally I am the sort who travels to sit in sidewalk cafes, eating and drinking something delicious and observing the culture of the place as evidenced by passers-by and fellow café dwellers. There’s not much of that.
There were some bright spots. Our hotel was fantastic. The Belmond Grand Europe had smiling helpful staff, and our luxurious room with a balcony gave us a breath taking view over the city that included the spires of the Church on the Spilled Blood. The heavy bodyguards sitting in the corridor outside the next door room were a little disconcerting however. We ate well at dinner and the hotel breakfasts were the best ever, complete with a pianist tinkling away on the proverbial ivories. We also indulged in a dinner in the caviar bar that started with three sorts of caviar on blinis with matching vodkas and continued in that vein. Yesss.
The Fabergé Museum is new and exclusive. Only fifteen people are let in each hour and the displays are unbelievably beautifully presented and lit. Taking a guided tour is important as everything needs so much explanation. The Hermitage defies description. Suffice to say if you spent about six months in that huge building you still could not do all the treasures within justice. But it’s a bit dingey and dark. The churches are more interesting, especially if there’s a service in progress. Several were mind-bogglingly complex.
We also ate the bargain of 2016. Stunning pies (meat, rabbit, fruit and everything else) plus tea for less than $4 at Stolle on Nevsky Prospekt. The sidewalk of this famous street was jammed with grim people, dodging the puddles with about half of them actively smoking as they walked. And we loved a meal in a Georgian restaurant, rather like a pub where puffy Khachapuri bread, dripping with cheese was pulled from the woodfired oven. That recipe will be in next week’s Listener and eventually on this website.
8 September 2016
We went to a wedding in Stockholm, Sweden. (That is another great story.) You cannot get that close to one of the world’s most talked about restaurants without going there.
So having flown for about 30 hours to reach Stockholm it was off early the next morning on the train for the 750 km journey to the far north where Faviken, the restaurant of Magnus Nilsson. Now that is a pilgrimage.
We had reservations for dinner, booked months in advance, and had also secured one of the five guest rooms so we could stay the night. We caught a taxi from Are station to the middle of nowhere, and settled into our room with a welcoming tea, and curiously, some air-dried sausage.
Dinner at Faviken is very special. Guests assemble in the ground floor of a very ancient barn and are plied with Champagne and a stunning parade of beautifully crafted hor d’oeuvres. Such unusual treats as pig’s head dipped in sourdough and deep fried with gooseberry and tarragon salt. Or broth of smoked and dried reindeer, decomposing leaves, very fresh curds and crowberries. And flowers served in a crust of dried pig blood. And more…
It’s then on to the allotted table for dinner and the parade of courses begins. The scallop to begin was perfect. Cooked in its own juices over burning juniper branches, and served in the shell. The king crab that followed could not have been more perfect either – a juicy stick of fleshy crab leg with almost burnt cream. Then, for me, the highlight of the night. A lamb tongue with a delicate array of brined vegetables, rhubarb and seasonal plants. So good.
After that there were many more courses – mackerel with spruce needles, a sourdough pancake with seaweed and beef butter, lupin curd gratin (lupins are the new thing), a small egg in ash, steamed leeks with marvellous Finnish caviar, roasted veal with fermented, roasted and ground lupin, a tasty broth with leaves and oats and then colostrum with meadowsweet, silage ice cream (!!), and potato dream. It was a dream.
Three desserts served at the table – raspberry ice, bone marrow pudding with frozen milk, and a rich brown cheese pie which was a play on an ancient dish. Much of Magnus Nilsson’s food is inspired by traditional Nordic food, although never ever did any of those ancestral cooks pay so much attention to detail in quest of perfection like this.
It was then downstairs to even more amazing sweets and tastes, including the most textbook platter of wild seasonal berries, and astonishingly, some dried reindeer pies. Tea with this, made with wild herbs and flowers gathered from the adjacent meadows.
Perhaps the best bit was next morning breakfast before we left. Far more conventional and served at the very same table we had sat at for dinner. Lovely cheese, dried ham and meat, Faviken’s knockout bread, and the best porridge ever.
Perfect food. But in the quest for perfection, somehow the true meaning of hospitality was missing. The courses were served at an alarming pace and the American sommelier maitre d’ constantly clapped his hands for attention to describe each and every course. It was almost intrusive and there was no room for relaxation, conversation and no chance of sitting back and savouring the moment.
