Eating Otago – Virgil Evetts Like many New Zealanders, I’m better travelled internationally than within my own country. It just seems so much easier to fly to Queensland than Queenstown. We’re funny like that in New Zealand. Maybe it’s our … Read more
One of the wonderful things about summer cooking is that meals can be decided at the last minute and quickly cooked or just assembled. I am a big fan of salads, I love contrast in food and with salads it … Read more
Mollusc envy Virgil Evetts Three weeks off work has allowed me to spend many a languid day in my sunny little garden, idly plucking plums and boysenberries, reading a good deal of trashy fiction, eating mountains of very good ( … Read more
Virgil Evetts I’m not a regular kneader. For the most part I find the rules and regulations of baking altogether too stuffy. I really don’t like being told what to do in the kitchen and baking recipes always read like … Read more
My love of Christmas is far from logical. I don’t do God nor the well meaning ramblings of his son, yet I still get all warm and fuzzy come mid December. Such is the power of nostalgia I guess. … Read more
Loathsome, nasty things… Virgil Evetts Fear is a funny thing. As clever little bi-peds, we usually manage to override the uber- anxious mother that is our instincts, but from time to time something just scares the be-jesus out of us … Read more
Pimp my plate – Virgil Evetts It’s all about the sauce, don’t you think? Well it is for me. Although I’m mostly a dry food person, I really like a little bit on the side, so to speak, just to … Read more
The sesason of gift giving is almost upon us and now is exactly the right time to start thinking of gifts from the kitchen that are made with thought and care and often more meaningful than more commercial choices. Over … Read more
Kitchen myths and pretensions – Virgil Evetts Cooking is my favourite thing. It calms me when I’m stressed and excites me when I’m down. I think about food when I open my eyes each day and it’s often my last … Read more
Six of the best – Virgil Evetts Garden centres are just like supermarkets. That apparently friendly, welcoming layout is carefully designed by evil retail psychologists, who employ all manor of arcane trickery to manipulate the hapless shopper into leaving with … Read more
Cooking with herbs – Lynley Ruck “I believe that if ever I had to practice cannibalism, I might manage if there were enough tarragon around.”-James Beard, American Chef and Author Leave your tastebuds in no doubt that Spring has arrived … Read more
Burning with Desire – Virgil Evetts Despite being full of promise, and all that la-de da, spring is a tricky beast when it comes to dressing and eating- Over exuberant salads are still bone-chilling but a pot of pea soup … Read more
Savoury Biscuits Text by Tammy McLeod When we think of baking and filling the tins, it is usually sweet biscuits, cakes and slices which spring to mind. However, home made savoury biscuits and crackers are so delicious and so easy … Read more
The Art of Blending Alison McKee In the late 18th century French nobleman Marquis d’Albignic, impoverished by the French Revolution and exiled in London, supported himself by making the rounds of grand dinner parties mixing salad dressings. D’Albignic became an … Read more
