In this cursed annum, when that purest of joys – being fed by someone else – was briefly snatched away from us, we turned in desperation to our lord and saviour, the world wide web. It seems unfathomable now, but for 41 long days across March and April, we had to cook. Remember that? No … 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
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
Pip Adam won the country’s biggest fiction prize for her novel The New Animals. Her latest, Nothing to See, releases tomorrow. Books editor Catherine Woulfe: We’ll have a full review of Nothing to See in the next week or so. For now, know that it’s wildly good – a levelling-up from The New Animals, even. … Read more
Need an antidote to perfectly lit influencers and lockdown sourdough spam? May we suggest this refreshingly real food ‘grammer. She’s often in her dressing gown, may or may not be in possession of a bra, and isn’t always one to brush her hair. In a sea of beautifully shot sourdough imagery and restaurant brands churning … Read more
Everyone has had different coping strategies during lockdown, and for many around the country, this has meant taking to the kitchen. Here’s what your iso cooking says about you. Nobody knew what alert level four was going to do to us. We didn’t know which hobbies we would take up, which crafts we would learn … Read more
Ahead of the NZ debut of Eat Well For Less, literal first-time cook Sam Brooks gives a few of his own (barely tested) tips for how to eat well for less. We all spend too much on food. I know I do. Back in the golden age of “restaurants” and “eateries”, I would be found … Read more
For a few weeks we haven’t been able to escape each other or ourselves or our own terrible cooking. But at least the celery soup is a prison of my own making. Read more from the lockdown letters here. I’m not a good cook. “What’s for lunch?” my workmate Kirsten used to ask, as I emptied … Read more
This versatile ingredient is brilliant for roasting and frying, and it’s a great way to extend the shelf life of butter. It’s also super easy to whip up at home. Until about a year ago I religiously used olive oil to fry and roast with. I preferred using this oil over more refined oils that … Read more
Some sensible, non-doomsday-prepper-style advice for making sure your provisions are in good shape for what may be in store. For many of us, eating and drinking is inextricably intwined with the social activities around it. Going to cafes, restaurants and bars, or eating with friends or colleagues has become increasingly important for our psychological and … Read more
After 20 years on the telly, Jamie Oliver is back with a new show that celebrates the humble vegetable. Tara Ward looks back on the celebrity chef’s achievements. If anyone has the power to make us see carrots in a new light, it’s Jamie Oliver. Since he burst onto our screens over 20 years … Read more
Simon Day trials the new Sunbeam Mixmaster Hand Mixer with its unique HeatSoft Technology to make some bespoke butters, and share his recipes. Butter makes everything better. A cob of sweetcorn glistening in fat, whipped butter melting on McDonald’s hotcakes, white popcorn turned golden, a dripping crumpet, a potato transformed into something heavenly, a croissant … Read more
In Mrs Krishnan’s Party, Kalyani Nagarajan plays the lead role and cooks the audience dinner to boot. What could possibly go wrong? The idea of cooking for more than 100 people would fill most of us with terror. How about cooking for more than 100 people within a constrained time limit while on stage acting … 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
If you’re addicted to watching Claire whip up gourmet Twinkies and Brad ferment garlic while you eat microwaved pasta in your pyjamas, then this is the list for you. First the world was given The Beatles, the cast of Friends, the Paris, Nicole, Britney and Lohan era, One Direction and Zayn, the Kardashians and BLACKPINK. … Read more
Parent to a fussy toddler? The ‘I’m Not Hungry for Fruit Mum’ bag is the only meal kit service you’ll ever need! Delivery meal kits seem to be everywhere at the moment. Every company insists they have the food that your kids will love. They say you’ll never have to think about what you cook … Read more
Aglio, olio e peperoncino is a beautifully simple dish that’s as good at home on the couch as it is at a back-street Napoli trattoria. I have to first admit to having a penchant for all things pasta. A soft spot. A great love. An obsession. A problem. I’m constantly trying to ditch the carbs … Read more
Alex Casey plays chaotic cooking game Overcooked 2 and learns some very valuable lessons. Three pots of rice are on fire and one pan of sautéed mushrooms is starting to smoke. I’ve thrown dry pasta all over the floor. The dirty plates are piling up. My colleague is swearing at me from across the kitchen. … Read more
When hope seems all but lost, Juliet Speedy finds solace in the kitchen. When my stepfather was suddenly diagnosed with lung cancer, he lost his appetite. I made him casseroles, lasagnes, stews. He attempted small mouthfuls but couldn’t eat much. Then, one day I made him a lemon posset. He loved the sweet easy texture … Read more
The censorship of a food writer’s Instagram post of piggy trotters and ears on a kitchen bench is a disturbing example of how disconnected from our food we really are. The other day while I was mindlessly scrolling Instagram, I came across an image posted by London-based Ukrainian food writer Olia Hercules. My rapidly swiping … Read more
You may be far from civilisation, but there’s no need to resort to the depressing or the dehydrated while getting amongst the wilderness. There is very little room for fanciness when you have to carry your whole kitchen on your back. When you take to New Zealand’s great wilderness, trekking from DOC hut to DOC … Read more
Women from migrant and refugee backgrounds celebrate food and storytelling from their diverse cultures at Renu Sikka’s Auckland workshops. “Food is something that connects people,” says Renu Sikka. “It sparks that conversation.” Sikka is a teacher at Henderson Primary School in Auckland, and in her spare time runs workshops – mainly based around food – for … Read more
Jo Bates tracks down the elusive sweet Middle Eastern cheese delicacy that is as at home on the breakfast table as it is on a dessert menu. It’s hard to keep up with Yael Shochat’s enthusiasm for knafeh. She’s exuberant on the topic of almost any comestible, but the soft, gooey cheese dish holds a … Read more
Reboot your school lunch repertoire – or your office lunch repertoire, for that matter – with a delicious new sandwich filling. I feel as though the school holidays were over even before they started, despite my initial feelings of trepidation at the thought of making it through six long weeks with three kids under six! … Read more
Simon Day spoke to Sir John Kirwan about what he’s learned about living well – and why he’s determined to help young Kiwis learn, too. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title How to Enjoy Grappa Sir John Kirwan is relaxed. Standing in his kitchen chopping parsley and garlic, the view of Rangitoto … Read more
Ditch the limp mesclun and supermarket dressing: this is a salad that doesn’t muck around. This salad is a riff on an Ottolenghi recipe and is a wonderful combination of sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy. And what’s more, it gives silverbeet a whole new lease on life as it’s finely shredded and used as … Read more
Sure, you could buy it in a tub – hell, you could just buy a packet of ready-made pies – but that’s not the point. The point is Christmas contentment. I love a lot of things about Christmas in the United States. I love the cold, (sometimes) snowy weather in the Northeast. I love the … Read more
Inspired by the recently publicised onion-related peril of sausage sizzles, The Spinoff goes deep into the produce aisle and finds that getting your 5+ a day can be a risky business. A few weeks ago, a story came out that shocked right-thinking Antipodeans to their very cores. Bunnings Warehouse had issued a ‘serving suggestion’ advising … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Duncan Greive gets amongst a new fake mince from the deep south. As someone who loves the delicious taste and texture of animal meat, but has spent most of the past 25 years living as a vegetarian, fake meat … Read more