Due to the steadfastness of a very matter of fact friend, I find myself on a Wednesday, required to be out of bed at the previously unheard of hour of 6am, and now a few short hours later, I've been to the top of the Mount with Sally, walked back around it, had a coffee and come home. All before 9.30am.

Incredible!

Morning times have never been a strong point of mine, never, not even thru 2 babies. I'm much more geared to being a night time kind of person, and have never understood the virtue of getting out of bed too early. But I have to concede there is something to be said for the virtuous feeling that emanates from knowing that you've been there and done your exercise, and have the rest of the day unfolding ahead of you.

So while I'd hate to sound in anyway pious, it must be said that I am currently feeling pretty pleased with myself. Possibly becos of the novelty factor!

We're heading out to lunch with friends shortly - people who we've been discussing coming up to their house for lunch for years literally, but again even though our intentions have always been good, life kind of got in the way and we never quite got round to it, so today finally, we'll head up there. I'm looking forward to it!

And on Monday just gone, we finally got round to taking some of the key staff up to Auckland to have lunch at the Depot, Al Browns restaurant in affiliation with the SkyCity Hotel. We've been talking about doing it ever since we went there for dinner with Hannah and Andrew last year, and came back raving about the cleverness of the concept.

So 2 carloads of us drove up and headed there early, becos they don't take bookings, and since we were 10 in all, actually 11, becos when Hannah heard we were up, she decided there could be no show without punch, and joined us part way thru, I was a little anxious as to whether we'd get a table. We were told when they seated us, that we were their first table for 2012, since they've been closed since New Years Eve, but even as they made the comment, all the tables around us rapidly filled up. Its phenomenally busy.

And such a simple concept. An oyster bar, wine on tap, ( but also a very good wine list), food cooked in a woodfired oven, so the focus is on flavour and simplicity. Plates are shared tapas style, so we ordered a number of different dishes and just got them to bring out enough of each to place down the table so we could all get to taste each one. Which they did in a succession, so we'd pretty much finished with one dish before the next arrived. And over the space of a couple of hours we all got to try a range of flavours, without there being one dud.

Its casual. Wooden stools at high tables; opshop cutlery in used cans on the tables; paper napkins; wine served in tumblers. Usually when things are designed to look casual, they end up looking selfconsciously designed, but at Depot they just manage to hit the right spot. Staff are engaging and relaxed and create a really nice feel.

Most impressive.

Our carload headed to the revamped Art Gallery after, although Rick and Hannah went to see Andrew at Bivouac and get some different sized running shoes for Courteney, and the other carload went to the Casino. We got back to Tauranga before them, but none of them can have turned into rapid gamblers becos I heard them picking up their cars from the restaurant carpark about an hour after we got home. Even though they're all adults, I do feel kind of responsible!! Chatting last nite, it doesn't sound like any were overly impressed with their time on the pokies...

It was a really nice day, in the company of good people. A useful reminder of how lucky we are to have such a positive team around us, and I figure its important not to take that for granted.

During the cookschool lunch yesterday, the conversation I had with one of the guests ended up with her describing a chicken recipe to me in Stephanie Alexander's truly epic cookbook, The Cooks Companion.

Becos I respect Sues opinion, I made a point during the afternoon of getting the cookbook out of the bookcase and flicking thru it to find the recipe that Sue had mentioned. P294: Cold Chinese White-cooked chicken with seared spring onion sauce. I think it will be dinner tomorrow nite, although I do have another recipe that I've been wanting to try too, in an effort to convince my husband to put another vegetarian dish on the restaurant menu.Hmmm...

We are poaching a stuffed chicken in a master stock in the current cookschool series, and that method of cooking provokes a discussion around the fact that most Kiwi's prefer their meat to be roasted becos they like the caramalisation and brown crispy bits, that the heat of the oven creates on flesh. Poaching tends to evoke visions of pallid and uninteresting meat - and is a mindset that we therefore need to work thru to encourage people to try a method of cooking, that we think creates a moist and wonderfully flavoursome end result.

Years ago we got introduced to Haininese Chicken, another version of an Asian cold, poached dish, and we've had it on the menu occasionally over the years to mixed success.

Reading this recipe in Stephanie Alexanders book, I had two reactions. The first was a desire to try the recipe, it appealed immediately, but as soon as I read the sentence ...'the bone will be red in the centre and the meat will be pearly-pink', I knew we would not be able to use it in the restaurant, becos some people complain absolutely vociferously if there is any smidgeon of pink or red anywhere on a chicken, whether its inside the bone or not. For some it is just completely unacceptable.

And becos experience has taught me that there are some battles you are not going to win, sometimes it is far less stressful just to not go there, so this is a recipe that I will cook for us at home, purely becos I like the sound of it, and not becos I think its one that may have an application with the restaurant.

Our library of cookbooks is vast and extensive, and I don't tend to delve into it that much anymore. Most of my day to day cooking experiments tend to be prompted by something I've read on one of the regular blog updates I get from various spots around the world.

So sitting down and flicking thru The Cooks Companion, is something I haven't done in awhile, and I have to say I was reminded of just what a magnificent book it is. All encompassing, encyclopedic in its scope, and just truly inspiring. For any cook, from someone starting out, thru to someone very experienced, it contains a host of gems of ideas. You could cook exclusively from this book for months on end, without duplicating an idea.

Every kitchen should have a copy.

We did a private cookschool this morning, and becos we're betwixt and between series, we did the food from the series we'd just finished, and I'm very glad we opted to go that way, and work with dishes that we were so familiar with, rather than using this as a class to kickstart the Christmas series which begins next week.

And that was becos we had a number of different nationalities in the class, and for some, english was only just so so, and that led to a huge amount of side discussion as we explained and brought into context things that weren't immediately apparent to them.

We know from our shopping expeditions in the supermarkets in both France and Italy, that sugars and flours and diary products differ to what we have here in NZ, and sometimes a direct translation doesn't work. Castor sugar means nothing to someone from France, nor America for that matter. They have different words to describe the finer sugars, and that involved a lot of arm waving and discussion back and forth. But we got there.

It was a pleasure to listen to Italian and French being spoken around the room, and to grasp the odd little bit. I have no Italian, but my school girl french can dredge up the odd phrase, its just I'm always too intimidated to speak too much. One of my biggest regrets is that I'm not more multi lingual and I see it as the crucial disadvantage of New Zealand, in that our geographic isolation means we don't get the occasion often enough to immerse ourselves in another language. Becos its only by living it that it becomes a natural extension of your thought processes, and I suspect that I am still a few years away from being able to shuck of all my worldly cares and head to Europe to live for an extended period of time.

In the interim though, I may think about getting some form of tapes to start tuning my ear into Italian, becos I'd like to make a bit of an effort when we head there next year, and listening to the Italians today only served to reinforce that I have no vocabulary at all.

All good...

And becos we don't sit down and eat with private classes, I had lunch when I came back over to the house - some of the refried polenta from the huge bowlful I made the other day. Rick and Courteney had been out on a lengthy bike ride on Saturday and got drenched in the final stages, so I timed some polenta for when they were due home, in the hope that a big steamy bowl of that, after a shower would help warm them up. What we didn't eat then I rolled up and put in the fridge, where its served as lunch on a further couple of occasions, sliced into thick wedges and refried, till it gets all brown and crispy on the outside. Rather moreish I must say. ( As a by the by, the polenta I use now which I love is NZ grown and the Gluten Free shop in Cameron Road stock it. It needs a full cooking time - its not an instant variety, but it repays the effort with a beautifully sweet flavour.)

