Spoiler alert: it’s hearty, it’s humbling and it involves horse. I woke up in my capsule in Bishkek with desert mouth. The vital signs of a hostel in the morning – bags zipping, doors slamming, toilets flushing and teeth being cleaned – told me my boyfriend was also showing signs of life. A capsule hostel … Read more
According to a theory that’s gained traction online, vegans should be spurning smashed avo and an almond milk flat white at brunch this weekend. But an Oxford ethics professor says it’s not so simple… A video recently doing the rounds on Facebook included a segment from the BBC comedy quiz show QI. The video asks … Read more
Alice welcomes the zombie hopocalypse with open arms (and gin), while Henry sups upon a spicy syrah from a Hawke’s Bay OG. EPIC BOILERMAKER Epic Hop Zombie, 8.5%, 500ml, plus Hidden World Oriental Spice Gin, 50ml, 44%, $11.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co A boilermaker, according to the internet, is a trained craftsperson who produces … Read more
Inspired by a weak reality TV brew and The Spinoff’s own teabag tapes, Alex Casey spills the tea on making the perfect cuppa. First published in October 2018. Last week was a huge week for tea disasters. It began on Married at First Sight NZ, where policy analyst and gaming enthusiast Fraser Lee (nee Pearce) … Read more
We lured an official judge from The Great Kiwi Bake Off into the offices to critique our cakes, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. Here at The Spinoff, reality TV is kind of a big deal. So when a new show comes out, we really put our heart and soul into it. Alex Casey and Sam Brooks … Read more
Think aeroplane food is bleak, cliched and kind of awful? You’re wrong, and here’s why. It’s the mid 90s. You’re in a smoky comedy club in New York City, a single spotlight illuminating the exposed brickwork, with a single mic on a stand rising up from the darkness. A thin man with big hair, a … Read more
A huge-if-true newspaper report this week has raised the possibility that sandwich bread could soon be a thing of the past. Calum Henderson investigates. It’s the New Zealand food story of the year, and it broke last Thursday on page 5 of Dunedin community newspaper The Star. Under the extremely emotive-to-southerners headline “Thin ‘cheese roll’ … Read more
For chefs and restaurateurs all over the world, hospitality’s pressure-cooker environment is no joke. As we increasingly grapple with the consequences of depression and anxiety among those working in our food industry, what’s New Zealand going do about it? Le Suquet à Laguiole in the south of France enjoyed the highest accolade in fine dining for two decades. … Read more
Alice is in a glass case of emotion (in a good way) about Behemoth’s latest IPA, and Henry is chuffed with a cheap and very cheerful pinot gris. BEHEMOTH BREWING COMPANY KIND OF A BIG DEAL SAN DIEGO IPA 6.9%, 330ml, $5.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co San Diego: famous for its zoo, Comic-Con, some … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Casey goes to the opening of Instagram’s most hotly anticipated mini golf bar. I don’t really know why I’m even bothering to write a review of Holey Moley when a fellow mini golf enthusiast summed up the entire … Read more
Seven-and-a-half years since the quake, food is playing a critical role in how Christchurch rebuilds, according to the people behind a festival that celebrates the city’s regeneration. When you think about the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, food probably isn’t what springs to mind. But it was an important thread that ran through the … Read more
Recipes from the NZ Rugby Stars Cookbook by Ardie Savea, Sonny Bill Williams and Damian McKenzie. Did you correctly match the rugby stars to their recipes? If so, good. If not, go do it now. Right now, you hear? Read no further. When you’re done, come back here. Did you do it? Good. Now you … Read more
Tonight in the Auckland CBD you might stumble across a tequila-soaked glamour queen and a T-Rex with no head — but don’t worry, you won’t go hungry. What links a headless dinosaur and a vegan fried chicken burger? Art, that’s what. StreetArtDego, now in its third year, teams artists with purveyors of street food, with each … Read more
Tonnes upon tonnes of plastic waste with nowhere to go — there’s no easy solution, but for one group of Kiwi businesses, simply doing nothing was not an option. Until earlier this year, even the most diligent recyclers may not have given much thought to what happens to that plastic bottle after it’s been deposited … Read more
