BUBBLES, STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM

NEW 2011  Marlborough SLOWFOOD WEBSITE


www.slowfoodmarlborough.org.nz


Please click on our new website for all information and events






WHEN:              WEDNESDAY 1 December @ 5-30pm to 7-30pm

WHERE:                HEDGEROWS HYDROPONICS

                                                    Corner Old Renwick Road and Rene Street

Members  $5-00 per person

Non Members $15 per Person

RSVP Monday 29 November to

Come along and enjoy  a cool bubbly with fresh tasty strawberries and cream

View the large strawberry growing glasshouses and learn about how Ian and Mary have developed their iconic fresh strawberries. Hear their story, view a video, play patanque and chat with fellow Slow Food enthusiasts  

Sample a strawberry directly from the vine

Try a chocolate coated strawberry

Relax for a couple of hours before Xmas hits 

November Slow Food Marlborough - Herzogs

Thanks again to Herzog for putting on one of Slow Food Marlborough's most popular events - a true highlight of our annual calendar of activities.

This year enjoy a cooking demonstration by Herzog's wonderful chefs as they prepare lunch with fresh seasonal ingredients,  a vineyard and winery tour and finish with a long lunch - enjoying what you've seen prepared earlier, with a glass of Herzog's fine wine.

13 November from 10.30, with lunch from 12 noon to 2.00 pm - more details attached.

Numbers are strictly limited to 40 people, and until 5 November, we will only be taking bookings from members. 

Cost is $25 for members and $40.

RSVP please to Samantha Young at Herzog - samantha@herzog.co.nz or ph 572 8770.

From Thistle to Table - Globe Artichoke Cooking Demonstration

To book your place please fill in the form by clicking here


5 pm until 7 pm

Monday, 18 th October ( rain date: Wed 20th)

Marlborough Slow Food is proud to announce our monthly October Food Activity and invite all to join us in celebrating the humble yet very tasty Globe Artichoke. Available in season for about three months of the year this Cooking demo and  tasting will certainly inspire you to use the Globe Artichoke more !

Tim Newsham and Kerry Raeburn will host this feast of Artichokes at 72 Ferry Road, Spring Creek  (last driveway on the right before the Ferry Bridge).  Learn how to prepare and unlock the Globe Artichokes secrets the easy way.    Artichokes are  highly regarded in Italy, France, North Afica and California and yet are more likely to be  put in  floral displays than eaten  in NZ.  Local Chefs Piero Rocco and Chris Fortune will educate and tempt you to use the Globe Artichoke in ways that will make you come back for seconds and thirds.

Slow food members are free and $10 for all other participants.  RSVP by 13 th October to 

slowfoodmarlborough@gmail.com

Italian Wine Tasting Wednesday 11th August 2010

On a clear winter night, with the sun just setting over the vineyards of Marlborough our group of 30 people enjoyed a wonderful evening tasting wine from the fabulous Piemonte region of Italy with the very knowledgeable Simon Kelly from Lubrication wines. The venue for the evening was the Italian inspired BEC Luxury Lodge which is run by husband and wife duo Dave & Sarah Anderson.

Simon started the evening with a tasting of his white wine “Arneis”, which is currently sold out awaiting his next shipment then moved into the very big red wines that were delightfully different from what we are usually able to try here in NZ.

The wines tasted were:

Monchiero Carbone Recit Arneis 2009

Dolcetto d’Alba ‘Bric Del Salto’ DOC 2008

Langhe Nebbiolo DOC 2008

Barbera d’Alba ‘Pairolero’ DOC 2007

Barbaresco ‘Curra’ DOCG 2005

Barbaresco ‘Pajore’ DOCG 2006

Tamara (Simon’s partner) who has lived in Italy and is a wine maker herself at Yealands in Marlborough created a wonderful assortment of traditional Italian “Cincetti” (Like tapas) to accompany the wines.  Our taste buds were treated to her fresh foccacia, arancini balls and chicken liver on crostini while Lodge chef Dave created a traditional pumpkin gnocchi with burnt sage butter as well as tiramisu, both from Sarah’s (nee Gianelly) Italian family recipes. Also to enjoy was a selection of Italian cured meats and salami from local artisan butchery ‘The Village Butcher’.