Had gone looking for some leafy greens to have with it, when Rick reminded me that we had a tray of beautiful microgreens sitting on the kitchen bench,  that we'd bought from Darryl at the market in the Bethlehem Shopping Centre carpark on Sunday. So clipped an assortment of those and tossed them with a dressing and had a perfect accompainment.

Darryl is a chef we go back along way with - and when he rang to say he was now marketing these micro greens ( plus a whole range of salads that he sells via his website), we were keen to have a look at what he was doing. I loved the idea of buying a mixed tray - so you can do as I did, and mix up the micro greens making for more interest. He's playing around with all sorts of combinations, talking basil and coriander at the moment, so will be interesting to see what he comes up with. I love the baby pea shoots, and can imagine them in all sorts of dishes.

Micro greens are hugely trendy in food circles at the moment - they make an easy garnish on dishes, and people respond to them very favourably, so its a great concept that I hope works for him.

I tried growing my own some months back, and had reasonable success the first time, but as tends to be a bit typical of me, getting myself organised to have a constant stream coming on line just proved to be a wee bit too much of a mission. Wandering across the road to buy a tray from Darryl every so often may work for me  better I suspect. But for those keen to grow their own, Kings Seeds have a whole array of seeds packaged for micro green cultivation.


Fionna Hill wrote a great book on the subject which points out how to avoid some of the common pitfalls, which is worth a read.

We headed over to Hamilton a few days back to go to a lecture with Courteney given by a nutritionalist on diet for sporting performance. Eating correctly and appropriately for her extreme level of physical exertion has become a major part of her focus, and we went out of interest.

It is such a different way of looking at food to what we ordinarily do in our line of work, and as such felt all a bit alien to me, even though I found alot of the comments made very interesting.

Food in our game is about giving the customer pleasure. Its all about the feel good factor, given through visual appreciation and thru taste.

A nutrionalist is looking at food as fuel for the body, and depending on what you require of your body, its fueling requirements can vary. This is diet designed to give an athelete sufficient energy for the days exercise, but to also, crucially provide the appropriate recovery of body tissue and energy levels, so as  to  be able to go out and train all over again the next day, which in Courteneys case, can be up to 5 hours.

And where proteins, carbobydrates, fats  and fluid replacement sit in that mix is all a rather  interesting process I must say.

Our eating has changed subtley as we've been made to become more GI aware, becos she is heavily focused on eating only low GI foods, and supermarket shopping with her, has taken on a whole new dimension, as she examines the  nutritional information on the back of packets. The sugar content in yoghurts is compared and decried and brown rice is chosen over white. Needless to say there's no white bread in our household!

I have always resisted the temptation to treat the food I eat as medicine, preferring to live by the logic of a little of what you fancy occasionally won't do you any harm, and to a degree I still subscribe to that approach. But I can appreciate that for people who require a far greater energy output from their bodies than I have ever needed to ask of mine, what they feed themselves with, will have an appreciable impact on their ability to perform on a daily basis.

And that is where the science of dietetics comes in.

So its all rather intriguing and generated a fair amount of discussion after the lecture as we headed into Hamilton for dinner at Chim choo ree, which we'd heard was very good.

Downtown Victoria St in Hamilton, is  Tauranga's The Strand on steroids at night- a long road with a huge number of restaurants, bars and other eateries down each side, each cheek by jowl, from high end eateries like Palate, thru to vastly more casual ethnic places with a few massive bars thrown into the mix as well.  The variation in the busyness of various establishments was fascinating as we headed down to where we were going, and there can be no doubt that Chimchooree is definitely one of the 'in' places, becos while some establishments looked almost empty when we walked past, they were bursting at the seams, and turned over tables during the period of our meal.

Admittedly its tiny, and would seat less than 30 in one seating,  if you didn't count the seats up at the bar,  I would guess, and even then the tables are so snuggly close, that the waiting stuff aren't able to physically get thru and around, so service is perforce casual.

The food was outstanding. Clever technique, interesting flavours, extremely well put together, and all coming out of a pocket hankerchief size kitchen.

Noise levels are high, becos theres concrete floors and big windows. Tables are close, and it was a happy crowd the nite we were there, so I certainly wouldn't go if quietness is one of your requirements.

As a bye the bye, it staggers me how often we get asked/demanded to provide a quiet table on a Saturday nite. As I try to explain to whoever has made the request - we are a public restaurant, Saturday nites tend to be busy, and people make a noise, and I can't guarantee what the level of  'quietness' will be becos no 2 nites are ever the same. We have carpet and heavy curtaining, to absorb some of the noise, but it will never absorb all, and even if we cut our numbers in half, and made the gaps between the tables excessively spacious, I still wouldn't be able to guarantee that one table may not be of the type to all talk at once and therefore be quite noisy.( And we'd have gone out of business becos of the drop in turnover from fitting in fewer people. Thats why  formal, quiet restaurants are very expensive - they will seat far less numbers of customers, but they will earn far more per head from each one of those customers to compensate.)

Chimchooree is noisy - it has the bustly cheerful atmosphere of what I like to think of as a classic bistro. And it has very, very good food, which is definitely an incentive for us to want to go back.

I am on my way to bed, but I just had to stop via the computor to express my conviction that this TV series that Rick and I have been watching all week via the DVD set we hired from Video Ezy, would have to rate quite simply as the best TV viewing I've done ever.

And I never thought anything would top the satisfaction I got from Sopranos, but this is good, oh, so very, very good.

Treme - its all about New Orleans, in the post Hurricane Katrina world. A completely warts and all depiction of all sorts of people trying to pick up the pieces of their lifes, after first the storm and then the adversity that came in its wake, blew through their lives.

A multifaceted, complex, brilliant piece of fiction. Truly awesome. And the music - my god, the music!

I'd seen exerts of the second series from one of the food blogs I get, and it was customers of ours from Somerset who mentioned they'd picked up the first series from the video shop - I doubt a show this good will ever be shown on TV in NZ, that would be too much of an oxymoron -  and Rick picked it up the other nite on my recommendation with me thinking that it was going to be predominantly about this female chef trying to make her way in New York, having lost her restaurant in New Orleans, post Katriana, as these clips show.

We haven't got to that stage yet - at the moment we're about two thirds of the way thru the first season, and she is still in New Orleans, along with a whole host of other characters, whose lives loosely intersect, and who are bound together by a great love for the city, and a conviction that it can be put right again, regardless of what the politicians say.

I couldn't recommend it highly enough. Theres alot of four letter words spoken with very clear diction, so its not for those who find swearing painful, but its real and grunty and truly magnificent.

I am half way thru Level 3 of the Introduction to Photography classes that I started at the beginning of this year.

Along the way I've been learning how to compose a photo, the many different facets of light, and currently how to operate a camera manually. Learning about shutter speeds and aperature openings, and how to balance light composure and get the right depth of field has all proven remarkably complex for my brain, but at the same time very stimulating.

Photography has always been an interest, and as far back as I can remember I've had an SLR camera, with more capabilities than I've had knowledge to use. Now thanks to Jo, I am getting to understand what all the knobs and menus on the camera are for, and to slowly come to terms with the basic precepts of controlling light. It is all quite fascinating.

