Juliet Harbutt is an expat kiwi, who's lived in the UK for many years, where she's built up a formidable reputations as an expert on the subject of cheese - and all matters pertaining to cheese( and one or two other subjects besides..!).

She comes back to NZ about this time every year to stay in touch with what is happening in the cheese scene here, and travels thru making contact with producers and consumers. In doing so she fulfills the very important function of inspiring cheesemakers with honest appraisal, and helping with marketing ideas, by writing about what they're doing in her House and Garden article.

In order for the cheesemakers to have a receptive public for their product, that public need to be educated and brought up to speed about the different types of cheeses and the flavours they should realistically be expecting. Juliet packages this information in a Masterclass style presentation, which is a relaxed way of getting people to think more carefully about cheese.

Over the last couple of days we've done 2 of these classes at the restaurant for our customers - they got to try 12 different types of cheeses, ranging from fresh to soft white, washed rind to hard, and also blue.

We tasted: Zany Zeus Feta, Mozzarella di Buffalo, Canaan Halloumi, Ash log, Pakipaki Brie, Brie de Fromage de Meaux Rouzaire, St Nectaire, Quickes Cheddar, Hohepa, Curio Bay Blue River, Italian dolce Gorgonzola, Te Mata Pacifica.

And drank ( it aids the digestion!):

Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc

Amante Riesling

Sacred Hill Thiefs Series Merlot

Kina Beach Reserve Pinot Noir

.

And marvelled over the contrast that the different wines had with the respective cheeses. Some were a flavour combination  made in heaven - I recall honey icecream being mentioned at one stage, and a couple left a somewhat less favourable impression on the palate. It was fascinating.

A long the way, she contributed much to our knowledge of the cheese making process, and helped make the flavours on the plate come alive. There was a huge amount of information compacted into a three and a half hour session, and I'm in awe of the way her energy levels never flagged ( while customers were around). Sharing information with that degree of passion and enthusiasm ain't easy, no matter how knowledgeable you may be in the field.

We love venturing into these somewhat educative areas, from the somewhat selfish perspective that Rick and I get to learn from an expert which we figure is always a good place to look for advice, plus its an opportunity for our staff to share in the experience, and of course, those of our customers who are interested.

There was alot of work involved in bringing the classes together - but the knowledge and contacts we have gained as a result of accessing all the cheeses, make it something that we are keen to repeat.

There are so many potential areas of speciality within the restaurant business - and unlike the great restaurants in Europe, we can't hope to afford to have specialists heading up each area. We can however learn from expert consultants and broaden our knowledge, and in doing so get to improve what we are able to offer our customers. I see that as all good.

It has occcurred to me, as I've just finished off some work here at my desk , just now, that today pretty much represents a typical day, when, of neccessity I get to deal with a wide range of stuff - all background - just to ensure the smooth running of the business.

Last nite I sat down with good friends who were dining in the restaurant ( and celebrating 20 years in their flooring business), and we got joined by other friends, and Rick, once he'd finished mains, and it was all very pleasant , and not terribly like hard work at all.

I would hate you to think that that is what owning a restaurant comprises of,  all the time though! Far from it - thats just the occasional treat that comes our way, when people we know very well are in dining- and we have enough staff on, for us to be able to retreat to the background.

Today for instance, I've so far:

-unpacked deliveries of wine

-opened the mail, and sorted the bills into weekly, monthly and direct credit piles.

-chased up a company that sent Sauvignon Blanc instead of the requested Chardonnay

-chased up another company that hasn't delivered as yet wine I need for a function early next week

-dealt with some phone messages regarding cookschools

-made a coffee

-greeted lunch time customers as they arrived, but left the actual table service to Rhonda

-answered screeds of emails

-sent out the cookschool cards for those who have booked

-finished off a couple of quotes for weddings next year

-gone over requirements for hireage of crockery etc for a large outcatering wedding we have coming up in 3 weeks

-spent a frustrating couple of hours drawing up the Tasting Sheets for the Masterclasses that Juliet Harbutt is taking here next week. Frustrating becos I understand virtually nothing of the intracacies of 'Word', and have kept hitting the wrong key, and had all sorts of strange configurations occur. I normally leave that sort of thing to Lynne at Simpson Print, who's ability to make light of anything I throw at her, is a constant source of amazement to me. Quite why I didn't get my act together earlier enough to pass this job on to her as well, I'm not sure. Maybe my subconscious thought that someone who could write a blog, could also master 'Word". Hmm...

I need some input from my daughters to show me how to encase what I've done in a grid, and one of them is kayaking on the Kaituna, and the other is out on the bike with Rick, so I'm going to have to wait.

There are 12 cheeses for everyone to try in these classes - ranging from Italian, to French to New Zealand - and we matching them with a riesling, sauvignon blanc, merlot, and pinot noir - so its going to be alot to absorb- physically and mentally!- but will hopefully prove very enlightening. Certainly, we've found the process of sourcing the cheeses that Juliet has wanted , to have lead us to some interesting people, with contacts that we'll be able to use in an ongoing context with the restaurant. So all good.

