Hard luck and hard boiled – Ostrich Eggs in Northland

I knew the far North has Kauri trees and beautiful beaches, but organic ostriches? I’d read about a couple of suppliers in an organics magazine and it all sounded very promising.

After numerous phone calls to disconnected phone numbers my sister-in-law (who appears to know everyone in Northland), tracked down the remains of the once aspiring ostrich industry – one bird. In a blip of a place named Kareponia, I met Kerry Hay who with his wife Lilac once owned a thriving ostrich egg hatchery.

Kerry’s story unravelled the classic boom and bust cycle that accompanied the establishment of Ostrich farming in Northland. After exiting the hatchery business in 2005 he sent 29 of his 30 breeding hens off to Taranaki.  As we sat and chatted the only bird that didn’t make the trip – B2 - began aggressively checking out my camera.

B2 escaped the final journey because she had a damaged wing. Stomping around the paddock she didn’t look too happy with my presence but settled down once she saw the camera was giving her no harm.

Kerry and Lilac now fatten up cattle on their land, a far less risky enterprise.

On departing the farm I was very generously presented with a freshly laid egg.

We carefully drove the egg home to Wellington and after some research boiled it for 90mins.  I was hoping for a slightly soft boiled finish. Once the egg was out of the pot I tried using a small knife to pry the top off gently, not wanting yellow yolk pouring out.

But on reaching the yolk it was hard boiled.  So I attacked it with more force. Out came a larger knife, hand saw, screwdriver and a hammer but it was the hacksaw that was most effective.

Ostrich B2

Ostrich B2

Ostrich egg in a pot

Tools for the job

Hard boiled ostrich egg

Oscar with ostrich egg

Kapiti Kitchen Space

The smells and taste of the Middle East came to Kapiti on Friday evening. 24 participants paid $50 per head to attend a chef-less cooking class at Kapiti College. Organised by Keryn Mells, the first Kapiti Kitchen Class, in teams of three, cooked recipes from the Ottolenghi book Simple. Although there were a few mishaps, the food was successfully turned out in less than two hours. Following laminated instructions, the participants cooked nine dishes that included chicken with ginger, miso and lime; mustardy cauliflower cheese; and fish cake tacos with mango, lime and cumin yogurt. Simple indeed.

Chocolate tasting in Wellington

Most boutique chocolate companies tell more or less the same story; machinery sourced from all over he world (the older the better), small-scale farmers in exotic places, micro scale production and a vision/passion to make artisan chocolate from bean to bar. With this in mind, how does the average consumer make head or tail of the competition? A tasting is a great place to start. In a recent tasting with Jo Coffey, prior owner of Wellington's L'affair au Chocolat I tasted bars from Canada, Holland, Australia and the Philippines, which all used imported beans, and two locally produced bars from Vanuatu and Fiji. The tasting threw up some surprising results.

Without going into too much detail, the favourites were Gabriel 80% Chuao (Venezuela) and Sirene's Ecuador 70%; someone commented they could eat more of the Fijana 72% due to it's lack of intensity; the Aelan Chocolate from Vanuatu (made with Santo Criollo beans) competed on flavour but suffered from more than a hint of smoke. The least favoured were Indonesia's Pipilten range and Australia's Bahen & Co Brazil 70%.

Getting hold of these bars is not straight forward, some coming from friends (we supplied the two Pacific Island bars) and others from online distributors of which there are at least two based in NZ. Between them they stock some of the highest rated bars made. Amedei is arguably the world's best and is available at All about Chocolate, and very well regarded American brands Taza and Dick Taylor can be found among others at The Chocolate Bar

How good is good chocolate? We had a group of friends for lunch recently and had the chance to compare a bar of Grenada Chocolate Company's 60% organic nib with a favourite New Zealand brand's 'boutique' range. Despite being stored in a fridge for nearly a year and looking much the worse for wear, the Granada chocolate left the competition in the dust and was ecstatically and unanimously praised.

On another occasion, a friend of ours was determined we would not change her preference for her supermarket purchased, NZ made favourite chocolate. After tasting a selection of bars from Pralus (including a 100%), she spat out the NZ product when asked to compare, saying it now tasted like plastic and berated us for destroying her favourite thing.