I look on photography as a way of capturing my world - I don't have an especially artistic eye, but I do like taking photos that depict a moment in time, and I love the associations that they can bring.

Like any craft though, taking good photos is so much more complex than simply pointing a camera at a subject and depressing the  button. I always figured I had a lot to learn, but until I emmersed myself in these classes, I had no idea just how much I needed to know. And I am conscious that with photography being such a huge field that I'm still at the point when I'm only really scratching the surface. Which means that I'll be going back for lots more of the specialist classes over the next few years - a prospect that I look forward too becos I'm really enjoying the stimulation.

Jo mentioned in the class today about an exhibition that some of her advanced pupils were currently having at Creative Tauranga, and I called in to have a look on the way home. Stunningly beautiful photos from 4 very clever people, that are well worth a look.

I believe the exhibition is on until the 29th August. These people aren't as yet professional photographers, although their work depicts a glorious understanding of how to capture images in a clever and creative way.

Completely inspiring!

I am feeling grumpy becos the restaurant is quiet tonite, and it has thrown me of kilter in what has otherwise been a steadily busy week.

Knowing that there is nothing I can do to alter the fact, I've been instead focusing on doing a bit of internet reading and catching up on some blogs I haven't visited in awhile, becos my presence isn't required over there just yet.  My preoccupation with reading about the daily eruptions around the Murdoch family has taken precedence over my normal internet reading, so have chosen to treat this enforced down time in a positive light and do a bit of a catchup.

That process has cheered me up considerably ( unlike the ongoing revelations about News Corp!) - both the gentle ruminations on Orangette , and the distinctly more caustic gun shots from Gastropoda, have restored my sense of equilibrium, and I will now go and have a shower and head over to the restaurant in a markedly more cheerful frame of mind.

But reading the Orangette blog did remind me that I meant to mention this week about Art of Eating, a food periodical that I've been subscribing too now for a number of years. They'd sent me a reminder about renewal which is what made me think about it, something I will attend too later this evening, becos it is one source of regular reading that I would hate to miss.

It is not a magazine. There are no ads or glossy pictures, or travel endorsments. It is simply good writing, in depth, on a whole range of food and drink subjects. The photography is the sort I naturally gravitate too, more journalistic than stylistic if that makes sense. It is serious - it delves into subjects with considerable depth - the article I've just finished reading in the edition that arrived this week was on  cider making in Normandy in France. I had simply no idea that there are as many as 342 documented varieties of cider apples, but I do know now. And I understand more about the complexities and challenges of making true cider and marketing it.

In the same magazine there are a number of other articles - one on caneles whose ubiquitiousness in Bordeaux fascinated us a few years back - and lots of other subjects that I will delve into over time.

There is alot of escoteric information, alot of which I will maybe never recall in detail, but all of which adds to the pool of understanding that makes what I do so much more interesting for me.

I seldom read them in one hit, preferring to savour the reading and draw it out over days.

Which is the complete opposite to what I do with most of the other food magazines that I pick up on a weekly basis from Mag Addiction. Most of those are glossy, fashion focused, advertorial heavy, superficial and barely keep me focused beyond a quick flick thru.

But. They do provide a quick update on food fashions, and some of the writing warrants a closer inspection occasionally. So I continue to buy them and have accumulated a serious stockpile of a wide range of titles going back to the late 70's. One day I'll have a use for them, maybe.

I listen to comments in the cookschools with interest, and find its a bit like the way people assess cafes depending on the quality of the coffee,  with magazine titles, people are getting increasingly choosy, and too much advertising appears to definitly be a turn off.

One or two I am seriously considering deleting becos I haven't been inspired to cook anything out of them for a number of months, and my flick thru now is cursory at best, so it could be argued that its a waste of money. But equally I'd hate to miss anything!

The Art of Eating by contrast, I read from cover to cover, and that includes the very lengthy and detailed book reviews. Some of the most interesting books I've bought on various food and wine related subjects have been as a result of the analysis in Art of Eating, and its that thought that has given me inspiration for what I am going to do for the rest of the evening, once I've been over to check things at the restaurant. 'Secrets of the Sommeliers' is a book that was highly recommended, and one that I've had sitting in a pile for while now, waiting for some attention.

I think I need a break from Henry James - am reading some of his novels becos I've decided it would be good for me, but as with anything that you do becos it is 'good for you', I'm struggling a little and  not finding him an easy read. He requires total focus, and some of the commentary about social mores in England and the class system, get me distinctly ruffled, and I think tonite, something less vexatious would be good.  A book on tasting and thinking about wine, is far more appropriate for my here and now I'm thinking...

The Art of Eating has to be subscribed too - it isn't available in shops. It is sent from The States, and comes about 4 times a year I think. I have a number of back editions here if anyone is interested, but I promise that once you start reading, you will be wanting your own copy to keep and cherish. Its that kind of reading.

With Wine Options each year, we serve a simple dinner at the end of the Options - all the teams join up the tables into one long line, cutlery and napkins are placed around, people help themselves to glasses from the bar, and open wine they've brought,  and a communual one pot style meal is served, that is convivial and easy.

Rhonda is with us during the evening to help with various matters and Jamie has been in the kitchen this year, bringing the meal together, but usually some of the attendees also help bring down the 40 or so plates to the table. Theres no choice - Rick will have decided what to cook as a main and dessert in advance, and that is what is sent out...

For the last evening this year we decided to use sausages, and a type of coleslaw that we eat alot at home, together with a potato salad. The potatoes were a titch overcooked, so ended up presenting slightly more sloppily than had been originally envisaged, but the quality of the sausages kind of made that a minor matter.

We'd gone to Blackforest Gourmet Butchery to get some of theirs - and used 2 types, a debreciner  and a kransky. I haven't been to Blackforest for awhile, and eating the sausages on Monday was a useful reminder of just how outstanding their craft is. The sausages really are superb.

We don't ordinarily use other peoples charcuterie on the restaurant menu - although having said that we are currently specialing Bethlehem Butcherys black pudding - and therefore don't get the occasion to eat sausage that often.

We have used them previously in cookschools, but haven't done so for awhile, so this was a useful reminder of what I've been missing. A fact I think I'll need to remedy, becos we're lucky to have such ready access to truly outstanding charcuterie.

It has been one of those weeks! Fiddly, messy and lots of chasing my tail, which is never a sensation I enjoy.

Deliveries not arriving, or wine orders being misdelivered, problems with the eftpos machine, sick staff, lots and lots of stuff at my desk to attend too - it just feels like its been a procession all week, and its not over yet, becos we're catering a wedding tomorrow which is supposed to be outside, and the weather is looking distinctly dicey, but I'm trying not to focus on that unduly!

Rick has spent alot of time all week, over in the restaurant kitchen prepping, which is the first in a long while, so between the 2 of us we've been feeling a bit sorry for ourselves, and decided to grap lunch in town today, as part of the quick flick around we had to do to pick up some stuff from various places, becos neither of us felt like cooking.

We were well on the way into town when Rick mentioned that we should be going to Grange Rd cafe, which we noted when we drove past last Monday had just opened, and becos that felt perfect for our here and now, we circled back and headed in that direction instead.

Greeted by a busy restaurant - we had a delightful lunch, Mark showing a deft touch, and producing really nice,  elegant ,cafestyle food.  Just as we would have expected.