And just to prove that it is an incredibly small world - I caught up with an old university friend, who now lives in County Galway in Ireland, and who was passing thru on his way to his sisters wedding in the Hawkes Bay. We poured over a map of Ireland, becos we're planning on spending a meagre 3 days there at the end of our French trip later this year, so we can get to visit the esteemed cookschool, Balleymaloe, and hopefully also Cafe Paradiso, the owners of which we've met. M. showed me where the places I needed to know were on the map - which helps give me some some sense of relativelty to airports and distances. And then last nite I took a phonecall from a lady with a delightful Irish brogue who is in the country for a short period, and wanted to come and do a stint of work experience in our kitchen. Shes just finished her chefs training at Balleymaloe, of all places, and is heading back to Ireland, after her holiday, to work in the affiliated restaurant, Balleymaloe House.  All proving that the world is not a very big place, and there can be all sorts of delicious coincidences. Shes going to come and spend some time in the kitchen, and we sincerely hope she gets to enjoy it!

But now I need to take some overripe avocados down to our pigs; give the dogs a chance to burn off some energy, rushing around the orchard, and then get ready to head over to the restaurant for evening service. Its Friday nite, and we are full , which means we'll have 4 staff on the floor and me on the desk - and which also means that I get to sidle away before the end of the night.  I'll come home to my daughters and my dogs, and the last chapter of Alan Bennetts 'Untold Stories" - a book I haven't wanted to put down.

We finalised the recipes for the next cookschool series, the Summer one, today - always a major achievement for us, becos of the angst that goes into the process.

Coming up with a range of recipes that are going to work within the time constraints that we have to do the class  - and doing food that is going to appeal to the wide range of people that attend, always causes a lot of discussion, and alot of debate, until we end up with a shortlist of ideas that we think work together, and which reflect what is available at the time of year. We fret everytime that we start a new series, that people won't enjoy the food- and every time we remember that the food is good , and people are therefore going to enjoy it. There is always someone, who for dietary reasons maybe doesn't eat something we're using, or maybe someone doesn't 'like' something for whatever reason. But we have always found that the vast majority of people are prepared to try - and with their appetities simulated by sitting in the kitchen and watching Rick prep the food, that whole process of enjoyment seems to be heightened, by the knowledge they now have.

Having done the classes for over 10 years now, we run into the added complication, that a lot of ideas that appeal, we have already done in a class, so we need to move on to Plan B.

Often ideas are triggered by something we've discovered - a special product that we like the idea of supporting, so we will work it into the class in some way.  Cheese is high in our awareness at the moment becos we have Juliet Harbutt coming here in a couple of weeks to do 2 Masterclasses, and as a result of the organisation that I've had to do to get all the cheeses she wants to show the different styles, and also to compare NZ with French and Italian, we 've been trying cheeses that we never have previously, and are loving the experience.  So we're using one of the Canaan soft cheeses Galilee, in a dip to start, with fresh basil and parsley from the garden. We were going to use the Hohepa cheddar, which is one of the best cheddars I've ever eaten, on the dessert platter - but decided instead to go with an apricot dish becos their season will last thru to early April when this series finishes, and we will look to use the Hohepa in the next series when fresh walnuts come available.

High also in our awareness, is the fact we're going to the Dordogne region of France latter this year, to repeat our Italian experience of a few years back, so the cookbooks we're naturally gravitating too, are from that region - Stephanie Alexander, Paula Wolfert, Patricia Wells - and alot of that influence will be reflected in the recipes we choose.

We will do the first class next week - and we will worry in advance how everything will be recieved, and the sense of relief when that first class is over, is pallible. We then repeat the experience, for as many dates as we have too - which naturally means alot of repetition, but somehow that never gets tedious, becos the people mix in each class is different, and the questions that get asked vary, and take us off onto all sorts of tangents.

We used to worry that we didn't know enough to put ourselves in the position of teaching others -and we are still conscious that we are far from experts, but we have learnt enough to be able to be instructive- and watching Rick is a pleasure becos he is a talented chef, and his skill level is very adept.

But more than anything, we enjoy the classes - and always get something from the interaction with the people that attend. They're small, so intimacy is automatic - and we have discovered that to be a real bonus.  So much so, that the classes are a significantly growing part of the business, and as we plan the alterations to our kitchen, we are looking at ways that allow us to better acomodate the classes. Maybe be able to do some at night; and do some hands on ones ; maybe do a series which introduces people to the basics of cookery; maybe even get into some form of chefs training.  There are alot of ideas being tossed around at the moment, but I have no doubt that any changes will be a gradual evolution.

At the end of our French trip, we are going to zap up to Cork to have a look of Ballymaloe, the very famous cookschool and farm, in Ireland. We met Darina Allen here a few years ago- she called into have a chat with her husband and one of her daughters, and we were much taken with the scope of what they have created, and very much want to go and have a look. It will all help our perspective on what we want to achieve here.

All exciting!