A hugely successful night of Italian indulgence was had by all and many requests to repeat the event at some time in the future.  A big thank you to Simon Kelly for his wonderful wines and presentation and to Tamara for her gorgeous food!  Wines can be purchased through Simon Kelly www.lubricationwines.com and we look forward to many more successful events at BEC Luxury Lodge www.beclodge.co.nz

NZ BBQ tradition @ Clos Henri

 

 

Any foreigner visiting NZ is gladly surprised by the NZ BBQ tradition. BBQ in Marlborough appears to be a sacred cooking pot, a moment to share with friends and family whether in the garden, in the Marlborough sounds, or on the boat. Name a place to have a BBQ, it’s probably been done already by kiwis.

At Clos Henri we decided to take that great tradition, forget about French cuisine, and get Slow Food lovers to enjoy the sun of Marlborough with some fantastic meat… on 2 BBQs … the idea was to compare gaz BBQ with vine shoots BBQ. But before eating, we had to do some exercise in the vineyard: our winemaker and viticulturist showed the purpose of vine shoots – starting with pruning process and use, then explaining how to make vine shoots bundles, and finally showing at the winery the use for them (as filters in the red tanks during the fermentations).

David Woodley, from the Village Butcher in Blenheim, gave explanations on how he ages his meat, and chooses the best pieces, as well as how he smokes his bacon. Finally he gave few tips to cook perfect steaks on the BBQ.

At the menu was an aged angus ribeye steak, some greek style sausage and New Orleans andouille.

After a difficult start of the fire on the vine shoot BBQ – which reminded us that it is most certainly the reason why gaz BBQ is commonly used – we were able to compare the flavours on the BBQ. To be precise, the tenderness of the meat was not affected, nor was the moisture, but the flavours were very distinct. The vine shoots were from a mix of pinot noir and sauvignon blanc shoots, to which we wouldn’t make any differences once burnt. These shoots had been used during harvest as filter in our tanks; therefore they had been ‘soaked’ into wine for a little while and were still carrying the flavour in their wood. The smokiness and the perfume given by the wine to the meat on the vine shoots BBQ was quite something.

The votes for better taste were unanimously for vine shoot BBQ!

Special thank you to David from The Village Butcher for his beautiful, flavoursome and tender meat!

Slow Food Marlborough August 11 th 2010

6-8pm, Wednesday 11 August
BEC Luxury Lodge, 81 Cob Cottage Rd

Italy is the birthplace of the international Slow Food Movement. For
Slow Food Marlborough's August event, Sarah and Dave Anderson from BEC
Luxury Lodge will host Simon Kelly from Lubrication Wines for an
evening of Italian food and wine delights.  Simon will take guests
through a formal but fun tasting of 6 special Italian wines - 1 white
and 5 reds. After the tasting, mingle and enjoy Italian-styled nibbles
in the wonderful setting overlooking Blenheim and Cloudy Bay.

Limited to 24 guests - Slow Food financial members will receive
priority for bookings.

$15 for members, $25 for non-members - to cover wine costs.

Some bottles retail for up to $80, so this is a great opportunity to
taste some special wines (available at favourable prices on the night)
and great value too.

Please RSVP to Sarah Anderson: info@beclodge.co.nz

Slow Food Marlborough July BBQ !

Summer might seem a long way off here in Marlborough ("Marl-brrrrr"), but July is BBQ season in France, so join Slow Food Marlborough at Clos Henri for a look at BBQ'ing with a French vineyard twist.

The Clos Henri winemaker and viticulturalist will take us through the vineyard and winery - making 'shoot bundles' and showing you their secret use in the winery.

David Woodley from The Village Butcher will then take us through a comparative BBQ - one on gas, and one cooked using the shoot bundles we've prepared earlier as fuel - plus hints on BBQ'ing meat.