But I’d go back if I could get another reservation. In winter, when there will only be about one hour of daylight. That would be really special.
2 August 2016
This had to be one of the most stimulating and challenging three days of ideas ever held in the food world. Students and teachers involved in Otago Polytechnic’s 2016 International Food Design Conference set out to create a unique conference filled with new directions, innovative concepts and cutting edge presentations.
Certainly the 150 participants left with a whole new take on the importance of seeing food as far more than mere fuel for the body. Food was presented as the platform for business, art, new design and many of us had our thinking challenged by a raft of exciting perceptions and views.
The keynote speakers led the way each day:
Marije Vozelgang of the Netherlands runs a food design studio in Amsterdam and set the scene with a dazzling visual video display of edgy and provocative installations and feasts she’d created.
Her words of wisdom: “If you break bread with each other, you can’t break each other’s necks.” (Emmanuel Khan)
Direct from Nigeria, although raised and educated in the USA, Chef Michael Elégèbedé shared his vision for the new project he is creating in his return to his birth country. He is planning a modern restaurant where traditional Nigerian foods and ingredients, sourced from small farmers will be shaped into a new form of high-end cuisine.
His words of wisdom; “In Nigeria they cook stew just to eat. It should mean more than that.”
On the third day, one of celebrating New Zealand food culture, the affable Al Brown discussed our cuisine and what it actually is. He reacquainted us with the joy of baking and preserving that is the backbone of cooking in home kitchens and reminded all to embrace the imperfections of food, to understand flavour and texture, and to enjoy the casual carefree environment that is New Zealand.
His words of wisdom we should all take pride in: “The flavour of our food in New Zealand has the volume turned up.”
Along the way the presentations, workshops, shared meals and pop up dinners around the city were inspiring and breathtakingly delicious. Food waste and repurposing food was high on the agenda. Many of the presentations were held at Manaaki, the lecture theatre and cookery skills building. Truffles, ice cream, modern Māori food, southern seafood, coffee, raw food design, cocktails, bitter foods and even eccentric subjects such as matchstick design were discussed and debated. Some extraordinary pop-up dinners gave attendees the chance to relax and share food ideas.
The conference food was mind-blowingly great. Students had worked hard on concepts and the delivery of morning teas, lunches, afternoon teas and a spectacular Gala Dinner. The first day was all about repurposing food waste and some very real innovative recipes were delivered in the meals. The best: a fantastic spicy vegetable tajine. The second day had been themed and prepared by the Asian students, and morning tea’s delicate pastries and flavours were followed by delicious stuffed pork buns and exquisite fresh spring rolls for lunch.
But it was on the third day that I realised just how much of the real New Zealand food scene I had missed in my thirty years of a food writing career. Manaaki is at the heart of our unique way of eating and entertaining. I had never heard this term before, or if I had, no-one had explained it. Simply Manaaki means to show respect for, and this is inherently part of all Māori feasting. I was entranced by the Hangi workshop where we discussed Manaaki and then pulled wonderful titi (muttonbird) wrapped in thick fresh sea kelp from the steaming pit. And by the workshop presented by Hiakai, a modern Māori food project, and the final day’s brown bag lunch of pork and kumara sandwiches and little sweet doughnuts, inspired by a student’s memories of his marae lunches. A little card in the bag told the story, “As I play with my cousins I can hear my aunties laughing in the Wharekai as the smell of boil up fills the air. Taea Kai – Let’s Eat.”
As I winged my way home north I felt determined about embracing the Manaaki in my life and spreading and sharing all those delicious words I had heard and learned.
2 August 2016
From time to time I go to extraordinary efforts to get to special dinners. And they never disappoint.
Back in May, when Giulio Sturla of Roots Restaurant in Lyttleton announced he was doing a collaboration with an ex-Noma Chef Jacobs Kear, I jumped at that. That involved flying to Christchurch, checking in to the gorgeous Heritage Hotel opposite the crumbled Cathedral (just restore it, quickly!) and then taking the bus from the city’s fantastic Bus Exchange. The dinner was extraordinary – a progression of carefully crafted dishes made lovingly from New Zealand’s finest fare, and matched to some extraordinary wines.
