Tis the season for hangovers, so we convinced some of New Zealand’s most experienced consumers of food and/or drink (OK, Spinoff staff and a bunch of chefs/hospo people) to share their tried-and-true culinary remedies. A hangover is a very individual thing. For some, it manifests as a splitting headache and extreme tiredness. Others are gripped … Read more
To many, Marco Pierre White is a legend, but his controversial remarks in a recent interview have some New Zealand chefs questioning why the former enfant terrible has star billing at Taste of Auckland. A celebrity chef who recently made global headlines for his sexist comments about female chefs is headlining Auckland’s biggest restaurant festival, … Read more
Calum Henderson reckons New Zealand has the most celebrity chefs per capita. Here, he tries to find the funniest. There are few things I love more in this life than taking a celebrity chef’s name in vain and using it to roast the living hell out of my nearest and dearest. It goes like this: … Read more
Lunch at Downing Street, pottery retreats with Nigella Lawson and Yotam Ottolenghi… New Zealand’s best-known chef has built quite a life for himself in London, but, now more than ever, he yearns for Aotearoa. This content was created in partnership with The Collective He’s been a top chef in London for three decades, with a … Read more
Last week, a study was released listing the top 20 jobs New Zealanders should be studying for the future. This week, we asked those working in four of those jobs to explain how and why they chose their careers and what advice they’d give to students today. Chef Brody Jenkins (Little Easy/Jo Bros Burgers) What do … Read more
A study using salary data, employment prospects, skill shortages and training positions suggests aspiring engineers, builders, teachers, midwives and panel beaters are off to a great start. First published in February 2019. One of the most difficult choices in a young person’s life is deciding what they want to study. They have to think about … Read more
Chef Luke Adams talks to Alice Neville about why cooking and eating with the seasons is so much more than a fad. Like “artisanal”, “authentic” and “bespoke”, the word “seasonal” has become ubiquitous in descriptions of food – to the point that it’s almost lost all meaning. That’s a shame, because eating seasonally is one … Read more
Restaurant dining can present even more complex issues than daily decisions at the supermarket or at home. But what responsibility do chefs have to inform and shape their diners’ eating habits? Nowadays, ethical eating is often presented as a truism: we are told we should all be making ethical food choices, not only at home … Read more
No-nonsense 31-year-old Māori/Samoan woman Monique Fiso is behind one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in years. Get ready, Wellington. This post was originally published 29 October 2018 Wood-fired kareao and asparagus with salted buffalo curd, pine dust and a pine needle vinaigrette. Kina panna cotta with smoked kahawai, green-lipped mussels, caviar and kawakawa oil. … Read more
No-nonsense 31-year-old Māori/Samoan woman Monique Fiso is behind one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in years. Get ready, Wellington. Wood-fired kareao and asparagus with salted buffalo curd, pine dust and a pine needle vinaigrette. Kina panna cotta with smoked kahawai, green-lipped mussels, caviar and kawakawa oil. Kaipara oysters with horopito mignonette granita and koromiko … 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
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
The country’s most promising chefs of the future battled it out in the grand final of the National Secondary Schools Culinary Championship this week. Alice Neville went along to watch the action. The teenage years, so they say, are a time for experimentation, exploration and, quite often, failure. If the reminiscing of The Spinoff team … Read more
Food entrepreneur and Dietary Requirements co-host Sophie Gilmour is living her best life at the famous Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. In her inaugural diary, she introduces us to the inimitable Darina Allen, the school’s founder, and geeks out on all things food. WEEK ONE After my friend Camille and I sold our business, Bird … Read more
Dietary Requirements is our new monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms and Fine Wine Delivery Company. On Dietary Requirements this month, Rebecca Smidt and Dariush Lolaiy from Auckland restaurant Cazador join Alice and Simon in the studio to talk about (and eat) sausages, offal, Beervana, their … Read more
For many in the restaurant industry, Anthony Bourdain’s death hit close to home, so a group of hospo friends decided to build something positive out of the sadness. When Dariush Lolaiy got home after work at his Auckland restaurant Cazador late one night in June, he saw a text from his head chef Brendan Kyle … Read more
Meet the UK chef inspiring his Kiwi counterparts with a radical approach to food waste. At Silo Brighton, Doug McMaster binned the bin. More accurately, the English chef binned the concept of the bin — there’s never been one at his restaurant, which opened four years ago in the heart of the famous seaside town. … Read more
Sure, cheffing is a male-dominated industry, but shouldn’t food festivals be leading the way in promoting equality? An event at upcoming food festival Visa Wellington on a Plate insists “the future of food is female”, bringing together five woman chefs to chat about the topic with broadcaster Susie Ferguson. Meanwhile, the Auckland equivalent, American Express … Read more
In a world replete with generic knives, Auckland chefs are moving towards something a little more special. Sam Mannering’s favourite knife is the one that cut his finger off. Forged by legendary Kiwi craftsman Peter Lorimer in Omakau, Central Otago, the knife sliced so cleanly through the bone of Mannering’s left index finger, just above … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Fresh As founder Tommy Roff whose company freeze-dries everything from mandarins and feijoas to liquorice and Red Bull. ONE: How did Fresh As start and what was the inspiration behind it? I had a … Read more
Chef Luke Adams shares three delicious Māori dishes. As he whipped up an on-trend beetroot and farro concoction in the kitchen of a cafe in Auckland’s Newmarket, Luke Adams talked us through how to make something very different — the kai he was raised with. Adams (Te-Uri-o-Tai hapū, Te Aupōuri iwi) is head chef at … Read more
Simon Wilson has been eating at Pasture, the restaurant that cooks with fire and fermentation and a very singular vision. This is what obsession looks like. Five very small, thick oval slices of a bird’s breast, skin on, in a row on a large plate, with a leg and a large piece of skin. The … Read more
He’s an award winning young Kiwi chef, but William Mordido’s first pop-up restaurant is opening in Melbourne this month. Rebecca Stevenson finds out why. William Mordido is one of those people who, when reading up their credentials, you start to feel inferior and question what you have been doing with your life. Last year the … Read more
Nigella’s here in New Zealand promoting her latest book, simply titled Simply Nigella. She’s too busy to be interviewed by The Spinoff, sadly. Instead, Calum Henderson lined up in Newmarket and bought a $65 book – one our cheapskate organisation definitely could not afford – just to spend five seconds in the presence of the culinary legend. … Read more