March 24th, 2009

South Island Sojourn Part 1

 Raupo’s Vegetable Stack.Blenheim.

I have just returned from 10 days away and what an amazing 10 days they were!  Having chosen to see NZ, (on my son’s air dollars) instead of going to the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival, I have to say I don’t feel I was shortchanged. I met so many interesting people in  so many fields  from artists to winemakers and bed and breakfast hosts that I feel extremely stimulated and have taken on board the sign I saw in an Akaroa general store.” We would like everyone to know  we are  not participating in the recession!”

Undiscovered parts of Christchurch such as Sol Square were revealed to me and there were so many small acts of kindness bestowed on me that I felt very spoiled. Having visited the Foundation Foods’ Factory whose wonderful stocks and glazes I have used for some time, I was loaded up with product and driven to my next two stops as I was on foot that day.  After buying some blue cod for dinner then  Morbier cheese at  Mercato (a bit like Sabato) I was offered a ride back into town by yet another kind store owner. I did have a Wheelie bag but I appreciated the offer and accepted!  Had some exceptionally good homemade crumpets with a finger lickin’ lime and ginger syrup at the Crumpet Club in Durham St. That is one idea worth recipe testing!

Next stop, Governor’s Bay with a pit stop at the Lyttleton Farmers Market to stock up on supplies for a few days of cooking for my sister who is Line Producer  on a new TV drama  series being filmed on Banks Peninsula.I found a new variety of potato like Agria , fluffy mashing type. Unfortunately I cant remember it but it was a Maori name which I will try and find out soon. The venison rack we bought was expensive but we were feeding the producer so we lashed out!  The produce is really good at the Lyttleton Market (there is no supermarket there but an excellent food store called Ground Culinary Centre at 44 London St which stocks a number of things sold at the market plus Rachel Scott bread). In fact Lyttleton seems to be almost  all cafes and not much else.

I had some research to do for an article and so headed over to Akaroa .I called in to see Bruce and Carol Hyland at Maison de la Mer, a gorgeous B and B www.maisondelamer.co.nzI was enjoying myself so much I forgot to take any pictures but the website has plenty.Had a glass of wine at a cafe on the water’s edge called Truby’s (as it used to be the Plunket rooms) and did take a photo of that. I had been introduced to the owners of No 83 (another B and B ) by my sister and spent a very happy evening there in their company. They have some splendid sculpture in the garden and a bush fringed property just up the hill from town.

My return to Governor’s Bay was hair raising to say the least as my sister telephoned to ask if I could take some items to the production location in remote  Okain’s Bay. Now I’m not that fond of high winding roads, particularly with sheer drops, no matter how good the view is, as I’m usually too scared to notice. Let’s just  say this was a mission and a half to get down there. I hugged the centre line (yes, there was one of those, amazingly!) in fact crossed it a few times on the really scary bits and no cars came up the other way, thank heavens. Got a fright when A HUGE truck appeared just as I got to the bottom of the hill!By the time I got to Blenheim I was buzzing so when my hosts Toni and Terry Gillan told me the social calendar for the next few days I was ready to go! Five days of meeting new people, dinner parties and the like kept me humming. I put on a dinner for Toni and Terry. We had whitebait fritters where all I had to do to find whitebait was stroll across the road to the little market and pick some up from a stall . Delia Smith’s  tomato-stuffed capsicums were the first course, Duck Breast with cherries, mushroom risotto cakes and beans followed and we finished with nectarines topped with a macaroon mixture and baked served with a  passionfruit flavoured mascarpone and creme fraiche combo.

Raupo is one of the new cafes in Blenheim and Toni and I had coffee there after our walks!  Jan Bilton and I had lunch there too and the photo above was my  selection.  It was topped with bacon but could be a good vegetarian option without bacon. I really enjoyed it .

I must mention a wonderful garden I visited with Toni and Terry. They told me we were going to Domaine Georg Michel’s for dinner and it didn’t hit me  till we drove up the drive that this was a “garden” to visit. In fact when I spotted the Monet inspired bridge and the river running through the property I realised I had seen it on television many years ago.  I hadn’t brought my camera, as one doesn’t normally do so when going for dinner.Needless to say I growled at my hosts (nicely) for not warning me about just where we were going that evening.Do visit the website www.hortensiahouse.com  and then the garden when in the area, as it is worth it, particularly if you like hydrangeas.

As I was doing some work on an article about breakfast trends in B and B’s, Toni introduced me to two delightful couples who owned Brookhurst and The Peppertree. Brookhurst is a newish house but has a luxurious feel to it and charming hosts Brian and Helen understand how to spoil their guests.  Peppertree is very old ( see below).Werner and Heidi Pluss, originally from Switzerland, live on this 10 acre block with fruit trees, miniature cattle, sheep, olives and grape vines. They use much of the produce in preserves which are served at breakfast and even make their own wine.         I had missed the cherry season but  Blenheim is a lovely place to visit anytime particularly if you love food and wine.My next trip is to see the Autumn colours in Queenstown in April.

Posted by Sue Story  //  Filed in Gourmet travel, Uncategorized