They've done no advertising but word is out there already, given how busy they were today - probably in no small part becos lots of people already knew like we did, that Joseph and Kirsty were opening a new cafe in partnership with Mark and Lisa, and have been keeping a beady eye on the premise!

At this stage they're open for breakfast and lunch 7 days and  dinners will follow when the neighbour who has objected to them getting a license has been circumvented. A bit of tedium that noone needs, but quite often gets...

Ladies we know, were lunching there, and I noted some gorgeous big heads of hydranga wrapped as a gift that Marilyn was holding , and knew that they would have come from Jane who was also at the table.  Queried Jane as to whether she could do me some huge bunches for a french picnic we're catering next weekend, which I'm trying to bring together in amongst all the other details I've been dealing with this week.

Jane said it wouldn't be a problem -and I just know that with her flair to put them together, they'll look fabulous. Far more so than anything I would have contrived to do. So an immense relief, cos just hadn't managed to get my head around that idea, but I'm now thinking baskets, and massive bunches of hydrangas and rugs and ...it's working for me!

Like it when that happens!

And in addition we have a delightful new place to eat in the neighbourhood, so I'm feeling much happier all round!

Cookschools can be an allround source of information, and that is seldom just from Rick and I. Chat tends to flow in all sorts of directions, and it is not very often that I don't pick up some good idea or recommendation.

One of the reasons that I doubt we'll ever go stale on doing the classes.

Last week over the class lunch, we were told about a restaurant out in Maketu that we had never heard off - and the person recommending it was someone who's opinion I value, so I suggested to Rick that after our walk on Monday, we should head out that way for lunch.

We have been very conscious of still heading over to the Mount cafes for breakfast or lunch, even if we're not exercising on the Mount itself, becos the economic cost to those businesses of people not coming in becos the Mount is closed,  is not something we want to contribute too by default. But given we were going to be halfway to Maketu , becos we're currently going to the Papamoa Hill Domain I figured that today, Slowfish would cope without us!

As it was, life ended up a little more complex, becos before we could head for our walk, we had to get Courteney to the airport with all her cycling gear to fly down to Wellington. That is no mean feat, by the time they've packed the bike and extra wheels and all the kit. I've learnt to stay completely away from discussions, and leave her and her father to sort it, and the drink bottles, and the gels, and all the other assorted acoutrements.

Things can get a bit terse when too many people put their oar in I've discovered.

With her safely embarked on board, we headed to the Papamoa Hills where we've been going on a Monday morning, while waiting for the Mount to get all its wounds healed. This time we went further afield than just the summit, following tracks thru paddocks with cows ( they're rather large beasts up close and personal, aren't they?!), sheep, and round one corner, a gaggle of turkeys.

All the while looking out on truly spectacular views of Te Puke and back round the Mount, and accross the  harbour to Tauranga. Glorious.

Hard work accomplished - well its hard work for me, but my husbands breathing never even gets slightly laboured. Next time I suspect we'll exercise seperatly with him running, so that he can actually get a work out, becos doing what I do, doesn't really amount to any meaningful exercise for him. To my chagrin I might add! - we headed to Maketu, somewhere I have to confess that in all my 25 years of living in the Bay, I've never had occasion to venture too before.

Rick knows it, becos the cycle club do their Thursday nite race out that way, but even he didn't realise how much further it went back, as we discovered as we drove thru trying to figure where this restaurant that Kerry had told us about was.

Found it, and was exactly as we expected from her description - perched somewhat precariously beside the sea, a rundown and rustic building, in a truly magnificent setting.

There is a distinct double standard with such buildings I've long since decided. In Europe we would describe them as being quaint and romantic, even as they crumble around our ears, but in NZ we tend to be a little less indulgent, and want our eating establishments to be spick and span.

This place however eschews any such pretensions, and what you see is what you get. Along with some of the most sublimely fresh fish that I've ever eaten. In fact about the only other time that I can recall eating fish that fresh was on the back of Ferris boat some years back, out at the Mercurys - fish that had literally just been hauled out of the water, filleted and cooked.

The fish I had was served with a lemon and caper sauce.  Rick had fish and chips, becos he loves them, and I have to say they would challenge Tay Sts, who we've always considered to be the best proponents of that dish.

The quality of the sauces and salads, showed  the chef had real skill. We were impressed.

The fish today was terekihi - I'd been hoping to try stingray, which Kerry said had been the fish the day they were there, simply becos I never have before. But that just means we'll have to go back.

I believe its open 7 days and evenings, so finding a time shouldn't be a problem, and its rather nice to discover such a gem in our own extended backyard.

Today is the opening day of The Good Food Trading Co, a food and wine store at 35 MacDonald St Mt Maunganui.

You have got to go and have a look, becos it is a truly spectacular store, the concept of which, quite simply blew Rick and I away.

We had heard whispers about a shop that was due to open, and we went to the opening with no preconcieved ideas, and came away utterly impressed, with the sheer scale of what the owners have achieved. To dream, plan and then formulate something of that magnitude from scratch, is a monumental undertaking, and you simply couldn't not be impressed.

The building has been custom designed to house the store, and  the store includes the full range of foodstuffs, so that it could be a one stop shop.

What impressed us, was not only the wide range of  product, but also the fact that the owners have cared enough to get in the proper equipment, at a significant level.

This is not a project that has been taken on lightly. They are hugely serious about what they're doing, and  the level of care shows. Its quite magnificent.

A friend who lives just round the corner from Somerset responded to my query as to whether she would drive over to do her shopping, by saying  that she'd timed the trip that evening and it had taken her 7 ( or was it 9?) minutes. The moral being, no time at all, thanks to the spectacular bridge roading which sweeps you straight down to Hewletts Rd.

And becos the range and quality of product is so good, and the surroundings so appealing,  then you would make the effort, becos it would be more than worth it.

So a wonderful addition to the Bay of Plenty, which excites me very much becos it is is yet further proof that we really are growing up in a culinary sense. And I like that thought- its good for all of us!

Ricks mother is in town and we organised to meet her and Dennis for brunch after we'd done the Mount this morning. Rick is finally running again, its taken this long since his accident for his back not to jar, so we've resumed our Saturday excursions to do the Mount.

Met them at Ocra's, which Josh from Slowfish had told us about. An old chef of theirs from their Shiraz Cafe days, has opened this cafe in the main downtown Mt Maunganui shopping area.

John our sous, had been previously and mentioned it favourably, so decided we should try, and very pleased we did too. Had a lovely brunch - again a real pleasure to eat somewhere where pride is taken in cooking everything from scratch. Makes such a difference. Good coffee too!

And a lady out front with the lyrical accent of someone from Limerick. With my Irish roots,  that accent is just completely feel good territory.

We so seldom spend any time down town the Mount now- used to all the time when the girls played netball at Blake Park and we'd go and warm up over a regular lunch at Astrolabe, but now when we go over we park on Marine Parade, so the Mount, call into Slowfish, get back in the car and drive straight home.

Wandering back to our car today we reflected on how much the retail area has grown  beyond being just a summertime village. The developement in retail and cafes is marked - there are a number of really interesting looking womens clothing shops dotted around, and Gourmet Traders have opened up with a large and well stocked shop. Worth a more lengthy mooch I think...

The rise in the range and variety of the eateries over there is quite marked. And some of them are very good. I understand why alot of people on holiday at the Mount now don't need to venture any further afield to eat out becos they have a full range of options available, and almost all of them in walking distance. With the police presence on the roads over the holiday period it makes sense to eat and drink within an ambulatory range.

