Virgil Evetts My daughter Olive (nine months) has now decided that Madre and Padre’s food is vastly more appealing than her own. If she’s up and about at meals times she quickly crawls over to the table and installs herself at our feet … Read more
Virgil Evetts As an impossibly long Indian summer finally retreats, it’s starting to feel a bit like winter ‘round these parts – in that sodden, clammy Auckland way. As we near the equinox the sun seems to only skim the … Read more
Virgil Evetts I never really got the point of persimmons. They struck me as a looks without substance sort of fruit – pretty and sweet, but ultimately forgettable. But age has mellowed my views, just as it mellows the flesh … Read more
With Royal wedding fever spreading around the world there are likely to be tea parties galore in celebration of the event. Whether you are a Royal watcher or not there is something lovely about the elegance of a tea … Read more
Virgil Evetts Avowed atheist I may be, but I can’t fault Christianity’s influence on baked goods. Some of the finest examples of the bakers’ art including Panetonne, Pandoro, Colomba, and of course Hot Cross Buns have their origins in Christian … Read more
Virgil Evetts Pity the poor anchovies. In the minds of many they’re a thing of derision: too fishy, too salty, too pungent and rank. But the joke of it is that even the most committed anchovophobes wolf them down … Read more
Virgil Evetts I have little time for substitutes. Sure if there’s a war on or something, but otherwise, no thanks. If you don’t mind, I’ll stick with real cream, real sugar, real meat. Substitution is just another kind of … Read more
Virgil Evetts For the most part, I believe that everything has its place in the kitchen and on the palate, and I’m not a great fan of shaking up these hierarchies. Across our many diverse food cultures we’ve spent thousands … Read more
Virgil Evetts Autumn proper is just about upon us. Mellow fruitfulness abounds, daylight saving has nearly danced its final flourish, and the leaves are all a-blushing. Sitting snugly between parched summer and dreary, dank winter, mid-autumn is peak season for … Read more
Virgil Evetts I used to view rye breads with deep suspicion. They belonged, I thought, to that smug family of foods designed to bring good health through bowel scouring and doer dullness. Well, I hadn’t reckoned on the baking skills … Read more
Virgil Evetts Along with cooler, clearer days and nights, autumn also brings with it the year’s greatest avalanche of produce. Eagerly anticipated fruit of every kind overwhelms our appetites and overflows our fruit bowls. But it doesn’t last long. Soon … Read more
Virgil Evetts We have a back-to-front way of looking at our seafood these days: salmon – flavoursome, farmed and fairly priced – is still viewed as a luxury product, while wild-caught snapper remains the stuff of ho-hum ( if extravagantly … Read more
Virgil Evetts Legend has it that Marco Polo brought the first ice cream recipe back to Europe after his lengthy jaunt on the far side of the great wall, but he needn’t have bothered, because it was already there
Virgil Evetts I’m always a bit iffy about singing the praises of imported produce, especially when it’s something we could be growing locally. But some things are just too good to forsake on principle. Californian blood oranges are once again … Read more
