Posts from 2011

Posted on Sun, 01/05/2011

With the style of restaurant that Somerset is, we get to deal with a wide range of people in our daily business life, and in general the vast majority of people who come thru the door, have done so, intent on enjoying themselves,...>>>

Posted on Tue, 03/05/2011

I hate to confess that I've run away from the restaurant to come home to do some knitting. Bought myself a pattern and some wool today, and sat down just before I headed over to the restaurant earlier, to see if I could remember...>>>

Posted on Thu, 05/05/2011

I gave myself a start at a table last nite, when I poured the first glass of the bubbly that they had BYOed. We tend to open BYO wines behind the bar rather than at the table, and I'd done so without really paying too much...>>>

Posted on Thu, 05/05/2011

It's curious. We have enough land here to grow alot more for the restaurant than we currently do. Something I've been very conscious of, ever since that first burst of enthusiasm when we moved into the house next door back...>>>

Posted on Sun, 08/05/2011

Just been skyped by Courteney who's about to go to bed after a big day in which she had a fantastic result in the first stage ( of 4) of the Joe Martin Tour. Ricks out on his bike currently and will be gutted that he missed...>>>

Posted on Sun, 08/05/2011

I've done very little reading of books over the last few months, becos my focus has been on plowing thru all my diaries and doing that effectively cancelled out any spare time to delve into books. Brenda lent me this one...>>>

Posted on Tue, 10/05/2011

Tuesday is my book work day, when I make myself sit at the desk and plow thru all the stuff that has to be dealt with like wages and taxes and bills. Never much fun, but absolutely essential to the smooth running of the business. The...>>>

Posted on Thu, 12/05/2011

We went to a funeral in Whakatane today. Driving down the weather conditions were atrocious, and there were a couple of points where I wondered if we should give up and turn around and come home. But we perservered, getting...>>>

Posted on Mon, 16/05/2011

Multi sporters are a different breed. I'm not quite sure how to describe it exactly, but over the years I've observed quite a cultural difference between the atmosphere at most cycling or triathelete events, and what happens...>>>

Posted on Mon, 16/05/2011

Kate Chilcott is the friend that Courteney has travelled to the States with. They are very literally, eating, sleeping and racing together, and in that intense environment, managing to our very great delight to stay friends. They've...>>>

Posted on Tue, 17/05/2011

This link is to 2 short video clips of a TV series in the States that Anthony Bourdain has apparently been one of the writers for. I read a reasonable amount about the behaviour in some of the large, named restaurants and...>>>

Posted on Wed, 18/05/2011

I loathe snobbery with a passion, and we get to see occasional flashes of it as we go about our job, and I'm never impressed. Snobbery is something I associate with people who think everything is about perception, and is...>>>

Posted on Thu, 19/05/2011

This blog is written by a very passionate chef in the States, who writes intensely on her views of appropriate behaviour in a commercial kitchen. Her views expressed are a complete and diametric contrast to the tosh shown...>>>

Posted on Fri, 20/05/2011

Courteneys just sent us thru some photos of the 4 day Criterium tour which they competed in at St Louis. The final stage resulted in some drama and a broken wheel, with her running across the line to finish. She was part...>>>

Posted on Tue, 24/05/2011

This objet d'art, was brought to the restaurant on Saturday by some good customers, as a birthday present for someone at their table. They'd made it themselves, and I was quite entranced. Quite beautiful. ...>>>

Posted on Tue, 24/05/2011

I didn't get to go to my photography class today, becos Anna Flowerday from Te Whare Ra winery was flying in, and I'd suggested to Sandy from Lion the distributors, that we have lunch with her, as a catchup, seeing as how...>>>

Posted on Wed, 25/05/2011

As I've mentioned once or twice before, I really rate this man - I enjoy his honesty and lack of pretension, and I thought this interview contained a number of interesting nuggets, not least being his take on restaurant critics. We...>>>

Posted on Tue, 31/05/2011

I was linked to this interview via another website I was on, the exceedingly caustic Gastropoda, that I read with equal relish. Sometimes I struggle to pick up on some of her references becos she uses a form of code, but...>>>

Posted on Tue, 31/05/2011

This link is to a blog by Dorie Greenspan, who writes on baking. I have a couple of her books and use them regularly, so her take on matters is something I respect. I did have to smile reading this blog becos the subject...>>>