Highlights (the courses were all highlights in their own way) were the kingfish cured in kelp, tiny fermented duck tacos, some ethereal blackfoot paua and egg tofu (pic above) and some extraordinary koji ice cream made with rice. There was a lovely synergy between Giulio’s affinity with foraged, native fare and Jacob’s superb Japanese inspiration. Dinners like this come by only occasionally and this was a You Had To Be There occasion.
The other standout dinners have both been prepared and executed by Hiakai (Māori word for hungry). Hiakai is the brainchild of Monique Fiso, a young woman who, having worked with Martin Bosley, set out for New York where she worked alongside Michelin starred Matt Lambert at The Musket Room. Monique brings finesse, style and imagination to her interpretation of modern Māori cuisine.
Her first dinner, (both were cooked with Kane Bambery,) was held in Dunedin at Bracken, themed around Southern seafood. Every bite was delicious, and my favourite was a paua porridge with celery cream and puffed barley. The second, held at Merediths, was a celebration of winter gardens. Hiakai’s menu included a superb modern Boil Up and a terrific play on Hangi food with chicken and cabbage. But the piece de resistance was native spinach fashioned into ice cream and served with poached rhubarb and rhubarb foam. I am sure they would be all terrified down on the marae, but it was an exceptional dinner orchestrated by an exceptional young chef. Even better it is great to see well established restaurants sharing their premises for occasions like these.
30 May 2016
There he was, the best restaurant critic in the entire world, on stage about three metres away from my seat, even larger in life than on the screen or on the page and sharing his thoughts on the current frenetic Los Angeles food scene. Jonathon Gold, writer for the LA Times and the star of a documentary City of Gold was one of the keynote speakers at a culinary conference I attended last month in Hollywood. (NZFF fans may have been savvy enough to view this delicious film last year in July in Auckland and it is only now on general release across America.) After a private showing of his film, we spent time listening to the man, who speaks as eloquently as he writes, while nibbling on tacos made by his favourite taco food truck cook.
Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants is the city’s eating bible. Gold ranks his favourites and for the last three years in a row Providence, the Melrose Avenue temple of dining that showcases modernist seafood, has won top spot. Now that’s truly professional, a critic who recognises the best and is not drawn by zany start-ups or the latest fad. But his list also includes hard-to-find strip mall joints run by immigrants that cook the food they love best for their new communities and even, heaven forbid, food trucks.
The picks he shared that night around Hollywood were Loteria Grill where you will eat some fine Mexican food, Hungry Cat for delicious seafood, Baroo where fermentation rules, and Soban where really hot spicy Korean food is on the menu. He also told us to call into the classic Frank and Musso’s, which is about as close to Old Hollywood you will ever get and where those elderly waiters probably served endless cocktails to Frank and Dino.
But on to my own experiences in the city of gold. After eating my fill of Mexican on a day long excursion through East LA (Los 5 Puntos had the best carnitas taco I’ve ever eaten) I was ready for some local seasonal food.
It would not be a Hollywood experience without an In-N-Out burger and fries. For decades this fast food joint just off Sunset Boulevard has been a mecca for college kids (Hollywood High School is across the street) and tourists. The meaty burger, bright with orange cheese and crunchy lettuce did not disappoint and I was pleased no-one important spotted me there.
Spago, (number 3 on Gold’s list) where Wolfgang Puck sowed the first seeds of his restaurant and catering empire was top of my list. It has taken me 33 years to get there since I was first alerted to this fancy-schmancy place on the pages of Gourmet. Puck is in the kitchen most days keeping up with culinary trends and constantly reworking a menu that appeals to the celebs and well-heeled (I spotted some measuring at least 6 inches) Gulfstream-owning crowd. In the outdoor remodelled courtyard we sipped champagne and sampled the famous pizza, which Puck has turned into an airport chain. It was the best pizza ever – asparagus, peas, mint, lamb sausage, fresh cheese in a crisp yet doughy crust. A real adventure and worth booking ahead for.
But best of all were the two meals eaten at Chef Nancy Silverton’s Mozza (Gold’s number 6). This clever chef seemingly owns the neighbourhood that was just a $4 Uber fare from our hotel and has four operating eateries within a vast commercial building. It is spring in LA so we feasted on a gorgeous array of spring vegetable inspired dishes at the main restaurant, Osteria Mozza. Burrata wrapped in house cured ham and topped with asparagus, peas, mint and pea shoots was one of the sweetest things I have devoured this year. It was from the small mozzarella bar tucked within the restaurant and Silverton herself presided over this, plating our dishes.
