Cookschools

Posted on Thu, 12/01/2017

We repeat the Cookschool classes a number of times in a series. Each repeat class brings a new set of people in front of whom Rick cooks the same dishes and I chat alongside him with as much background information that I...>>>

Posted on Wed, 01/06/2016

We've had some nice compliments paid to us over the years, and usually for me it is enough to share them with Rick and the guys we work with, and am seldom tempted to spread them more widely. But had just checked in with...>>>

Posted on Wed, 01/06/2016

The dessert in the last cookschool series was a Creme Caramel -a very classic dessert that has been on our menu for many years. The version Rick did in the class was different to the one on our menu - a higher ratio of egg...>>>

Posted on Sun, 21/06/2015

I am showered and feeling fresh and revitalised from a run  just as the air outside was starting to turn cold and crisp. We now await Hannah and Andrews return with Benson, who they've taken for a run somewhere,...>>>

Posted on Sun, 02/11/2014

We had a cookschool today, which required getting out of bed earlier than we normally do on a Sunday. One daughter had a 28k running race at Tikitapu( and she won the Open Womens category!), while the other was heading out...>>>

Posted on Sun, 27/07/2014

We did a class on cooking offal today. Rick gets a lot of positive comment about his chicken livers, and recently we've been featuring tongue on the menu, and have been genuinely surprised by how many people have wanted...>>>

Posted on Tue, 08/04/2014

I got caught at the computor reading this lenghty blog from David Lebovitz on the process of bringing a cookbook to fruition, and as a result was a little tardy in getting over to the restaurant to join Rick for...>>>

Posted on Wed, 02/04/2014

Somewhere on the internet I watched  a video a few weeks ago, ( which I can't now find!),  of Grant Achatz talking about the way he cooks steak in his home kitchen, and I referenced the comments he made, in...>>>

Posted on Mon, 21/10/2013

We are just back from an overnight visit to Auckland ? always amazing how much you can manage to fit into a 24 hour visit! ? and have come home stimulated and re-energised, which proves that I must have needed the change...>>>

Posted on Fri, 16/08/2013

Life always has a way of knocking things into a sense of proportion for me. We had a cookschool this morning, and I came back over to the house, and had a siesta during the afternoon, because didn?t get alot of sleep last...>>>

Posted on Mon, 05/08/2013

We had another Hands on Cookschool yesterday - incredibly we've only got one to go in the year, which doesn't really seem possible. The time has just flicked by so quickly. We've been wanting to do these classes for a...>>>

Posted on Mon, 10/06/2013

Big day yesterday. We had a Hands On cookschool which runs all day, and involves sitting down for both lunch and dinner, never a bother really, but last night we were also due to head out to friends for dinner ( a bit of...>>>

Posted on Wed, 30/01/2013

Home from a early morning walk over at the Mount with Sally ? coffee and hot choc to follow, and we?ve pretty much put the world to right, as you do! Have come home to an empty house because Rick and Courteney are out on...>>>

Posted on Fri, 25/01/2013

There?s a first for everything I guess, and it would be fair to say I never thought I?d be sitting in the car, waiting for an electronic shop to open in the morning, but that is exactly what Rick and I found ourselves doing...>>>

Posted on Sat, 15/12/2012

I have retreated back over to the house, because my presence is superfluous at the restaurant currently. I think I will go  back over later, so Rhonda can have an earlier than normal night, since she has worked thru...>>>

Posted on Sat, 03/11/2012

I have just made myself sit at the computor  to complete the last few details that I need to do my end to get the cookbook on our Italian trip done and dusted. Rob at Simpson Print, will now have to bring all the bits...>>>

Posted on Mon, 22/10/2012

Monday morning of Labour Weekend, and we've had a rather leisurely start to the day - a nice state of relaxedness that is shortly to be shattered as we all head up to TECT park for some exercise, but it was nice while it...>>>

Posted on Thu, 16/08/2012

The cookschools are a source of enjoyment for Rick and I for a whole host of reasons, and the range of people that we get to each class, means that we are constantly kept on our toes. In yesterdays class we had a rather...>>>

Posted on Wed, 28/09/2011

Pallible relief in the household. The first cookschool in this years Christmas Series is done and dusted, and the food worked really well, and elicited a very positive response from people, so Rick can now relax. He feels...>>>

Posted on Fri, 24/06/2011

One of the aspects of the cookschools that gives me ongoing satisfaction, is the degree of information sharing that happens. We are constantly updating people on things we've learnt, and new producers we've encountered, and...>>>

Posted on Sun, 12/12/2010

Its a blistering hot Sunday afternoon, and I've done my normal collaspse with the Sunday papers, that I tend to follow Sunday cookschools with. My husband who is made of much sterner stuff, has headed out on his bike, and...>>>

Posted on Thu, 29/07/2010

I finally got out to the restaurant garden today to do some serious weeding. Have been conscious of the need to do so for some while now, but somehow it just never made it quite high enough on my to do list. Feeling virtuous...>>>

Posted on Wed, 30/06/2010

We had the last class in the current series today, and I took my camera over to take photos of the food as Rick plated it, becos I quite often get asked 2 or 3 years down the track what a certain dish looked like, and I find...>>>

Posted on Sat, 26/06/2010

It is now 3 years since we went on our last European trip, and up until now I haven't really been inclined to delve too deeply into the complexities of organising another trip. But its funny how life, can start throwing...>>>

Posted on Wed, 09/12/2009

We had the last class in the Christmas series today. We started this series back in Sept so it feels as if we've been doing it for awhile now, and I confess that I'm not too distressed by the thought that I won't be sitting...>>>

Posted on Wed, 07/10/2009

I have the hugest pot of bolognese sauce simmering away on the kitchen stove, and have retreated out the back of the house to our rickety old deck, to enjoy some late afternoon sun, after what has felt like days and days...>>>

Posted on Sun, 24/05/2009

Is a girl allowed to dream??! Have a look at this short video.......>>>

Posted on Wed, 11/03/2009

It is very rare that I will walk back over to the house after a cookschool, without feeling a special kind of warm glow. Can't pin exactly what the source of that glow is, but suspect its a combination of factors, rather...>>>

Posted on Wed, 19/03/2008

We are about to head over to the Mount to drop off some cases of wine that we've organised for a client. We are doing her daughters wedding catering on Saturday night, and we've also organised the wine for the followup celebration...>>>

Posted on Thu, 08/03/2007

 We had a cookschool this morning, and I'm now over at my desk sorting a few things before I head out the door to check up on a marquee that went up yesterday, at a clients property for a wedding, we're catering there...>>>

Posted on Wed, 07/02/2007

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...>>>