For those who want to become chocolate snobs, help is here.  The International Chocolate Awards are in their 7th year and have become well-known arbiters of good chocolate. They run regional and international awards each year. NZ made bars have already had some favourable reviews and it would be great to see NZ chocolate feature in the awards some day. Photos all taken on phone.

GoodBuzz in Wainuiomata

Kombucha, booch and SCOBY are new words in my vocab after a visit to photograph the GoodBuzz soft drink factory in Wainuiomata. The GoodBuzz process combines sugar, tea and water (from the Te Puna Wai Ora artesian aquifer in Petone) with the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and turns into an effervescent, healthy, non-alcoholic  drink.

In the short time GoodBuzz has been operating they already have  five kombucha brews in more than 60 cafes in Wellington, Christchurch, Hawkes Bay, New Plymouth and Nelson, and recently have been included in Auckland’s Nosh outlets.

The drinks come in five flavours - Origins, Green Jasmin, Lemon and Ginger, Jade Dew and Feijoia. A new brew made with coffee cherry (the outer red skin of  discarded coffee beans from  Go Bang in Petone)  with an amazing light apple flavour is coming soon.

Each  brew takes 8-10 days to ferment and another 7-10 days of bottle conditioning before heading out the door. The best before date is four months unchilled (a bonus when there is space restrictions in the fridge), and can be extended to nine months if refrigerated.

Another buzz emanating from the factory came from discovering owner Alex Campbell and I grew up in the same small Northland town – Kaikohe. This is where Alex’s first memories of kombucha came from – his grandmother Amy made what she called Manchurian Mushroom tea in the 1970’s. Kaikohe Kombucha - who would have thought?

Making Ruth Pretty's Xmas Cakes

Every year in August Ruth Pretty’s commercial kitchen gets into the mid-winter Christmas spirit.  It’s the start of a festive ritual which ends with more than 4000 Christmas cakes despatched for celebrations far and wide by the special December day.   The never-published Christmas cake recipe arrived hand-written after Ruth asked her staff for contributions for end of year client gifts.  Thirty five other recipes were tried but fell short of the magical combination.

Long-time Ruth Pretty staff member, Carla Carkeek bakes 74 cakes a day several days a week from August until December. One year 17,000 Christmas cakes were made as staff gifts when two banks merged (Carla had extra help for this one).  The cake won top prize in Christchurch’s 2007 Royal A&P Show commercial bakery section and at least one cake a day heads offshore, delivered mainly to expats in Asia and as far as soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The fruit is first soaked in sherry and after the cakes are cooked they get doused in brandy, ensuring a long life.

One cake in 36 is cut and tested, with the slices then devoured by visitors to Ruth’s shop. Made by Carla’s steady hands, the testing seldom finds errors. Although one year the team did pick up a change in the potency of Hansell’s essences after the company changed hands.

Watching her handle 23 different ingredients to make 74 cakes and prepare mis-en-plas for the next day’s 74, it’s easy to see why Carla is referred to as the Christmas Cake Queen.

Koshering Ruth Pretty's Kitchen

To be accepted as kosher, certain foods which are completely cooked by a non-Jew (bishul akum) may not be eaten, even if the foods are kosher and are cooked with kosher utensils. Ruth Pretty calls on a local Rabbi to sanction the food for the times she has catered Jewish events in Wellington (this was for a Bar Mitzvah). Foods that generally come under the category of bishul akum are:

•  Foods that cannot be eaten raw, such as meat or grains. (This excludes foods that can be eaten either cooked or raw, such as apples or carrots.)

•  Foods that are considered important, "fit to set upon a king's table." There are various opinions regarding what are considered "royal foods."

The key is for the Rabbi to participate in the cooking in a meaningful way in order to render the food kosher. If a non-Jew cooked the food alone, without Jewish participation, the food and utensils are not regarded as kosher.

These photos were taken with 35mm film and I can't help thinking they have a natural and organic feel, resonating well with the Koshering.

Buying Local Food | Murray Lloyd Photograph

The markets will be crammed with lovely fresh produce now spring has arrived and in NZ we can find locally produced food easily. Not so elsewhere.

In Britain, a local government report said a quarter of food could not be verified as local in one county. In North Wales only half the meat sold as Welsh lamb was found to be Welsh and in an English restaurant "Hampshire spring lamb" was sold which was actually from New Zealand.

