Posts from 2011

Posted on Tue, 01/02/2011

The ghastly weather of the weekend has encouraged me to spend most of the time curled up with my old diaries, as I plow my way thru the past 25 years. Made very heavy going of the 2000 and 2001 years, with copious amounts...>>>

Posted on Tue, 01/02/2011

Have just been reading the latest newsletter from Koops Cycle - the cycle shop that my husband and daughters have such high regard for - and Phil had done a link to Courteneys latest blog on Elite Nationals, becos Koops and...>>>

Posted on Wed, 02/02/2011

Am about to head over to the restaurant for our first cookschool of the year - which also means the first in this series, and that means that Rick is already over there, making sure that everything in his list  is prepped...>>>

Posted on Sun, 06/02/2011

A link to a video Michael Ruhlman has done on the need for awareness in chefs. Go beyond the video and read  the comments becos I think some have actually extended his thoughts better. A team who are aware of each other...>>>

Posted on Tue, 08/02/2011

Rick and I have just had a couple of very pleasureable days down in Ohope, celebrating 25years of (usually!)  happily married life. We borrowed a friends beautiful house right on the waterfront, and got to completely...>>>

Posted on Tue, 08/02/2011

A rather fascinating video on the making of espresso - the machine  he uses is enough to make me drool in envy. So many things factor into the quality and variance of espresso coffees, and its amazing how often in reputable...>>>

Posted on Tue, 08/02/2011

We're quiet in the restaurant tonite, so having gone over for an initial sorte, I've left everything in the very capable hands of Rhonda and Roz and retreated back to my desk to catch up on some reading. My Favourites list...>>>

Posted on Wed, 09/02/2011

As I've mentioned many times in cookschools, our cookbook library is extensive,and is a continually growing beast. We've pretty much run out of shelf space in our existing bookcases, and will at some stage be forced to address...>>>

Posted on Wed, 09/02/2011

I am currently finishing rereading Gay Bilsons "Plenty", which is not so much a book as rather a series of erudite essays revolving around the subject matter of food. She has marked credibility in my world becos she was...>>>

Posted on Thu, 10/02/2011

 A heads up on the fact that Courteney is riding a tandem with Brian Kelly in the Classic Hits radio station ( 95fm), tomorrow - Friday 11th - at 7am. The riding will be stationary, presumabley on a spinner, the way...>>>

Posted on Wed, 16/02/2011

OK!  So I know this is soppy, and maybe its just the nice mellow mood, that the cookschool we've just done has put me in,  but somehow it encapsulates sweetly my sentiments on the need to be able to be happy with...>>>

Posted on Wed, 16/02/2011

Something to make you smile.... ( I hope!)   Incidently where this was filmed is not far from where we'll be doing our cookschools in 2012. Must go and check a map......>>>

Posted on Thu, 17/02/2011

Grant Achatz who is the co-owner and chef of Alinea in Chicago is about to open a new restaurant called Next, and this article details what the restaurant is going to achieve. Alinea has become one of the most famous restaurants...>>>

Posted on Sat, 19/02/2011

Hannah and Andrew are home for the weekend, and as if by pavlovian instinct I've been cooking. My daughters come home, therefore I cook! I just do... Took the batter for the carrot cake over to the restaurant kitchen where...>>>

Posted on Sat, 19/02/2011

Rick and I are just pausing before we head out to take the food round for Marees wedding. Maree is an old staff member - she worked with us back in the early 90's, and then headed overseas. Shes now back and happily ensconsced...>>>

Posted on Sun, 20/02/2011

This link is to a video of a restaurant that has opened in the States and which is going to change its menu and format every month for a total of 9 months, at which point its lease ceases and it closes.   I have to...>>>

Posted on Mon, 21/02/2011

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...>>>

Posted on Mon, 28/02/2011

Everything I open to read at the moment is understandably centered on the events in Christchurch, where the unimaginable scale of destruction has us all reeling. Life continues for us as normal, even though we feel vaguely...>>>

Posted on Mon, 28/02/2011

I probably should be starting another blog category, specifically to deal with my daughters sporting prowess, becos I think this one seems to revolve pretty much around their undertakings, which was not my original intention. It...>>>