Next door, two nights later we ate at Chi Spacca, Silverton’s meaty Italian bistro which serves up grilled meats, an array of house-cured salumi and a stunning pane bianco made with truffled lardo. Incredibly delicious.
If my experience sounds good but a little far to get to, be patient. Nancy Silverton is bringing a taste of Mozza to Soul Bar for one night only on August 31. Call Olivia at Soul to register interest: 09 356 7249.
23 April 2016
Surrounded by the snowy caps of mountains, sparkling blue water in every direction and Spring’s tulips bursting forth in a colourful display all over the city, there is no place more beautiful on America’s West coast than the Canadian city of Vancouver.
There for a mere 36 hours and with the help of that city’s food guru Nathan Fong, we managed to sample the fare in four terrific restaurants. So for anyone contemplating a visit to this beautiful serene city here’s a list of top notch places not to miss.
Boulevard: Sitting almost in the foyer of the leading hotel in the Vancouver, Sutton Place, Boulevard is one of those terrific places that manages to make everyone feel comfortable. From the well-heeled clientele that choose to stay in house, to ladies and who lunch and the business set it’s all here. A clubby atmosphere at back, modern bustle and décor up front, and a classy raw bar – take your pick. The food is oh so fresh and modern and we snacked on the most innovative seafood tower ever with seafood fashioned into several tasty melanges accompanied by prawns, oysters, crab claws and more. Hamachi, served sashimi style with fresh spring garnishes was the highlight.
Coast: Not far away from Boulevard, in the centre of the glitzy downtown shopping precinct, Coast is the seafood flagship of the successful Glowbal restaurant group. Multi-layered, with a stunning circular cocktail and bar that dominates the restaurant, this is a lively scene that attracts an upbeat crowd. Try for a seat on the balcony overlooking the restaurant and enjoy feasting on an array of fresh innovative fish and shellfish dishes. We tried some soy paper wraps and a moist sweet crab cake. If you’re a steak lover head next door to the group’s Black and Blue that has a floor to ceiling spectacular display of meat quietly and seriously ageing in a temperature and air controlled cabinet.
Cin Cin: Lauded as Vancouver’s best Italian ristorante, this is a very popular and comfortable roomy place to enjoy traditional Italian fare with a twist. Everything is cooked with care and the focal point is the wood-fired grilled food that is filled with flavour delivering a genuine smoky punch. The pasta and rice primi courses are pretty damned good too and you’ll find some of the best service around. I loved my Tuscan style duck pappardelle as it was filled with robust flavours.
Joe Forte’s: Sunday brunch does not get much better. Inside the two tiered restaurant there are tables tucked into corners everywhere and a pianist tinkles away on the ivories to make everyone feel in the mood for relaxation. Upstairs there’s an outdoor patio with a beautiful garden and planted feature wall. The eclectic menu offers everything from oysters, freshly shucked or fried, to some lovely renditions of fish and chips, lobster rolls, salads and the ubiquitous but delicious Eggs Benny. We loved the fried pickles featured above!
And two things not to miss while in Vancouver; the Granville Island Market and the Butchart Gardens, a day long excursion to Vancouver Island, but utterly worth it as we got to see half a million tulips bursting into bloom. Gorgeous.
22 March 2016
They say, “Everything you have ever heard about India is true, but the opposite is true too.” After ten whirlwind days on a trip with the patrons of the Auckland Writers Festival to northern India, I will second that.
We started in New Delhi, moved on by coach to Agra to see the magnificent Taj Mahal and then had five days in Jaipur to attend that city’s famous Literature Festival. Along the way there were glorious buffet meals, superb street food, some interesting meals in restaurants and of course numerous visits to stunningly preserved temples, forts and other historic edifices that reached back to the 15th century.
No, it was not hot (I needed a sweater and jeans most of the time and I hadn’t packed those – thank goodness for the wonderful pashmina stores) and no again, I nor anyone else in our party of 20 was ever sick (we were careful to eat only hot cooked food.) We stayed in the stunning Imperial Hotel in Delhi which is totally reminiscent of the British Raj, while in Jaipur we almost took over the Narain Niwas Palace Hotel. Almost everyone simultaneously declared it the Third Exotic Marigold Hotel. It truly could have been.