David will have some special BBQ treats for us: some dry-aged (not vacuum-packed, wet aged) pasture-raised angus rib-eye (fully traceable back to farm), New Orleans Andouille, Greek Sausage and Bacon.

Clos Henri Vineyard, 639 State Highway 63, West Coast Rd, RD1 Blenheim

Sunday 25 July, from 10.30 am to 2.00 pm

$5 Slow Food International Members, $15 otherwise - to cover the selection of special meats from The Village Butcher, Blenheim.

BYO salads, bread, refreshments, glasses, crockery and cutlery.

RSVP to cellardoor@closhenri.com

We're hoping for fine, clear weather, but the event will go ahead regardless - with plenty of covered spaces we can use.

See you then !

Knife Sharpening 20 May 2010 AND HARVEST DINNER

SLOW FOOD MARLBOROUGH 

HARVEST DINNER

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

Join us to recognise and celebrate

Marlborough’s local producers.

 

Friday 18 June 2010, from 5.30pm

Barrel Room, Marlborough Vintners’ Hotel

190 Rapaura Rd

 

$50 per person

BYO wine, cash bar also available

 

Three course, set menu

featuring local Marlborough produce.

Marlborough Farmers’ Market Awards presentation.

 

TICKETS LIMITED, AND MUST BE PRE-PURCHASED

- NO TICKET SALES ON THE NIGHT -

Get yours now by contacting:

Sue Gibbs: sue@witherhills.co.nz, 578-1858 (evenings)

Sally Woolhouse: info@lusatori.com 

Many thanks to 

Vicki Young of bon vivant corporate catering   vicki@bvgourmet.co.nz   

and

Volker Schmitt of Sharpen up Knife Services  volkerschmitt@hotmail.com

for another great Slow food workshop, 25 foodies (or is that Kniffies) learnt how to sharpen knives and use them correctly .  If you would like to contact Volker then email volkerschmitt@hotmail.com or phone 5776776 to.  

We learned how to Brunoise, Miropoix and Julienne as well as the finer points of keeping a sharp edge.  Safety is number one and a sharp knife is less likely to cut ourselves than a sharp one

Land of Milk and Honey - Seresin Estate

Back to basics: Seresin organic apprentice Erin Kenyon, 18, from Tauranga, milks a jersey cow.

Marlborough's Slow Food group was treated to a little slice of the simple life on Saturday with a visit to the land of milk and honey.

Seresin Estate near Renwick is best known for its viticulture, but beneath its grape growing exterior the company's biodynamic philosophy based on the work of Austrian Rudolph Steiner has created a few other simple pleasures.

Beehives produce honey while the fresh milk from jersey cows is churned into butter or whipped into cream.

Mr Steiner was famous for his ecological and sustainable farming system, which is closely aligned with the ideas behind organic farming.

Seresin Estate vineyard assistant Wendy Tillman said the earth was "alive" and needed to be taken care of.

"Agriculture these days has evolved into taking what you can from the land, but we have to replace what we take from it and leave as little footprint as possible."

The cow provided manure, which helped invigorate the soil, and also produced milk which could be used in the making of butter and cream.

The bees produced honey and pollinated plants, she said.

"Every biodynamic farm shouldn't be without a beehive or a cow, it's another integral organism."

Slow Food Marlborough was established in 2008 and celebrates produce grown in the region.

The group meets once a month at different locations around the region.

Committee member Chris Fortune said the concept was about "back to basics" and the fundamentals of how products were produced.

"We all lead such busy lives working our arses off, but quite often it's then simple things in life pass us by.

"Where does milk come from? How does it get to the table?"

A committee made up of about six people decides when and where the group will meet each month.

Mr Fortune said the group selected Seresin Estate for the latest round of Slow Food Marlborough because beneath its viticultural exterior it was the land of milk and honey.

"These guys are doing different stuff to most other wineries in Marlborough and New Zealand are doing."

The next day on the Slow Food Marlborough agenda is knife sharpening at NMIT on May 11.

THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY

     

Seresin Estate is hosting a special event for Slow Food Marlborough, Saturday 10 April at their Home Vineyard.