In Canada the government have changed the criteria on what constitutes local. The government say the food just has to come from within the same province to be called local. In Canada this could mean a 1500km journey. Previously a 50km radius was deemed local.  Here is a funny take on local food.

Oritain is a New Zealand company based in Dunedin specialising in food verification. Their mission statement states Oritain can independently and scientifically verify the origin of food products to a forensic standard. The consumers in Canada and Britain would clearly benefit from their services.

Film Noir Photos in Kapiti | Murray Lloyd Photography

It was good fun trawling the streets of Kapiti to take photos of new LED lighting. Other locations were more industrial but this one felt like film noir. Maybe I should have posed a model staring into space out of an open car door in a similar way to Gregory Crewdson. He established an international following creating cinematic, dreamlike images of American suburbs.

Giant Leek at Country Show | Murray Lloyd Photograph

I have seen photos of over sized pumpkins appearing in the media but never a leek. The leek portrait has been published on the cover of Martin Parr's 2014 book Black Country Stories. I don't know what they feed their leeks in England's Black Country but a portrait I photographed recently shows another way to make your produce seem large.

Portrait of smiling boy holding a bunch of fresh garlic in garden.

Fake Food at Dowse Art Museum | Murray Lloyd Photography

Cigarette butts, painted flies, an earthworm, and fake sushi

now showing at Wunderrūma: New Zealand Jewellery (finishes 28th Sept). If you are still hungry, next door the food theme continues with sheep entrails (be thankful for the BW photo) swiss rolls and neenish tarts in a very well executed exhibition of Peter Peryer's work ending 23rd November. Bon Appetit

Neenish Tarts photograph by Peter Peryer at Dowse art museum.

French Flag Flies at Otaki | Murray Lloyd Photography

The French flag was flying again at PukeKaraka Marae in Otaki where guests assembled for Ruth Pretty’s “Casssoulet and Karaka Trees”, a Wellington on a Plate event.

Fr. Jean-Baptiste Comte, a French Roman Catholic Priest founded the mission at Pukekaraka 170 years ago in 1844 and brought with him a typical French passion for food.

Pukekaraka Marae in Otaki, New Zealand.

Together with local Maori, Comte built a flourishing community with three flour mills, maize, wheat and food crops that supplied shops in villages from Otaki all the way to Wellington. Was this the first Wellington on a Plate?

Guests being invited onto Pukekaraka Marae in Otaki..

Ruth Pretty and her father Eric.

After a formal welcome onto the marae by Ngāti Kapu and an appropriately crowing rooster, guests were invited into 'Hine Nui o te Ao Katoa' which translates into 'Mary, Great Woman of the Whole World, Woman of Light'.

Hine Nui o te Ao Katoa, Pukekaraka, Otaki.

Interior of Hine Nui o te Ao Katoa at Pukekaraka Marae in Otaki.

Interior of Hine Nui o te Ao Katoa at Pukekaraka Marae in Otaki.

Dressed in 1840's attire, Fr. Phil Cody prepares to say Grace

Baked potato and eel rillette by Ruth Pretty.

Guests dined on baked potato and eel rillettes before the much anticipated cassoulet was served with a salad of pear, walnut and perennial greens

Menu with Ruth Pretty's cassoulet ingrediants displayed

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Cassoulet and salad.

Guests dining at long table.

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Rawiri leading the singing at Pukekaraka Marae.

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

A walk up the 'Cavalry ' was needed after the wholesome lunch where Rawiri Rikihana gave a short history of the area.

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

St Mary’s Church provided a fascinating backdrop with both local custodian Irene Mackle and Mary McLeod (Martha’s Pantry) giving an intimate account of the beautiful interior. Restored lovingly in the early 1990's it was easy to see why this Church has the highest Historic Places rating. Built in 1859, St Mary's is the oldest Catholic Church that has been in constant use in New Zealand

St Mary's Church at Pukekaraka Marae.