The Literature festival was crazy. Stephen Fry, Margaret Attwood, Atul Gawande, Esther Freud, Helen McDonald and a host of other well regarded authors, musicians and artists took to the stage to share tales of their writing. The five day programme was bulging with opportunity for the thousands that attended to listen and learn, while the extended lunch buffet feasts were filled with every day with different curries, breads, rice dishes and more. Delicious!
Ten books were launched during the festival, and two of those were cookbooks. In their own way these events were complete opposites.
The first, Indian Accent, was an utterly sophisticated book from the Delhi restaurant of the same name. The panel to launch the book in the crowded Google sponsored Mughal tent was headed by journalist and socialite Shobhaa De who took the audience through the book with the author, adventurous and cutting edge chef Manish Mehrotra, and Rohit Chawla, one of India’s top food photographers.
Indian Accent opened in Delhi in 2009 with an inventive Indian menu at The Manor, New Delhi. It serves Indian food for the twenty first century with a unique marriage of global ingredients and techniques with the flavours and traditions of India and has become India’s most celebrated restaurant. It is the only Indian restaurant named in the current list of the World’s Best 50 restaurants, and for one short minute I thought about buying the book to bring home to the very talented Sid Sahrawat of Cassia in central Auckland. Two things put me off. First was Mehrotra’s food is probably as inventive and interesting as the food as Cassia but certainly, by the look of the pages, is no better. It is good to know that here in New Zealand we have an equivalent. And secondly, the book was as big as a tombstone, and weighed in around two or three kilos. Try putting that in your suitcase!
As I took my seat in the Mughal tent for the second cookbook launch, Rajasthan On A Platter: Healthy, Tasty, Easy I pondered why almost every other seat was taken and the crowds were building on the edges. The authors were two seniors, Suman Bhatnagar and Pushpa Gupta, both beautifully dressed in saris and their silvery grey hair neatly swept back into buns. Their book is a simple publication with the look of home shot photography. They explained to a very calm, polite, but somewhat disinterested audience, Rajasthani cuisine is famous worldwide and in this book they explore the different types of Rajasthani dishes and its nuances. They were very proud of their recipes, carefully researched and tested, and emphasised the health factor and calorie analysis of their food.
I whispered to the women next to me, “Why are these elderly ladies so popular with so many young attendees?” They explained that the following session, Literature vs Cinema – Influence in Shaping Beauty Ideals had been transferred at the last moment to the large marquee we were sitting in and that everyone was claiming a place to see their Bolliwood heroes.
And that was exactly why the crowds were there. I still think about those lovely ladies and how excited they must have been to draw such a huge audience. By the time their session wrapped up more than 4000 Indians, both young and old had gathered. Some were even perching in the surrounding trees for a better view. I hastily exited, giving up my seat to my daughter Katie who was keen to see the next session. She loved it, texting me, “This panel is mad. But everyone here is a crazed fan screaming at every word.”
29 February 2016
The pop-up restaurant scene just got a whole lot better.
Last week I ate a simple yet extraordinary dinner at a new bar, Madame George on Karangahape Rd where William Cook and Carlo Buenaventura have an initiative going, The Cult Project on Tuesday nights. These two young chefs who have cooked at Orphans Kitchen and Matterhorn are offering, until the end of April a popup dinner twice a week alternating between Madame George (Tues) and the Open Late Café (Fri).
(Madame George at 490 K Rd has Matt Fitzgerald at the bar with a very short but esoteric wine and cocktail list.)
Our dinner for $60 was billed to be a three course meal, but it was kick-started by three delicious little unadvertised amuses – a refreshing raw gyoza made from turnip with fermented trevally stuffing and kimchi dressing, a tiny roast potato with cheese curd and bonito flakes and a hazelnut cracker topped with duck liver parfait and cherry jelly.
Our entrée (pictured above) was a delight; grilled gem lettuce sat on a dollop of sunflower sour cream with fish sauce dressing, mustard seed, dill, coriander, salad burnet and nuts. It was also so, so, refreshing to eat on a hot night. This was followed by grilled beef, nice and chewy, with baby pak choy, endive and red sorrel leaves, a kombucha and cucumber vinaigrette and a side dish of totally inspired creamed corn and feta with the surprise addition of fresh shiso leaves.
