Hi there folks, it has been a while since i made a post on our blog, but i am sad to say that this one is a rant......
i have recently discovered (while trying to source ingredients for our next event) that it is basically impossible to get fresh goose anywhere in New Zealand !!!!!!!
i was told by several very reputable suppliers of meat, poultry and game that 'we just don't have any fresh geese' and when i said that this is the point in the season that they should be being culled and therefore ....there must be some ....... i was told 'we bring them in live, put them INSIDE and fatten them up on GRAINS kill them and freeze them straight away'
this was, to say the least a very sad experience for me, no-one was prepared to allow these geese to be at their best ( by being fresh not frozen, by leaving them outside to fatten naturally against the winter cold, and to have a natural diet rather that what ever grains they could get cheapest no doubt) .
In New Zealand, we suffer from being in the southern hemisphere and as such when we want to eat goose (at Christmas)....it is not in season, goose is a traditional Christmas bird, but in the northern hemisphere when it is winter for Christmas. so i accept that i can't get a fresh goose at Christmas down here at the end of the world, but when we have so much good game and poultry going straight from slaughter to freezer and being fed rubbish i feel like screaming.
One supplier even dared to suggest that this approach was the only one ! If they were not all the way down in Rangiora i would have ran over and strangled them.....and grabbed a goose before it went into the freezer.
the fact is that in new Zealand we are behind the times in the food industry, there are valiant pioneers out there, forward thinking restaurateurs and suppliers, diners who are demanding (finally) basic food cooked perfectly etc, but when i have these experiences i want to scream at the top of my lungs WHAT ARE YOU DOING ! It seems there is still a long way to go until we can truly be a 'foodie country' (as i recently heard someone describe us as).
We have in New Zealand some of the best basic products to be found, we just often don't keep them here or don't respect them enough (like say.....throwing them in a freezer, feeding them shit, putting them in the wrong environment, not using the whole beast, central distribution in a country with the population of a small city and on and on....)
The completely honest reason i am so upset is because i wanted to serve people at our table goose.....because it is a mid-winter Christmas meal, but i can't because i will never put my name to frozen meat, never serve it to one of our guests, and never ever under any circumstances condone by purchasing, poor practices of food production that show no respect to the beast that has died for our eating pleasure.
Charlie Trotter once said ' some divine agent has given us all these lovely things to eat, the least we can do is to cook them with love and to appreciate them'
THERE IS NO LOVE IN A FREEZER.

P.S If anyone knows a farmer with geese ......i would love to know....i would change the menu at the eleventh hour for the right ingredients

Bastille Day supper

A big thank you to all our lovely guests that joined us for Bastille Day and a special thanks to Glen & Emma for letting us using their cafe (Super, Island Bay). We had a great evening and hope everyone enjoyed it too. Here is the menu and some pics...















Lillet Aperitif
Charcuterie Plate (pate, rillettes, ham & salami, with cornichons & boozy prunes)

Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese Crostinis

Cassoulet (Confit Pork Belly & Duck Leg, Toulouse Sausages, Harricot Beans)
Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke & Vegetables (Baby; Carrots, Turnips, Fennel), with Shallots, Confit Garlic & Marjoram
Green Salad
Sourdough by Mrs. Jones

Lemon Tart with Vanilla Creme Fraiche & Candied Lemon Peel

BBC podcast on the supperclubs movement

The fab and fiercely militant MsMarmitelover was on Radio 4 this week with Tim Hayward, who explores the links between a 1930s supperclub in Hampstead, at the Isokon building (built in the constructivist style) with Agatha Christie and other leading lights, with supperclubs in today's London.

The Isobar supperclub was already experimental with food, and also determined to keep dinners affordable and designed to promote interaction between intellectuals and artists. This is exactly what we would like to realize and find more in New Zealand: a contemporary salon that will foster great discussions and entertainement, get people together to socialize and interact, around a delicious table.

A very inspiring show, with a great insight on the movement, for those who still wonder what is a supperclub... Here is the link to the podcast:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/foodprog/foodprog_20100704-1300a.mp3

Enjoy the show and book a spot for our next supper!