Prove your patriotism and test your knowledge of New Zealand’s rugby heroes, by seeing how many recipes from the NZ Rugby Stars Cookbook you can match to the correct culinary code-head. What do you reckon All Blacks eat? McDonald’s in a stranger’s flat? The flesh of their vanquished enemies? Bunless burgers? Fruit cake? The answer is all … Read more
Alice gives her verdict on an award-winning beer, and Henry dives into to a juicy Californian chardonnay. BACH BREWING BILLFISH APA 5.8%, 6 X 330ml cans, $22.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co As a small child, I had a morbid fascination with the bill of a marlin that lived in our attic. It was huge. … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Emily Writes tries a new super-sized version of a classic flavoured milk. I was hungry and had already finished my two-minute noodles so I figured it was time to go to my happy place, Capital Mart. What can I … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Casey laments the loss of a Kiwi classic. Before we get to the ruinous truth: there’s no denying that Roses are New Zealand’s ultimate choco gift. Favourites are fine, but rustling your way through the long vertical box … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s new monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms and Fine Wine Delivery Co. This month on Dietary Requirements, we welcome Sophie back to the studio with a big ol’ American celebration. We chow down on fried chicken (recipe here) … Read more
New Zealand hops are hot property in the beer world, but some overseas breweries’ tone-deaf homages to Aotearoa are causing offence. Worldwide, the beer industry is coming under increasing pressure to be more inclusive. In many parts of the world, breweries are dominated by white males, and the industry has a history of sexism — … Read more
Developing a taste for the black stuff isn’t the only change brought about by Sophie’s stint at Ballymaloe Cookery School. She feels calm and refreshed, and, believe it or not, has even started running. We’ve finished! It’s over! I’m devastated, but I am also thrilled. I’ll be honest, I’m feeling emotional, and I haven’t even … Read more
This week, Alice Neville welcomes new beginnings for a beer that’s had its fair share of drama, and Henry Oliver tips his hat to a wallet-friendly white. GARAGE PROJECT DFA 7.5%, 330ml, $6.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co This week’s beer comes with a touch of controversy. First brewed in 2013, the then-named Death From … Read more
Many of us have suffered the terror of a beetroot poo, but few of us ever talk about our experience. Hayden Donnell says it’s time to bring this important issue into the light. Maybe it hasn’t happened to you yet. But it will. One day, after using the toilet, you’ll glance down and experience a … Read more
Albert Cho, the 21-year-old student whose sweary Instagram stoush with an Auckland cafe ended in racist abuse and thousands of new followers, opens up to Samuel Flynn Scott over some of Dominion Road’s finest. A few months ago, Albert Cho was just a regular Auckland student, albeit one with steady modelling gigs in Korea. Then … Read more
It’s certainly off the beaten track, but those who venture to this sparsely populated central Asian nation won’t regret it — just watch out for that vodka. I came to Uzbekistan mostly to see Samarkand and Bukhara, the jewels of the ancient silk road that ran between China and Europe, plus a walled city on the … Read more
Week four is all about forging new friendships at the local pub, hatching feathered friends, and the joys of natural wine. It’s our second to last week at Ballymaloe and my classmates and I have become real-life mates. We are all cooking well and with greater confidence, which is reflected in a more relaxed atmosphere … Read more
This week, Alice is smitten with a seasonal twist on an old favourite, and Henry happily quaffs a Provençal rosé. GARAGE PROJECT PERNICIOUS YUZU WEED 8%, 650ml, $16.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co Pernicious Weed is OG Garage Project, one of the original 24 beers the Wellington brewery boldly released over 24 weeks to announce … Read more
After reading advice urging him to microwave red wine during the winter, Hayden Donnell angrily takes on New Zealand’s entire wine community. I was reading Kia Ora magazine’s wine column recently, as I am wont to do. Its author, the veteran wine writer and Master of Wine Bob Campbell, began his latest entry by rattling … Read more
A group of entrepreneurial aunties from Ōmaka marae in Blenheim and their delicious preserves are finalists in the New Zealand Artisan Awards. The aunties of Ōmaka marae have turned their desire for tino rangatiratanga into a social enterprise, with products that are gaining national recognition. The rongoā Māori-inspired condiments, sold under the brand Manaaki, are finalists … Read more