We have certainly noticed over the last few years a downward trend in our January takings specifically, and we decided awhile back that that had to do with the fact that when we first opened there was really nowhere to eat at the Mount, beyond the Sierra Bianca I think it was called, on Marine Parade ( the owners of which came in for dinner at Somerset a couple of months back having left town 20 odd years ago. Took me awhile to place but great to have a catch up chat, becos they were lovely people), so people had no choice but to venture out - something the new harbour bridge, made all the more feasible. And if they were getting in their cars to drive into Tauranga, they didn't seem to view it as that much more effort to come on to us out at Bethlehem. So we used to see lots of holiday makers.

But these days not so many. We still get the familiar faces - those who have properties at the Mount that come here every year, and some new ones who've heard about us. But with most of our corporate clients on holiday, January has tended to become a less frenetic month. Made more so becos we don't have cookschools.

Ah well - have been considering the possibility of going down to a birthday celebration at Flock Hill Station, and maybe the fact we won't have too much on that week, means that we just might be able to break loose, and go and do something fun. And driving thru Oxford on our way to the venue means we'll have to call in and have a look at Jo Seagars set up! As you do!

The next 2 months are our busiest time of the year - the combination of the biggest cookschool schedule, more catering than normal, and the restaurant going up a notch in numbers all adds up.

That is not a complaint however - the bank balance is very appreciative of the improvement in cash flow after what has felt like a long winter, and so, therefore by association am I. In fact I enjoy being busy - and I tend to operate more efficiently and get more done when I have more pressure on my time. Perverse but true.

It means however that we tend to stay put - days can go past without the car even leaving the property. So on the rare occasion we get a change of scenery, its usually provides much needed stimulation.

We ended up in Auckland on Tuesday, primarily to take Hannah and Andrew out  for dinner for her 21st, and used the time we had to do a bit of running around  as you do.

A recommendation from the ladies at Books a Plenty had been to go to Cafe Hanoi which is  in the Britomart part of downtown, and so we did for lunch.

Just fabulous! Clever interior design, ultra trendy, but not in too self important a way. The food was delightful - and they provide lime wedges and fish sauce on the side for you to spice up your plates more if the  flavours are too tame.

They encourage the idea of shared plates - food is placed in the middle of the table for you to help yourself too - a nice way of eating that allows you to try more flavours than maybe you would ordinarily. We know very little about vietnamese food, but understand from people we know who've visited the country that the food is wonderful, with the same passion and enthusiasm exhibited as in Thailand.

Certainly we loved the range of flavours that we tried the other day, and won't hesitate to go back.

And sitting in a restaurant full of suits almost made me nostalgic for my days as an accountant in Wellingtons Lambton Quay -  a passing wave of association that dissipated pretty quickly. I wouldn't really want to go back to that time...

I would hate to give the wrong impression, and for you to think that Rick and I eat out all the time, becos our reality is in fact quite the opposite. But twice this week, we've been out and about over lunch time, and have used the opportunity to try places we've heard about. Monday we ate at 88, over at the Mount as I mentioned in a previous blog, and today we went to Como Cucina, the new Italian restaurant down on The Strand.

I had lunch there last week with a friend, and was suitably impressed, hence my suggestion to Rick today that we head in that direction while we were in town.

When Christine and I were there last week, it was their first service, and I did initially baulk at Christines suggestion that we try it, purely out of consideration for how daunting the first service in any new restaurant can be.  I wasn't sure I'd be comfortable sitting there if things came unstuck knowing only too well what that can feel like.

I still shudder after all these years, when I think about our first lunch service here at Somerset. It was a pure unmitigated disaster on so many levels, and my abiding memory of it all is standing in the middle of the restaurant at one point, and seriously wishing myself back in Wellington, from whence we'd come only a few short days previously. I'd hate to think that anyone judged us as a result of that lunch...

Chris Rupe however, the owner of Como Cucina, is a vastly experienced operator - SPQR - in Auckland, and has opened a place that provides simple, good Italian food, at clever price points, and using good quality base ingredients. It struck us as an effective and clever formula- they're not trying to reinvent the wheel, but are doing pasta and pizza dishes properly and in a traditional manner, but with what I can best describe as a modern lightness.

 We will most definitly go back - although I note its closed on a Monday nite which is inconvenient, cos thats our movie nite, and when we're looking for somewhere to eat either prior or post the movies.

We were in town today to buy a 21st birthday present for Hannah - a major mission becos she has been unhelpful with any suggestions. I don't really buy into the notion of all the palaver surrounding 21sts, but for all that, nor did I feel comfortable buying her yet another paddle for a kayak or something similarly mundane. Had set my sights on jewelery, which becomes a bit of a mission when I know that my taste is not necessarily going to be my daughters. But we're both feeling comfortable with the decisions made!

We are heading up to Opito Bay on Sunday for a catering job that we have on up there  Monday evening, and thought we'd drive thru to Auckland the next day to take her and Andrew out to dinner, on her actual birthday, becos she's saving the planned party  down here, until November when exams will be over.

There has always been a balancing act for us between wanting to do the right thing by our daughters and also acknowledging the day to day demands that the restaurant has made on our time over the years, and sometimes in the past I have been made to feel guilty over some of the decisions that our business realities have made us make - so it matters to both of us, to be able to be with her for some of her birthday, and to celebrate it accordingly.

Not sure it matters nearly as much to Hannah, but thats almost incidental! As long as we get to assuage any feelings of guilt, then I'll be comfortable. And dinner out at O'Connell St will be a nice bonus for all!

A text has just come thru from our other daughter -' how was that game of netball??!!'  Referring to the gold medal winning performance against the Aussies at the Commonwealth Games tonite.  An epic game with a fantastic outcome - even if during it,  I did learn new swear words as Rick gave the Ferns the benefit of his years of accumulated wisdom gained from standing on the sidelines while his daughters played over at Blake Park, many years ago now...

Have just spent my normal Tuesday, dealing with all the bookwork, and sorting the wine orders, as you do. A day somewhat leavened by a lengthly discussion with Gigi and Christy from Zealong tea, who I'd approached out of a desire to stock their oolong tea, and who called in today to have a chat.

Delightful people and a fantastic product that we look forward to being able to provide for our customers, both for when they're having a meal at Somerset, and also as part of our Pantry Items.  We sell alot of tea at Somerset - all the other leaf tea I sell, we get down from Tea Total, and it is one trend I have definitly observed over the last few years,  for more people to be inclined to drink tea, even though we are still very much a 'flat white' culture.

Maybe then my decision to stock the oolong will be fortuitous timing, and people will be prepared to try something of such superb quality. I certainly hope so.

The craft beers that we now offer, have been exceeding my expectations in terms of sales, much to my delight. So my timing in that respect was perfect., and that was thru serendipity rather than careful planning.  There are some customers admittedly who just won't - they have to have a brand they recognise, and positively turn up their noses at the suggestion that they try something different - but far more men, from right across the age spectrum,  are interested in giving the beers a try. And being positive enough about the taste to have another one. I like it when that happens.

Roz was in Wellington last week for the WOW, and she said it was very noticeable just how dominant a presence the craft beer industry has there, not only in the bars and restaurants, but also in the supermarkets. It is a trend that is definitly gaining traction.