Suitable for the whole family - have a go at milking Seresin's house cow, make butter and cream to enjoy with freshly baked scones and organic preserves.   Get up close and personal with a bee-hive in the Seresin Estate orchard - learn how Seresin manages it's hives and enjoy some recently-harvested honey to enjoy with scones too.

Saturday 10 April

8.45 am, for 9am start

Seresin Estate Home Vineyard

Enter at 85 Bedford Rd, Renwick, go up the drive, turn left at the top (away from the winery and cellar door) and carry on to the vineyard buildings.

Concludes with morning tea at 10 - 10.30 am.

FREE

Please RSVP for catering purposes: slowfoodmarlborough@gmail.com

Marlborough Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Thursday 10 December, 4.00 pm - 6.00 pm

Marlborough Vintners' Hotel

Rapaura Rd

RSVP: slowfoodmarlborough@gmail.com

The very first Terra Madre Day is being held on 10 December - celebrating Slow Food International's 20th anniversary and to recognise the importance of supporting local food producers.

To recognise the day, as part of events happening all over the world, Slow Food Marlborough is holding a “Marlborough Mad Hatter's Tea Party”.  Bring some locally produced food and drink, and enjoy it in the relaxed setting on the patio and under the cherry trees at Marlborough Vintners Hotel.

There will be a treasure hunt and local berries and cherries supplied for children - and maybe even some locally produced chocolates - so bring along your children, or someone else's !

This is a Sun-Smart event, supported by the Marlborough Cancer Society and Cancer Society representatives will be judging - with a Slow Food prize for the ‘Maddest hat’. 

It's also a chance to 'take a breather' and slow down before the Christmas rush, and in keeping with the season, we'll be collecting food donations and gold-coin donations for charity.

Thursday 10 December, 4.00 pm - 6.00 pm

Marlborough Vintners' Hotel

Rapaura Rd

RSVP: slowfoodmarlborough@gmail.com

BYO Food and Refreshments

Marlborough food, drinks, and ingredients please.

Fantastic Fish at Herzog

As with last year's bread-making, there was a strong response to the chance of attending a demonstration at the fantastic Herzog winery and restaurant.

The focus this year was on fish - the Blue Warehou - a species available all year round and caught mainly in the Cook Strait coasts and off Westland.

First of all the four Herzog chefs, each with a small group, demonstrated how to fillet the fish - the initial removal of the fins, then carefully cutting along the bony area to ease away the meat.

The result from the delicate operation was a fabulous, fleshy and juicy fillet. A few pin bones remaining were then removed.

Three recipes were then prepared.

A piece of the fillet was cut off for marinating. The marinade was a combination of seeds and herbs. This was packed on top of the fish fillet for refrigeration for 24 hours minimum.

Secondly, a Blue Warehou roll: wafer thin slivers of fish were sliced from the top of the fillet - unbelievably thinly - although we were assured it wasn't a problem if we didn't get the slices quite that thin! The filling was mixed and placed down the middle of the fillet which was then rolled up in a sausage shape. This was then put in the freezer until it was firm and easier to slice.

The third recipe was marinated Blue Warehou with wasabi cream and orange & basil vinaigrette. Again, thin slices of fish were placed on cling-film. The filling was then put on the centre of the fish, the edges of the cling-film pulled up and twisted to seal. The vinaigrette was served on the side.

Samples of all these were brought to us - while we enjoyed some wonderful Herzog wine - and were tasted with great enjoyment and gusto. They certainly weren't slow to disappear from the platters.

(With thanks to Sally Woolhouse for the article and pictures, and special thanks to Therese and Hans Herzog and the team at Herzog Winery and Restaurant for another special Slow Food Experience)

Compost preparation October 09 and November 09

Look in Upcoming eventts for more information on Saturday 14 November 09

Herzog Winery & Restaurant, 81 Jeffries Road, Blenheim

9.00 - 10.30 am with Herzog wines afterwards. Make a lunch reservation if you want to linger.