If that’s not innovative enough how about the dessert of vadouvan sponge with fresh and caramelised apricot, goats milk foam and verbena powder. The sponge with an underlying curry flavour was savoury – a great finale.
This remarkable dinner made me realise just how much the old order changes. Bright young chefs around the country are managing to make their mark without the stage of their own restaurants.
In the past few weeks I have been truly impressed by the energy shown as some of our keen cooks, food lovers and chefs head in new directions.
I joined a panel at a Food and Art night at the Christchurch Art Gallery to talk about the present and future of food. Giulio Sturla and Alex Davies shared the platform and impressed the crowd (and me) with their clear vision for both their own food and New Zealand’s place on the world culinary stage.
I loved Alex Davies’ image of what NZ food is; “A shared meal around the table that might involve roast lamb, potatoes and fresh garden vegetables, or a gathering around a hangi.” Alex is doing a series of pop-up dinners showcasing his new directions in vegetable menus and hopes to find a permanent restaurant by the end of 2016. I hope he does.
Giulio presides over his cutting edge Roots Restaurant in Lyttleton where he shows huge respect for the land and sea around him, foraging for and sourcing ingredients to put together a sustainable and delicious menu every night. His work with ConversatioNZ has awakened many NZ chefs and farmers to the possibilities of developing and promoting our unique culture and food.
I also loved the food trucks and stalls surrounding the Art Gallery that night, especially Mamacita’s Tacos, and the beautiful Cakes By Anna (CBA) – yet another way our talented cooks and chefs can ply their wares. Back home I lunched yesterday on Judge Bao’s amazing pork buns in the Sabato Sunday market.
How do we find all these talented people? Social media, of course.
Alex Davies pop-ups are booked out but here in Auckland do not miss The Cult Project $60 for the meal (drinks extra).
Buy tickets at www.thecultproject.co.nz/events
15 February 2016
Nothing can quite prepare you for the assault on the senses while travelling in India. The thick dust that crowds out the sun and turns every sky grey, the endless cacophony of horns and noisy animals, the vast array of smells that range from fragrant to stench, and the vivid colour displayed by this race of happy, busy people was constantly overwhelming. While most New Zealanders sensibly took to the beach in the hot spell that January brought, I was lucky enough to join a terrific group of patrons of the Auckland Writers Festival on a jaunt to the Jaipur Literature Festival in the chilly winter of northern India.
We started out in New Delhi, where that aforementioned dust lay thick on every tree and the Lutyens-designed web of boulevards was constantly heavy with traffic ranging from modern cars to camel drawn trailers and the occasional lumbering elephant. We ate superbly in the magnificent Imperial Hotel and ventured out to visit many monuments of note and buy an array of pashminas.
We moved on to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. Suffice to say this is an outstanding wonder of the world that is not to be missed. The highlight however was a serendipitous stop at a nearby ancient stepwell where hundreds of local village school children lined up in disciplined fashion to receive a free samosa to mark a winter festival day. The band played on.
For our five days in Jaipur, we stayed at Narain Niwas Palace Hotel which has been renamed by our group of Kiwis, the Third Exotic Marigold Hotel – funky, authentic and pure, pure Indian from the colourful saffron washed exterior walls to the lumpy but roomy beds. Our arrival coincided with an engagement party. Hundreds of elegantly turban wrapped men of the family celebrated complete with brass band, camels and an elephant, while the women took tea on the back lawn. That’s India!
Jaipur, the Pink City, turned on a real welcome. Street food excursions, a stunning party for hundreds in a private garden, the Amber Fort, G&Ts on the terrace, a beautiful chicken biriyani at the revered Rambagh Palace hotel, constant fun and the excitement of the crowds and literati at the Jaipur Literature Festival all kept us so busy we were exhausted. Some festival attendees even climbed trees to get a better view of their heroes on the crowded outdoor venues.
No trip is ever complete without a visit to the food markets for a foodie like me, as this is where to get to grips with the culture of the country. The markets of Jaipur took my breath away, albeit for both the amazing display of stunning fresh vegetables and the pervading pong of rotten fruit that lies thick in the gutters nearby. Couple that with the brilliant sari-clad women crouching over their produce and I could have sworn I was on a film set.
Our final stop was just what we needed. Samrode Palace Hotel, only an hour from Jaipur was restful and relaxing. A couple of cool swimming pools, a lovely spa, magnificent food, luxurious surroundings and clear blue skies above – the only time we saw those in the whole of our trip.