Made a flatbread tonite for dinner - curious to try a recipe I'd stumbled across, that called for either wholemeal flour or cornmeal, and since I've got some of this magnificent  nutty whole meal flour from Hislops in Kaikoura to use, I decided to give it a go. Definite thumbs up - and so easy, although next time I'll make it in a paella pan, becos those pans have a larger circumference then the one I used today,  and the bread will therefore end up thinner and crisper, which is the result I ultimately want, I think.  Courteney eats alot of stuffed tortillas, and this is really just another version of that - and so easy to make..

As I pottered around in the kitchen getting everything ready, I was musing the lunch Rick and I had at the Mount yesterday at the new cafe '88', which is a tiny place, almost next door to Astrolabe. We have known Kerry Hunt who works there, ever since he owned his own cafe back in Tauranga, and in fact came to Tauranga from Sydney, as this area's first, really serious barista, back in the days when we were all making over large, hopelessly fluffy cappacinos, becos we didn't know any better.

Kerry was certainly instrumental in opening my eyes to the Italian approach to coffee - and helped me get deadly serious about what I wanted to achieve. Even back then though we had to agree to disagree on the beans, becos he used Lavazza, and I preferred to use beans freshly roasted in NZ - and I therefore was able to smile yesterday when he raved about the beans they are using at 88, which are Gravity, a NZ roast!

88 is tiny - and yesterday was bitter weatherwise, so all the seating inside was at a premium. The tables are technically far too close together , but somehow in an environment like that, it all works. Just makes for a nice, cosy atmosphere, that adds rather than detracts. The food was truly delightful - and included a  massive range of baking that exceeds anything I've seen anywhere in a long, long time.

Rick made the comment that it reminded him of the Edmonds Cookbook, and he meant that in a  positive rather than dismissive sense. Fresh, homemade baking, is something of a proud tradition in New Zealand, and  when you see it produced that well, then it is a real pleasure. Not only did we have a slice with coffee, we also brought something else home for later - as you do!  Everything we tried was delicious - fresh, homemade, and just lovely.

There is a preservative - I have been told what it is but I forget, that gets put in alot of the bottled sauces, used alot by hospitality - and it imparts a distinctive flavour, regardless of what the sauce is, and its amazing how often when you eat out, that you encounter that flavour.

So to eat somewhere, where everything is made from scratch, and made properly, is firstly a surprise, and then a pleasure. It tells me that the owners care - they care enough to make their own relishes and sauces and do all their own baking, and that will set them apart and make what they do unique. And in a food business I believe that to be really important.

Sameness is what we expect from MacDonalds - but not from owner operated businesses like this. We want their indiviiduality to show thru, and there is no more emphatic way of achieving that then making everything from scatch.

We will most definitly be going back...

Our house is feeling quiet, and almost clean and tidy - a rarity in our world. Both daughters have headed back to their respective Varsities, so I've tidied up the mess that they inevitably leave lying around, and am enjoying finding things where I expect them to be, and not having the fridge and pantryn constantly  denuded . Courteney comes back home most weekends, so its only a temporary state of tranquillity, but possibly all the more appreciated for that fact.

I'm about to head over to the supermarket to get some silvo cos want to clean my silver candlebras before the first cookschool on Friday - aiming to use them and some glass domes I bought from Cabbage and Kings,  to bring a slightly different note to the table -just not totally sure yet how its going to come together. Will keep playing...

We headed out after lunch to do a bit of running around, which included finding some moulds for the dessert for this cookschool series - and went to Culinary Council, where we haven't been for awhile. Found what we wanted, and then moved next door to the newly expanded Gourmet Traders, which has a magnificent range of stock. Absolutely fantastic in fact.

Shops like that get me excited becos it makes me feel like Tauranga is finally starting to come of age - when it can support a shop that size,  specialising in ingredients that demand a more cosmopolitan knowledge of cooking. Suspect its a factor of our ethnic mix becoming more varied, and people simply becoming more interested in a wider repertoire of food ideas. As I see it, its all enormously healthy and a positive sign for the area.

Also called into Gilmours to get a couple of things that we'd missed in our weekly delivery - that store changed over to private ownership a couple of months ago, and what a difference!  We've been going there for nearly 24 years and thats the first time I walked out in anything like a postive frame of mind. All interesting...

We'd had friends for dinner on Monday  - and one of them brought us some chocolates which we opened to have with coffee. They were from the chocolate cabinet at Cabbage and Kings, and were sublime. I've just emailed Val to see what the make was and she said they'd have been from Bennets of Mangawhai.

Chocolate is a subject near to my heart and I've done a reasonable amount of reading on it over the years - books by Mort Rosenblum and David Lebovitz are particulary interesting reading. I wrote blogs on both books last year.  I love all chocolate - white, milk and dark - we have a box of chocolates that a friend brought us back from San Francisco, and they are exquisitly packaged little tablets of plain, high quality chocolate with different cocao fat levels. The higher the cocao fat content the darker and more bitter the flavour, becos there is less sugar.

We used to think that the higher the cocao fat content the better the chocolate and almost willed ourselves to like it stronger and stronger - but experiments with some of the recipes for the cookschools, and comments made in some of the books I'd read, got us to start questioning that approach, and wondering if it wasn't in fact a form of reverse snobbery.
Provided its made from pure ingredients - all chocolate taste wonderful, they just different - and sometimes you want a sweeter finish, whereas sometimes you're looking for something rich but without the sweet notes.

And that is exactly what hit me about the range of chocolates that Trice had decided to treat us with - there was a whole range of different types of chocolate, with different fillings - and the quality was simply outstanding. Intensely rich, so you can't indulge in too many in one sitting, but the satisfaction is immense. I stayed home on the couch last nite, disposing of some stuff that I needed to get sorted in my diary, as I do occasionally, and managed to make a small number of left over chocolates last for a very long time, becos you can't gulp them down. They need to be savoured and revered instead.

And chocolate is good for you. Good chocolate that is!

Both Rick and I really enjoy eating Indian food, even though its one cuisine that we've never learnt much about.

Many years ago we went to a cookschool at The Epicurean Workshop in Auckland, where David Thompson who's a world reknown expert on Thai food,  totally engrossed us, in a discussion about spices that we'd never heard of.

Rick ordered a number of them from Wah Lees - and from that experience the mussaman curry found its way onto the restaurant menu, and we continue to sell the paste thru Somerset at Home.

We've never gone back to preground packaged spices, becos we learnt that the flavour differential, when you roast the whole spice and grind it as required,  is so profound, that the effort is more than worthwhile.

Indian cooking uses alot of the same spices - so their names are no longer alien to us, but we've never had the opportunity to explore too far into that food realm.

We do however very much enjoy eating out at Indian restaurants - theres something about the style of easy, cheap, shared plates, that makes it a lovely relaxed  evening, on occasion.

For years we've frequented Little India down on The Strand, and last time we were heading in that direction Hannah suggested we try "Talk of India ( 356 Cameron Rd), becos the father of one of her friends had just bought it.

We've subsequently been back a couple of times, becos we were so impressed with the food, and thought Lena's dad and Aunt were just delightful people. Mr Patel showed Rick the kitchen - which brought back memories, becos we remember that restaurant being "Altons' when we first came to town, which along with La Salle and Olivers, were the other good restaurants, back in the mid 80's.

There weren't many ethnic restaurants around back then!