With thanks to Hans and Therese for their support of Slow Food Marlborough and their sponsorship of this event. Seewww.herzog.co.nz

To RSVP and arrange payment contact:  Sue Gibbs:  Susan@witherhills.co.nz, Ph 03 520 8270.

(Slow Food Members, no need to RSVP to Sue if you've already RSVP'd)

About 25 enthusiastic souls gathered at our place in Kaituna to experience Compost making first hand and to learn a little about Bio Dynamic farming. The weather managed to behave itself for most of the afternoon however it did deteriorate towards 5-00pm so the planned socialising with the native birds in our eucalypt trees was put on hold.

After a brief summary about our heritage fruit and vegetables we split into two groups. One was entertained by Sean Phillips on the art of building a Fungal compost heap. Fungal compost is most suited to and will be used on our Fruit Trees. We started with a base layer of Chipped Fresh Gorse, Pine Needles and Wet Hay. This was covered with a slurry of Chicken Manure. Sean explained how Cow Manure was the best but unfortunately our fresh supply was located at the top of our hill so we opted for second best. The base layer was followed by several layers of Green Grass, 1 year old Wood Chips, Wet Hay, Lime, Rock Phosphate, Pine Needles, and Gorse. The Wet Hay is the top of each layer and is covered with a slurry of the Chicken Manure. Sean explained the importance of the layering, getting the correct moisture content and green material. Despite all of the science Sean assured the people gathered that almost anything could go into a good compost including weeds. The compost heats up to approx 65 degrees which kills any weed seeds. A dead sheep was one example of possible ingredients. All that remains when the compost is complete is the bones. Most home gardeners do not have access to dead sheep. The finished heap measured approx 2.5 meters in length, 1.5 meters wide and 1.5 meters high.        

The second group took a tour of the property. Sharyn was joined by Wendy Sukeena who had generously offered her time to share her Bio Dynamic knowledge. We started with our small cold frame where we have a number seedlings including our heritage Beetroot, Lettuces, Spring Onions. These are some of the vegetables we will have on sale at the Farmers Market from mid November.   The group them proceeded to our small Glass House where our heritage Tomatoes, Basil, Chillies and Capsicums are taking shape. From there it was to the Peach and Gooseberry plots. The application of the bio dynamic Cow Pat Pit was explained by Wendy. The group proceeded past our 6 friendly Steers enjoying fresh pasture grasses. Our irrigation system which utilises rainfall during the Winter and Spring flowing from the hills to our small pond from where we pump it to 4 storage tanks comfortably nestled in the pine trees half way up our hill. From here gravity does its work during the hot summer months. The group proceeded through our apple orchard of 400 heritage apple trees comprising 16 varieties. We hope these will start producing within the next year or so. Past our Pure Bred Rhode Island Red Chooks also enjoying fresh green pasture the group finished with the turning of our first Cow Pat Pit another important facet of bio dynamic farming.

The groups swapped experiences after about an hour with the tour finishing around 5-15pm.

A few souls stayed to share a beer, wine and some wild venison. The problems of the province were solved over the ensuing 2 or 3 hours. 

Our special thanks to Sean and Wendy and to all of those who visited our property. We hope you enjoyed the afternoon and learned something from your experince.

Thank you

Neville and Sjharyn White

PS Anyone may call us if you have any questions regarding the day Tel 579 1947   

ThymeBank - Slow Food Marlborough

For information on this months event - Composting - go to upcoming events




Martin Irch gave us a great tour of Thymebank, on Hammerichs road. All sorts of salads and aromatic herbs are grown there, with the concern of supplying local restaurants and supermarkets with fresh tasty ingredients. Although these are hydroponics, all the herbs are not available all year long – essentially due to lack of UVs, of heat, and shorter light exposure during winter.

For more info on Thymebank  03-577 9499   31 Hammerichs Rd R D 2 Blenheim

Martin explains that hydroponics don’t have less taste than veggies grown in the soil, contrary to general popular beliefs, as hydroponics are fed with salt containing the minerals veggies need.