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Iphone photo of little French Cakes on plate by Ruth Pretty

Wellington on a plate event by Ruth Pretty

Fr. Comte flew the French flag to signify feast days for special prayers. As champion of harmonious relations between Maori, Europeans and Priests I am sure he would have had no hesitation hoisting it once again  for Ruth’s “Cassoulet and Karaka Trees”

Mobile Fish 'n' Chips at Quainton | Murray Lloyd Photography

Mushy peas or curry sauce with your Fish 'n' Chips? Quainton, a very cute English village of about 1200, located just north of London, gets visited every Wednesday evening from 5.30 – 8 by a mobile fish and chip van. Howe and Co have been delivering fish and chips from “coast to door” for more than 80 years, currently making hundreds of stops to more than 90 villages in a 50km radius. New Zealand does not have the same mobile service with fish and chips (although Mr Whippy hints at this) but we do at least have a mobile butcher in Waikanae.

The mushy peas certainly add a fresh colour to the golden tones but the quality of the fish 'n' chips did not match the high standard of service. Maybe I am spoiled by the excellent quality easily found in New Zealand.

Thatched roof house in Quainton, England

Thatched roof house in Quainton, England

Thatched roof house in Quainton, England

Quainton Garage in England

Village store sign in Quainton Village.

Howe and Co fish and Chip mobile van in Quainton Village, England.

Howe and Co fish and Chip mobile van in Quainton Village, England.

From coast to door signage on side of mobile fish and chip van.

Howe and Co fish and Chip mobile van in Quainton Village, England.

Howe and Co fish and Chip mobile van in Quainton Village, England.

Close up of fish and chip dinner.

Close up of tubs of mushy peas with fish and chips.

7 stands, 3 lights and a bagel | Murray Lloyd Photography

The saying photography is 90% “moving furniture” and 10% photography was proved when I was asked to photograph one pulled pork bagel for Wholly Bagels in Wellington. On location, at night, saw three lights, one background, two diffusers, two bounce boards and seven light stands in action. Pulled pork originated in the southern states of the US but seems to be everywhere now.

Pulled pork bagel from Wholly Bagels in Wellington.

Running of the Sheep in France | Murray Lloyd Photography

The Fete de la Transhumance is celebrated in St Remy de Provence annually on Whit Monday. This traditional French festival commemorates the days farmers trekked for days to take their sheep from drought stricken lowland in search of greener pasture in the mountains. I am sure Van Goph (sans left ear) would have appreciated the 3000 sheep, goats and donkeys being herded through the town for the 31st Fete de la Transhumance. He was living (self-admitted) in an asylum in St Remy between 1889 and 1890. The river of sheep winding through the narrow streets of the town resembled a readymade impressionist painting.

Photographers in action on street in St Remy de Provence

Unlike the running of the bulls in Pamplona, no instant fines were handed out to people with cameras. The sheep did two laps of the town before departing – I hope they did not notice the menus.

Leapard skin clothes on two youg girls.

Infatable horse at the Fete de la Transhumance

Woman with shaggy hair in street.

Fete de la Transhumance

Farmer herding sheep in street at the Fete de la Transhumancein St Remy de Provence

Sheep in street at the Fete de la Transhumancein St Remy de Provence

Sheep in street at the Fete de la Transhumancein St Remy de Provence

Sheep in street at the Fete de la Transhumancein St Remy de Provence

Boys playing with sheep at the Fete de la Transhumance in St Remy de Provence

sheep at the Fete de la Transhumance in St Remy de Provence

Fete de la Transhumance at st remy de provence, france.

Black dog watching sheep in parade.

French restaurant sign advertising rack of lamb.

More to Maketu than Masterchef | Murray Lloyd Photography

It is no surprise Maketu produced the latest MasterChef winners, the town has food in its bones. Maketu was named after the origonal kumara growing fields in Hawaiki by Te Arawa when their canoe landed at the mouth of the Kaituna River in 1340. The river and estuary have been historically referred to as the "food bowl" of the Te Arawa. 400 years later the Robin White painting Fish and Chips, Maketu immortalised the local fish and chip shop. Not sure why the shop has not been given the Robin White treatment.

Maketu Pies carry on the food vibe. They distribute pies all over the North Island and have recently introduced a gourmet range called Sunday's Best. Their standard range is well regarded and includes a highly rated mussel pie.