Its been thru a number of different guises since the mid 80s,  and we hadn't been back in years. But we will now certainly be going back more often now, becos the food has a depth of flavour that is simply delicious.

And I like delicious!

It has been a busy few days!  Mondays, technically, are our day off, becos the restaurant is closed.

Rick and  I normally head over to the Mount, do our exercise thing, have breakfast at Slowfish, watch the world go by, and then head for home, having first popped into Mag Addiction, to pick up my weekly fix of magazines.

Today however things evolved differently, becos he had to be around to let the electricians into the restaurant to start the wiring for this glorious new coolstore, plus the coolstore guys arrived to put on the door, and then Jewell Refridgeration arrived to get the motor installed. So with all that coming and going, he was obligated to stick around.

We both needed to also sit down with Rachel Lochhead from Dove Digital who is doing all our graphic design work for the new product, and the styling for the food shots we're going to be taking tomorrow for the new shop on the website. Lots of shots to get our heads around, and we had to go thru them all one by one, so Rachel could get a handle on what was involved.
 
She and I then headed into Nest in Devonport Rd, where Kelly very generously gave us carte blanche to wander around the shop picking up platters and other acoutrements that Rachel felt could act as props in the photos. Bags and bags of stuff got carted out to the car - and I will have to be very disciplined to ensure that all of it goes back to the shop after the shoot, becos some of those pieces I could quite happily buy and keep for myself. But that is not the intended purpose of the exercise.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day...

Yesterday was a big day too, since we decided to drive up to the Clevedon market, becos there were a couple of potential suppliers that I was keen to have a chat too, and it seemed like a good excuse to get out of town and have a change of scenery. That is a hugely popular market, and I was fascinated by the types who were there, and what it looked like they were buying. We sat on a hay bale for awhile waiting for Hannah and a friend to arrive, watching people as you do. Amazing numbers around, socialising, shopping eating and chatting. The concept of the local market that we were so enamoured of in France transposed to a New Zealand setting without a hint of cultural cringe. Seriously cool to see.

The gorgeously effervescent Sylvia Sandford was in full flight selling lime products. We'd taken the wrong turn heading to Clevedon while driving thru Miranda, and I'd said to Rick as I spyed a cute little white house up on a hill, that I had a feeling that was Sylvia's, so perhaps shouldn't have been so surprised when she called out to me from her stall.

Many, many years ago I went to Interior Design classes that Sylvia took up at Suzanne Callanders wonderful house in the Minden - a time in my life when I seriously needed a shot of colour and enthusiasm, both of which those 2 ladies supplied in bucketloads. They were, and are amazing.!

Sylvia continues to be a wonderfully generous, vibrant person - her lime curd and lime cordial are gorgeous - and she is passionately enthusiatic about the market, just as I would expect her to be. She never embraces anything less than 150% that lady!

She introduced us to Helen Dorrestyn who was the energy behind starting the market, and who with her husband Richard have  built up a commercial herd of buffalo to milk for mozzaralla, ricotta and yoghurt. We'd got some of the product down a month or so ago, and I had totally fallen in love with the yoghurt especially - simply the best I'd ever eaten. And the mozzaralla reminded us exactly of what we'd eaten in Italy - a cheese that needs to be eaten within days of being made. We were hugely impressed, and had sort of mentally filed it away, intending 'one day' to do something with it.

Helen was adamant that we should go out to the farm to have a look there and then, and even though I demurred initially, suspecting my husband would be wanting to head for home, so as to fit in a run, we somehow ended up making an unscheduled trip, thru the beautiful Clevedon countryside to one of the farms where they have the buffalo.

It is completely incongruous to drive along and suddenly realise the animals in a paddock are not cows or sheep, but instead a totally different creature. Slightly exotic but quite gorgeous. They had babies, with the biggest black eyes you ever saw - a couple of Italian bulls that rather fancied themselves, and fields of these statuesque creatures, who watched us inquisitively from a distance.

Without a trace of rancour, Richard talked about the arduous process of building the herd, the time its taken and the pitfalls along the way, dealing with the bureaucracy, and learning about making the cheeses. Its been an extraordinary labour of love for them both, and the product they have ended up with shows the committment to quality that they have been so focused on.

I'm not sure what I was expecting,but I got a whole heap more, and as we headed back to Tauranga, we convinced each other that we really had no choice now, but to support them in the best way possible, which would be financially. Supportive words are all very well and good, but at the end of the day, we would like to think that we can help spread the word in a more practical manner also. So expect to see menu changes in the very near future that will incorporate buffalo milk in some way...

It'll be our pleasure.

 And I know that Catharine at The Village Pantry In Te Puna is stocking the buffalo cheeses in smaller quantities if people want to try them at home.

We also think we found a supplier of fresh figs, and free range chickens at the Clevedon Market, but more on that later, when we've cooked the chicken and seen what we think.

All exciting!

We've just got home from spending a very mellow couple of hours at No. One The Strand, somewhere we've been meaning to go for ages, and on a whim this morning, Rick decided to ring good friends and suggest a catch up.

What a delight!  One of the few buildings in Tauranga that can justify the label ' historic '- Claire and Brian have done a simply stunning job of converting it into a cosy, warm, bar/restaurant downstairs, with magnificent office facilities for their Sun Media empire, upstairs and out the back.

Darryl Switilla the chef is someone we've known ever since we've been in Tauranga, and was great to catch up with him now he's back in town. The meals are served tapas style - ie small plates, that you choose a selection of, and which in typical Darryl fashion, take their inspiration from a wide range of cultural references.

The wine and beer selection is cleverly presented - everything is quirky and original, in the very best sense of the word.

And Ricks day was made by the band that was playing, Bob Dylonish and Eric Clapton style covers. My husbands idea of heaven!

They're open for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday nites, and then from lunchtime thru to about 5.30pmish on a Sunday, for a very laidback, relaxing way to while away a Sunday afternoon.

Amidst so much doom and gloom, it is truly inspiring to see people that are actively growing their business, and looking forward, rather than just treading water. Along with everything else they've created there, they've got enlarged office facilities for their online news filter, which reports news as its happening - a service that I didn't realise was now available, but will be checking out regularly from now on.

All very cool!

A customer of ours who I'm very fond of, Catharine Campbell-Smith has just bought "The Village Pantry'(5525061) shop out at The Village on the corner of Clarkes Rd and SH2.Its a tiny little jewel box of a shop, which she's stuffed full of all sorts of food goodies. The type of gourmet preserves that its so nice to have in your pantry,  to add that extra dollop of panache, when you feel you need it.

Pickles, chutneys, wonderful looking lavash bread from Waiheke Island, roasted cherry chutney amongst others from Provisions in Central Otago  - a veritable treasure trove of yummy things!

She's also stocked up large on cheeses - featuring award winning NZ cheeses in particular, like "Over the Moon Dairy' which has just won the paramount medal at the latest cheese awards. And shes aiming to stock Clevedon Buffalo mozarello and yoghurt, which having tasted the yoghurt that they had sent me down a sample of, I would suggest you just have to try. The yoghurt is thick and unctous and tangy - simply the best yoghurt I've ever had. I like my yoghurts in the Greek style, I have to admit, tart rather than sweet. And the mozzarella was the closest to what we ate in Italy a few years ago. It has a very short shelf life mozarella- a bit like fresh milk, and I've never enjoyed the cheeses imported from Italy as much as I did when we ate it ( in vast quantities) over there. But this was beautiful. I can feel a trip to go and look at these Buffalo's coming on!