You would have seen Martin’s fresh herbs and salads around the shops of Marlborough, but can still go to Thymebank directly to find few of those particular herbs (chervil, Thai mint, lemongrass, different sorts of mints etc.). He will also be very happy to give you few tips to get your herbs growing in your garden.

The Best Kept secret in the Marlborough Sounds

Farmed Bluff Oysters in the Marlborough Sounds!!! These are one of the next big gourmet things to come out of Marlborough, and have been a 20 year project for Bruce Hearn, a long time mussel farmer from the region. Only just released onto the market, and in very limited numbers, we were lucky enough to try these and were not disappointed. This is a great product and deserves a place in the top five food products of the Marlborough region

Well done Bruce, you certainly give Bluff a run for its money, if you want to try they can be found at New- world Supermarket and Durville Hotel.

The hard job of being a localvore

There was a acute awareness as I walked into Raupo Café to help shuck Marlborough Tio Point oysters before our slow food group arrived in a hours time that this was going to be a good night, I mean, lets just say that this is not something that happens every day, 20 Doz oysters in the shell, fresh from the Marlborough Sounds water and just waiting to be consumed.

The very fact that our host for the night, Bruce Hearn, has spent 20 years in the farming of these delectable’s was enough to know that the taste experience was going to be well worth it. Having met producers and sampled products from all around the world there can be no price put on the experience of eating unadulterated oysters from the shell (yes grit and all).

When in France we could go to the morning markets and buy live oysters (not a pottle in sight)stacked high in wicker baskets, from a dozen different costal locations and varieties, and these did not even come close to the experience of Marlborough Tio Point Oysters this night.

The key to any product is the freshness and the right amount of social contact that you have around it – and our slow food group were certainly not shy about learning all the highs and lows of farming one NZ’s most iconic Kai Moana products.

While I may not be the fastest Oyster shucker (yes the world record is 28 per minute), I was being distracted by the mandatory sampling of product that I had to do to ensure that our group of likeminded foodies where indeed getting the quality that we promised.

I can assure Bruce that even if the economic recession continued to hit our upmarket restaurants in Wellington and Auckland and they all closed tomorrow, we could rustle up enough Localvores in Marlborough to consume them all.

If you would like to try freshly shucked Tio Point Oyster you can purchase them from Hotel Durville and New-world supermarket but just make sure that you check in advance to ensure that they have not all been snapped up by other fresh oyster lovers.

Thanks to the local wineries who supported our event with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to enjoy with the oysters: Te Whare Ra, Clos Henri, Seresin and Grove Mill.

Grovetown Road Trip

Going nuts


When you start scratching the surface of what is in your back yard you come across some hidden talents and that was certainly the case last week at out monthly slow food event. Our group of intrepid Marlborough Slow food foodies were privileged to visit Uncles Joes hazelnuts and Walnuts factory (I wont even mention that they won Oil of the Show (Canterbury) two years in a row, or top 10 Artisan Cuisine Award) in Grovetown, Annies Marlborough Ltd followed up by a hot glass of Mulled wine at the Grovetown Country Hotel

While I knew that squirrels’ horde nuts over the winter I had no idea that the Howells (Uncles Joes) orchard would produce such a multitude of Hazelnuts and that there gathering skills would see them become the caretakers for many tons of nuts in there Grovetown Factory which would then be processed into Uncle Joes Walnut and Hazelnuts and Pastes as well as eating and cooking nuts. The very fact that Uncle Joe himself is the legend that sat around the fire cracking nuts with hand cracking conjures up product integrity. Leaving the warmth of the Nuttery (??) we travelled in convey to Annie’s where Graham enthusiastically as ever talked to our group about the highs and lows of his business as well demystifying the human digestive system. After 20 years of Annies products and having established it all around the world there is not much that they have not encountered and it makes you wonder where to next ? - Well if you know Graham then he is already looking at the next mountain to climb (which is really no different to selling into international supermarket chains, do it one step at a time) and it was time for our group to move onto our last location – the Grove Town Country Hotel. Here we were meet by the publican and a hot brew of Mulled wine that ended a very informative and interesting tale of all things foodie in the mighty Grovetown