Jean Teng has had a lifetime of people telling her they despise tofu, when really they just don’t know what to do with it – or it’s been cooked for them by someone similarly clueless. While everyone else was breaking their back kneading for crusty sourdough during lockdown, all I wanted to do was make … Read more
The leader of the National Party, Judith Collins, doesn’t know how much cheese costs. Yesterday, the nation stopped when one of the hosts of The Project, Josh Thomson, asked Judith Collins how much a 1kg block of cheese cost. “I think it’s about $4 or $5 – something like that, depending on the cheese,” she … Read more
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change. Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much discussion among those in … Read more
Waffles don’t need to be sweet – these cheese and onion numbers make an excellent savoury breakfast with an egg, or an equally tasty dinner with leftover mince. It’s easy to default to sweet breakfasts without thinking. At least that’s the case in our household, as porridge or bircher muesli is more often than not … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive. On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and we’re joined by our … Read more
If you’ve ever wondered what influencers have to offer to the world, look no further than Simone Anderson’s new recipe book So Delish!, which will revolutionise the way you put things on plates and in freezers. You know what I’m tired of? Professional cooks publishing cookbooks. Boring. If I ever fancy making coconut tamarind prawns, … Read more
Soup season is here! This flavoursome spiced pumpkin number is bulked up with the addition of grains and hearty greens. We’ve had four days of heavy rain, and this morning as we drove up the driveway on the way out to school, the sun finally came out and the top of Taranaki Maunga revealed itself, … Read more
Nadia Lim taught Sam Brooks to cook. He talks to the beloved celebrity chef about her new cookbook, and filming an entire TV show in lockdown. Lockdown brought us together as a nation. Together with our team of five million, together with our families and flatmates, but most importantly? Together with our ovens. As supermarkets … Read more
A new mall in downtown Auckland prizes food over shopping and public transport over private. Duncan Greive digests it all. Next year St Lukes, the venerable icon mall of Auckland’s inner west, will turn 50, showing the enduring power of the imported American shopping innovation. It arrived just eight years after New Zealand’s first, Lynnmall, … Read more
It’s a nice hot day in the summer and you reach for a … polar pie? New Zealand companies are removing the word Eskimo from their products. Recently arrived Canadian Justin Giovannetti explains that the move to banish the harmful and derogatory slang is overdue. The word Eskimo is about to disappear from New Zealand’s … Read more
From metal-spiked muffin splits and toxic fish to potentially fatal peanut traces, recalls have increased nearly four-fold in recent years. It’s a sign the system is working, but when it comes to transparency around what’s in our food, critics say New Zealand lags behind. Before putting an item in her shopping basket, Simone Antcliff reads … Read more
Who had the clown cake? Who had the terrible duck with chips for a beak? Who had that bloody train cake? In celebration of Jacinda Ardern’s laudable attempt at the piano cake for two-year-old Neve, we revisit the book that defined the birthday parties of your childhood. A version of this article was first published … Read more
The duo behind Parnell eatery Simon & Lee talk Gochu, their latest venture in Auckland’s Commercial Bay, and the emerging mainstream popularity of Korean cuisine. Three months ago, before alert levels were even a thing, a small group of guests was invited to have their first taste of Gochu’s menu. With everything from fresh Kaipara … Read more
The much-awaited downtown retail and hospitality precinct finally opened its doors last week. The hospo offerings have been hyped for years – so where should you head first? It’s been a bit of a construction eyesore for a while now, but downtown Auckland’s waterfront area finally has its new shiny toy: Commercial Bay. Slats of … Read more
For four years running, at the exact same time of year, New Zealand has been savaged by gangs of avocado thieves. Hayden Donnell sounds the alarm about the country’s most predictable crisis. They come every year like clockwork. As winter starts to bite, and our summer produce hits its peak price point, the thieves rouse … Read more
The Bay of Plenty is synonymous with kiwifruit. With a large contingent of new workers moving in this season from Covid-displaced industries, Josie Adams asked what life is like for those who’ve been there for years. Under a very heavy tree in Tom French’s orchard waits a very heavy hedgehog. About a metre above the … Read more
As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started in response to the death of George … Read more
An urgent excursion to her hoppy homeland shows Alice Neville why brewers and beer drinkers the world over seek out Nelson’s pungent bounty. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, trainloads of working-class London families would temporarily migrate to Kent to work in the hop fields during harvest time. It was the closest thing many … Read more
Spice up the classic banana muffin with a subtle touch of star anise. These muffins came about one rainy Saturday when the cupboards were bare and there was nothing much left in the fruit bowl aside from some very sad-looking bananas. Fortunately we know sad bananas result in the best kind of baking so we … Read more
A global success story or an overly generous, unsustainable scheme that is doing lasting damage to our fish stocks? Ethan Neville looks at the ongoing debate over New Zealand’s fishing quota management system. The management of our fisheries is a touchy topic – and why wouldn’t it be? New Zealanders rightly care about the fish … Read more
As public sentiment turned against Uber Eats, a new local operation emerged promising a more ethical alternative to help New Zealand’s struggling hospitality industry. But now Eat Local NZ has suspended trading after falling out with its Australian partner Mr Yum. So what happened? A dispute between local hospitality platform Eat Local NZ and Australia-based … Read more
With the help of her faithful four-legged assistant, Jean Teng disregards commonsense and ‘only for pet consumption’ labelling to review dog food fit for a king (or at least a cavalier king charles spaniel). Three months ago, I was reviewing fine-dining restaurant The Grove. Today, I’m reviewing vacuum-sealed frozen dog pizza. Such is life. Dog … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s resident poutine authority (and politics editor) Justin Giovannetti for our second together-but-apart Zoom pod. On this month’s Dietary Requirements, we’re still physically apart but together in … Read more
Still unsure about what you need to do in restaurants and bars under level two? You’re not alone, according to a new Spinoff-commissioned survey. Ongoing confusion around the use of mobile apps for contact tracing and social distancing in restaurants means New Zealanders and business owners still have work to do to correctly follow Covid-19 … Read more
The world will always need food, and New Zealand is enviably positioned to capitalise on this, writes future foods expert Rosie Bosworth – but we need to take a few big steps first. It’s a bittersweet moment for New Zealand. As a nation we’ve collectively worked hard to successfully flatten the curve (for now). But … Read more
The Middle Eastern sesame seed paste tahini adds a subtle flavour and lovely fine texture to these classic choc chunk biscuits. I get a huge sense of satisfaction out of baking for my family as I know the food that fills their lunchboxes is both delicious and full of nutritious ingredients. Plus I get to … Read more
Canterbury-based vegetable grower Luke Sole talks to Michael Reynolds, founder and kaitiaki of Christchurch’s Roimata Food Commons and the co-author of the Aotearoa Food Resilience Charter, about how we can transform our food systems. Luke Sole: Can you tell me a bit about your role as the founder and kaitiaki of Ōtautahi’s Roimata Food Commons … Read more
Restaurants, cafes and bars have been allowed to reopen, with a whole lot of ever-evolving caveats. We check in on how the first few days have been. Inconsistent messaging and last-minute rule changes made the first weekend of alert level two “incredibly challenging” for hospitality businesses, says the Restaurant Association. The organisation worked with the … Read more
Budget 2020: What does this year’s budget mean for one of the hardest-hit sectors post-lockdown? Those in the industry give their initial reactions. As the country braces for the inevitable Covid-19 economic slump, today the government announced its “once in a generation” $50 billion budget. From that $50bn, $3.2bn has been set aside to extend … Read more