Catharines deliberately pitched the shop as something a bit different and special, and its primarily full of New Zealand made product which underscores how much more is been made to a fantastically high standard in this country these days.
A wonderful place for special treats!And we all need the occasional special treat in our lifes, I figure...

We rolled out of bed yesterday and headed over to the Mount without paying much attention to the weather. Driving over the harbour bridge we commented on the ominous looking clouds rolling in, and by the time we got to Pilot Bay ( Rick always insists on driving that way round to Marine Parade, which drives the rest of us insane, but there you go...) raindrops were falling on the windowscreen, and the consensus between the 3 of us that we'd do breakfast and forego the exercise part, becos we weren't attired appropriately.

But that idea got thwarted when we headed into our normal cafe ' Slowfish' to discover all the internal tables taken, and we hadn't garbed up enough to sit outside. Rather than stand around waiting for someone to leave - never comfortable applying that kind of pyschological pressure - we beat a retreat. I thought we were coming home to make our own hollandaise sauce, but Rick decided to drive past Babette which is away from the main drag of cafes, and we went in there instead, and had a lovely breakfast.

As at Slowfish, its a pleasure to eat at a place that prides itself on making its own food. Slowfish has the services of Dean, who we think is the best baker in town, and the slices and things at Babette didn't look too dusty either.

Its all too common now for the franchise cafes to buy in alot of their food from centralised production kitchens, and that makes for a sameness that can become very monotonous. It may work for the likes of MacDonalds, but I know I prefer to  go to places that show individual flair, and Babette had that in bucket loads. We noted its open for dinners also, so somewhere we'll have to try soon.

I

We are having an exceptionally quiet nite at the restaurant, which for a Friday is somewhat unusual for us and I can't say I  enjoy being this quiet very much. Even though we're in the midst of busy times - I still struggle to look on a quiet nite as a welcome respite, which is possibly how I should approach it. I need to do the same numbers as we did on the same nite last year, or preferably better, for me to feel loved! And tonite the comparisons in numbers are not creating too much reassurance.But you get that sometimes... The positive aspect of the kitchen not being busy is that they have got a lot of the prep done for tomorrow, for both the outcatering and the private luncheon we have on here, so Rick is feeling supremely organised. He spent part of the afternoon after the cookschool loading up the truck with the glasses and plates and other paraphenalia that we need for the catering job tomorrow -that was before he headed out on his bike, toute seule, becos his daughters had gone out without him in the morning.
 I've retreated to the couch in the bar to delve into 'Hungry for Paris - The Ultimate Guide to the Citys 102 Best Restaurants" by Alexander Lobrano, a book that has taken me most of the year to read.  ( I sincerely wish we had had a copy of this on hand when we spent 5 nites eating out in Paris a few years ago, and ended up having a couple of very average experiences, which made us feel very cheated, given the brevity of our time in that wonderful city, and our overarching expectations of how fabulous each and every food experience was going to be.) I keep it over here in the restaurant, and nestle down periodically to read the reviews of the restaurants, absorbing the author's lyical writing style and passion for food and eating out. A beautiful book that I always put down with a smile on my face - even on a quiet nite like tonite. It has restored my sense of equilibrium somewhat, and got me to thinking about a meal Rick, Hannah and I had in Auckland a couple of weeks ago, at Sails.

The Littlejohns who own the restaurant, and have done so for over 20 years, owned Orsinis in Wellington, one of the great Wellington restaurants from the same era as The Coachman and Bacchus. Rick and I worked ( and met at The Coachman ) and often heard the Brittens talking about the Littlejohns, so we kind of felt we knew them by default, but this was the first time we'd ventured to Sails.
The restaurant is by the Marina in Auckland, miles out on its own, and on the Monday nite that we went was extremely busy, much to our fascination. We were equally fascinated by the whole aura in the restaurant. In many ways it was a huge trip down memory lane. Old fashioned in the very best sense of that word. Classic and faultless- seamless service and food. Almost totally male front staff - who worked rigidly to sections and between food and wine service. Demarcations I was familiar with from The Coachman, and which have everything to do with tip allocation I suspect. I recognised one of the waiters as someone I worked with at Bonapartes in Auckland, almost 30 years ago. A scary thought! He, and his contempories have worked as waiters all their lives, a fact reflected in the competency of the service, and the general air of polish. It really was rather special. The food wasn't trying to be unduly clever or attention seeking, but it was lovely and satisfying, and sitting in an immaculate restaurant and being looked after by staff at the top of their game, consumnate professionals in fact, reminded me of just how good it can get. We'd had a very average lunch experience at another Auckland restaurant, with prices on a par to Sails - but you just couldn't compare the two in terms of class and value.
 I have only even eaten in a 1 Michelin Star restaurant in France, that's as high up the scale as we've so far been able to afford to go - future trips to France will allow us to work our way up further - but the level of care at Sails reminded me very much of that experience. It was special, and interestingly, far from the most expensive eating out experience we've had in NZ.
We now only have one table left in the restaurant, so we will start discreetly moving the other tables to set up for the lunch tomorrow. I need to fit 5 eights into the backroom - somewhere and somehow! Hmmm...

Robin Feron is someone we have known since our earliest days in Tauranga. It was Robins vision that saw a number of new eateries open up in this town, and we were always impressed with how he managed to touch the prevailing zeitgast in just the right way, by providing the town with a new and different eating out option. Eastcoasters was his first venture I think, and he went on to opening Harbourside ( with me expressing concern thats its proximity to the railway track would mean it wouldn't work! I've learnt not to pontificate on such subjects anymore..), and the Med. Plus others. For the last few years he kind of disappeared of the radar as he managed the food at a local club, so we were intrigued to see his name associated with the new restaurant and bar thats opened up over at the Mount - Kina Bar and Cafe, round the road from Astrolabe in the old Bardellis site.

Rick and I had had a huge cookschool on Sunday, and were relieved to have staff cover for the night, meaning that we didn't have to front and work. There were a couple of movies I was keen to see, but we missed the starting times for them, and instead drove over to the Mount with a view to having a drink, and a mooch and a wind down. Ended up at Robins, and got taken on a conducted tour of the new facilities, and stayed on to have a pizza and glass of wine, as you do. Great pizzas - skinny dough, and lots of semolina flour on the base which for some reason especially appeals to me. Guessed that Roger Farrell from Bay Wine Distributors was doing the wine list - cos a good range of interesting wines, with a number available by the glass. Find that a very civilised notion, to be able to have a glass of a good wine, with a pizza, when you're just in the mood for quick and easy, and to walk away spending $60.00 or so for 2. Great value, and I am sure the concept  is going to appeal.

Then today we wandered down to Palmers on the corner with our daughters who are both on study leave, to have lunch. Hadn't been in the new shop yet, but had met the operator at a Restaurant Assn meeting, and admired the passion  that she aticulated for what she was doing. We went not at all sure what to expect, and came away impressed. Coffees good ( a crucial necessity these days becos everyones so coffee aware), but they're also trying to do something a little different with the food, and I like that its made on site and is therefore individual, and different from the run of the mill. Curious also that the site, which I had once again pontificated about ( becos of its proximity to the busy road), did in fact work really well. The cafe is tucked around the side, looks down almost on the end of our property, and is much quieter than I expected. The moral of the story being, yet once again, you shouldn't judge till you try!