Food product we sell

Posted on Fri, 24/04/2015

I confess to having being reasonably confused at times over the subject of chocolate. It has been a bit of a journey, a learning process that has taken a number of years to slot into place all the various aspects, and it...>>>

Posted on Thu, 22/01/2015

We did a small catering job tonight, for a good customer. A  three course dinner  all plated ready to go except for some last minute cooking of the fillet required. I dropt all the food  over to them, and had...>>>

Posted on Fri, 21/06/2013

We are in the midst of an exceptionally quiet week, possibly weather generated, because people aren?t as inclined to want to venture out on stormy nights, but it was also very quiet this week last year,  so also maybe...>>>

Posted on Thu, 23/05/2013

Am sitting at my computor with a wary eye on the sky scape outside. Keen to head out for a walk, but trying to pick a time, that minimises my chances of getting drenched. I don't mind walking in the rain, but some of the...>>>

Posted on Sat, 06/08/2011

There was a note waiting for me when I got to the restaurant last nite, from Rhonda, wanting me to order some more wasabi, which I've just done. We used this NZ grown wasabi a few years back in a cookschool and became immediately...>>>

Posted on Sat, 25/06/2011

Rick and I had breakfast in town this morning becos we had to drop a parcel of Somerset at Home product into the couriers, and we like doing that first thing, so it gets to its destination preferably in the same day. Breakfast...>>>

Posted on Thu, 10/03/2011

The restaurant has become a multifaceted beast over the years, and some of those wings have been as a result of deliberate decisions we've made, and sometimes they've just kind of come about thru serendipitiy. A conscious...>>>

Posted on Thu, 09/09/2010

We're between cookschools series this week, and that gives us breathing space to catch up on a few things, as you do.Somehow though, whenever I finally get to the bottom of the pile of stuff on my desk, it seems to miraculously...>>>

Posted on Fri, 23/04/2010

Macarons have featured heavily as a blog subject for me over the years, primarily becos I came back from Bordeaux totally fascinated by the idea that there would be shops ( and more than one shop) that sold nothing but macarons....>>>

Posted on Fri, 05/03/2010

Rick made someones day, quite unintentionally just now. He'd flicked over to the restaurant to check on the pastry the kitchen team are making for a special dinner we have on Sunday nite - the pastry is different to normal,and...>>>

Posted on Wed, 14/10/2009

Am just about to head over to the restaurant for a cookschool - but finishing off a newsletter, so that I can proof it, before we head down to Nelson on Sunday. Simpson will print it for me next week, and we'll get it out...>>>

Posted on Fri, 09/10/2009

We went to a presentation last nite that Jennifer and Garth Boggiss from Heilala Vanilla did, for local business people on the growth of their business. It had been meant to be out at their plastic houses in Te Puna, where...>>>

Posted on Sat, 05/09/2009

 It should be no surprise by now for me to state that I'm obsessed with macarons - our attempts to duplicate the Parisian delicacies have taken months of effort, but the guys in the kitchen are now making them quite...>>>

Posted on Thu, 09/07/2009

It is a gloriously sunny afternoon, and the dogs are sprawled out on the floor having just come back up from a run down in the orchard. Days like this, its no problem having 3 dogs cos all the doors are thrown open and they...>>>

Posted on Wed, 01/07/2009

I am the nougat maker in this business. Not quite sure why it has remained my domain - normally, as with the macarons, I may do the initial research and playing around, but there is always a point at which I hand  over...>>>

Posted on Thu, 06/11/2008

Macarons have developed into somewhat of an obsession for me, and the only thing that saves me from too much undue concern about myself is the fact that in my research trips on the internet, I have discovered that there is...>>>

Posted on Sun, 09/03/2008

We're about to head out to friends for dinner, but before we do I thought I'd take a photo of this gorgeous small wine barrel that I did a deal over, with Steve Bird at the Wine and Food Festival on Saturday. I've been wanting...>>>

Posted on Tue, 27/11/2007

I suspect that Licorice icecream is one of the dishes most strongly identified with Somerset. Its been on our menu, since the inception - and although in the early years we played around with the presentation and the sauces...>>>