India is incredible.
25 November 2015
Just like fashionistas’ hipster beards and ripped jeans, the food industry is beholden to the latest and sometimes zany food trends. Just when you have finally mastered the slow cooker to produce tasty but mushy dinners it has fallen from grace, to be replaced by a must-have gadget or ‘bullet’ that purees, froths up vegetables and fruits for tasty healthy smoothies that will make your hair shine like a beacon in a storm and your body bounce with new energy.
Chefs are the people driving the new food trends. Just one clever idea, ingredient, recipe or innovation from a leading influential restaurant or television chef and everyone is wanting to try it, emulate it. Soon it may become a supermarket item and appear in the pages of the foodie section of the newspaper or the women’s magazines.
However we’re witnessing food trends that are more people-driven than traditional restaurant-driven ideas.
The biggest influence on the current food landscape is socially conscious eating. We seek the provenance of our food, we support producers and growers whose ethics are admirable, we dine out for a cause and we worry about feeding the hungry and the needy. Our schools inspire and encourage their pupils through schemes like Garden to Table and Kids Can Cook, teaching them the value of fresh produce that’s sown, grown, harvested, cooked and eaten in the school garden and classroom as part of the curriculum. In Auckland the new Eat My Lunch scheme provides a lunch for a needy child for each lunch you buy. It’s sourced by donations, volunteers and crowd funding.
Increasingly we are conscious of food waste. Heard of ‘dumpster diving’? It started out with people raiding the bins of supermarkets and restaurants, hauling out edible food thrown out as the use-by-date expired or food that was extra to requirement. Now various initiatives have set up to collect and redistribute this food. Kaibosh Food Rescue collects 10,000 kilograms of quality surplus food each month from businesses in Wellington and the Hutt Valley, sending it to local community groups who help those in need.
The third big trend is health conscious eating. The young and the fit lead this trend, trying diets of raw food, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, fat-free, additive-free, chemical-free, gluten-free, grain-free and sugar-free. Consumers demand fresh food, preferably traceable to the local farm or factory, and shop for organic produce in specialist food stores, farmers markets, health food stores and good old fashioned butchers, greengrocers, bakeries and fishmongers. Supermarket aisles stocked with shelf-stable additive and preservative laden foods are quickly passed by, as the store’s outer perimeter with its fresh, refrigerated food products increasingly becomes the popular place to source the week’s shopping.
We eat out more often; regularly in cafés where the food is fast and fresh, in restaurants where shared plates and small plates have replaced the concept of the three course meal, and in pop-up dining destinations where the word gets around through social media. The biggest eating out trends are cheap eats and street food, brought to you by hole-in-the-wall cafés and colourful food trucks who deliver instant plates of tasty food to eat on the run.
TOP FOOD TRENDS
Fermented foods: This is not just fuelled by the high interest in Korean cuisine and its staple kimchi, the fiery fermented cabbage dish. Health experts are gripped by fermented yogurt, miso, kombucha, kefir, fermented vegetables and tempeh, which allegedly boost the good bacteria in your digestive tract, and help to heal a multitude of health issues.
Handmade muesli and porridge: Visit any farmers market and count the new cereals on offer. Fresh, handmade and filled with healthy seeds, nuts, grains and dried fruits with no added sugar, these are the new breakfast.
Sourdough bread: While supermarket aisles remain crammed with squishy sliced and plastic wrapped loaves, small bespoke bakeries are churning out handcrafted slow-rise breads, made with genuine sourdough starters and chockfull of grains, sprouted wheat and goodness. Expect to pay up to $10 per loaf. It’s worth it.
Doughnuts: The cronut, where the doughnut and croissant merged, was an unhealthy flop but the doughnut is back. Decorated with fruit, chocolate, cream, custard, jelly, icing and much more, it is commanding attention world-wide. One of the fastest sell outs at this year’s Wellington on a Plate was the pop-up doughnut stall with new inventive flavours daily.
Vegetables: Kale, cauliflower and beetroot. If you’re not eating these vegetables, you are missing out. The star of the plate is no longer the protein component, but a colourful cornucopia of vegetables. My Food Bag has introduced a Veggie Bag, while leading restaurant chefs are offering well planned degustation meals of vegetables.