Historically the estuary provided a diverse range of seafood including pipi, koterotero (sea-anenome), tuangi (cockles), flounder, titiko (mud snail), mussels,  pāua, pūpū, scallops, kukuroa (horse mussels) and fish. It seems appropriate the winners of MasterChef Karena and Kasey Bird are described as "seafood loving sisters"  and their signature dish is paua ravioli.

Photo of Robin White painting "fish and chips, Maketu".

Fish and chip shop in Maketu, New Zealand.

Maketu pies inside fridge.

Portrait of man holding a Maketu pie in front of advertising design.

Italian Flavours in Paraparaumu | Murray Lloyd Photography

Basil grown from seed in full sunshine, Isle of Capri tomatoes freshly plucked from the garden and fresh buffalo mozzarella - Insalata Caprese -  It is quite simply one of the greatest pleasures of summer and is one of my favourite dishes . The flavours and textures work together brilliantly - here's to Italian food.

Fresh live clams from NZ to USA | Murray Lloyd Photography

Working every day of the year, the team at Dunedin's Southern Clams can have an average of 4.5 tonnes of clams ready for market in six hours. In winter the team in the water harvest by torchlight and even have waves crashing over them on occasions. Director Roger Belton started Southern Clams in the early 1980's after his French girlfriend took him to experience the French food culture. Eighty percent of the clams are exported, particulary to the east coast of the USA where the large Italian poplulation need them for Spagetti alle Vonglole. The remaining clams are sold domestically at restaurants, wholesalers and the New World and Pak n Save supermarkets.

Southern Clams take sustainability very seriously even investing in forestry in order to be carbon accountable. They have never harvested their full quota of clams and are contantly looking for new ways to reduce bycatch.

Southern clams barge loaded in mist.

loading up clam shells in Dunedin

I was just thankful my waders didn't leak.

Clam shells being returned to seafloor from boat.

Clam harvester being taken from boat.

Harvesting clams in Blueskin Bay

Harvesting clams in Blueskin Bay

Harvesting clams in Dunedin Harbour.

Portrait of Roger Belton, owner of Southern Clams, standing in sea.

Red bags of clams on seafloor

Southern Clams

Close up look at Blueskin Bay Clams.

Harvesting clams at Blueskin Bay.

Loading sacks of clams in Blueskin Bay.

Loading sacks of clams in Blueskin Bay.

Freshly harvested clams on barge at Blueskin Bay, New Zealand

Fully loaded barge of fresh clams at Blueskin Bay.

Roger Belton, Managing Director at Southern Clams on small outboard boat.

Close up look at clam recruitment.

Clams at Blueskin Bay, New Zealand.

Clams being sorted in factory

Clams being shucked for chowder.

Whiteboard of clam sizes.

Sorting fresh clams for export

Sorting fresh clams for export

Bags of fresh clams ready for export.

7 whiskies, haggis , Wellington | Murray Lloyd Photography

Half a century of haggis history was piped into Wellington College’s Firth Hall to celebrate the final Regional Wines and Spirits whisky tasting of the year. Highly sought after tickets were only made available to regular whisky imbibers at Regionals’ events throughout the year. The Haggis was delivered with pomp and poetry before being served with mash and washed down with seven different whiskies. The recipe for the haggis originated at Tommy Jack’s Miramar butchery in the 1960’s and presently resides with the Island Bay butcher, Don Andrews. The whiskies were 10year old Ardberg, a Longrow Rundlets and a 2001 Kilderkins, a Bunnahabhain, Glendronach 1994, a Highland Park, a Longmore 2002 and a Bowmore aged 12 years.

Haggis cooking in pots on stovetop.

Haggis being held on tray.

Man holding ceremonial haggis knife

Haggis being piped in to Regional Wines whisky tasting.

Haggis being piped in to Regional Wines whisky tasting.

Haggis being piped in to Regional Wines whisky tasting.

Haggis being piped in to Regional Wines whisky tasting.

Haggis being piped in to Regional Wines whisky tasting.

crowd at whisky tasting in Wellington.

Man in kilt cutting open haggis.

Man in kilt with haggis.

Man in kilt pouring whisky.

Close up photo of hand holding whisky

Crowd at whisky tasting.

Haggis

Close up view of haggis after being cat open.

People queuing for haggis and mash.

6 bottles of whisky lined up.