Grains: Pearl barley, freekah, brown rice, ancient grains like quinoa, amaranth, millet, and teff have become the darlings of the gluten free set. Also look for pasta and noodles made from non-wheat sources, such as brown rice, buckwheat, or quinoa.
Hot sauces: Fire up your cooking with hot and spicy sauce. The traditional Tabasco sauce from the bayou is joined by an array of locally made scorching sauces such as the award winning Culley’s, Huffman’s and Kaitaia Fire.
Coconut: Debate rages on over coconut and its health benefits, but coconut sugar, coconut yogurt, fresh coconut in salads, coconut cream and milk, coconut ice blocks and ice creams and coconut water continue to sell like crazy, many as an alternative to dairy products.
Bone broth: When did stock become ‘bone broth’? It’s just a rich chicken, meat or vegetable stock dressed up with a fancy name but it is the drink or soup you want when you crave comfort food.
Pork buns: The new slider. Soft, white pillowy buns, (bao) usually stuffed with roast pork with crunchy crackling and some spicy Asian sauce, are the hot item in restaurants, food trucks and farmers’ market. And there’s a tofu version for the vegetarians.
TOP BEVERAGE TRENDS
Kombucha: Fermenting tea or fruit juice with sugar and the ‘scoby’, a culture of yeast and bacteria, to produce a refreshing non-alcoholic zesty drink has become a home hobby trend. A range of good flavours made by artisan producers are stocked in many supermarkets.
Low alcohol beer and wines: Popularity and consumption of low alcohol alternatives is soaring. Stricter drink/driving rules and the attraction of less alcohol will make these a smash hit this summer.
Artisan and craft beers: New Zealand’s love affair with craft beers is unstoppable.
Rose wine: Wineries throughout the country are offering blush pink wines that are light and delicious. And sparkling rose will be the go-to choice for summer drinking.
THREE TOP KITCHEN GADGETS
Nutri Bullet: This handy little processor and its equivalents make a healthy and highly nourishing liquid meal for breakfast and lunch. Soups, drinks and even a complete dinner party can be whipped up in seconds.
Nespresso machine: Move over the coffee plunger and instant coffee. Nespresso have brought the style of the café to coffee making at home with machines ranging from the simple to the glamorous, and provide a complete range of specialist single origin coffees to brew from around the world.
Soda Stream: As sugary drinks topple from popularity, sparkly water is right on trend. With a handy machine on the bench top, all the family enjoys added zing from good old tap water.
TOP RESTAURANT TRENDS
Burgers: Expect to see more and more upmarket burgers and burger destinations as we continue to embrace the idea of a simple tasty meal solution. Auckland’s new Burger Burger eatery offers the healthy gluten free option of burgers in a ‘bunnuce’, a small cos lettuce that replaces the bun.
Southern style barbecue: Glorious hunks of smoky meat, slow cooked in a wood fired oven and accompanied by coleslaw, collard greens, and spirals of fried potato are all the rage. And not to miss out on this trend from the southern states of the US is fried chicken. Chefs soak the portions in buttermilk before dipping in yet another secret mix of spices, herbs and flour for the ultimate crunchy tender bird. It’s everywhere.
Middle Eastern: British chef Yotam Ottolenghi, currently one of the most popular book author and food writers in the English speaking world, has influenced and inspired many menus, chefs and cooks with his take on the food of his homeland Israel and its neighbours. It’s food with exotic spicing, lemons, wild honey, falafel, tahini, pomegranates, date molasses and more.
Philippine, Vietnamese and South East Asia: The latest Asian cuisine to garner attention is Philippine cooking. As young immigrant chefs in our restaurants show off their heritage we can expect such menu items as suckling pig, the spring roll-like lumpia, adobo - a rich stew infused with vinegar, halo halo for dessert and plenty of tropical fruits and coconut. Vietnamese food, with its mountains of fresh herbs is also on the rise again and clever chefs are bringing all South Eastern Asian cuisines together in genuinely interesting Pan Asian fusion cooking.
Peruvian food: It is big overseas, commanding worldwide attention as the Peruvian government backs its top restaurant chefs. Three of the World’s Best 50 restaurants can be found in Peru, and culinary tourists are flocking there to eat. Pisco sour, a cocktail with the local brandy, meets ceviche, and causa made with heritage potatoes from the Andes in a new sophisticated food movement. Forget those tales of guinea pigs.
first published in my Listener Food Column November 2015