Award-winning blog of Irish food writer and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy.
Do / Eating Out / Irish beer & cider / Living in New Zealand
by Caroline · Published October 20, 2005 · Last modified August 29, 2017
One night a few weeks ago the Boyfriend and I accompanied our Scottish physiotherapist housemates to a celebration of International Physiotherapist Day. Now, going to celebrations of other people’s careers is not something that we would normally do but, as this was taking place at Christchurch’s Canterbury Brewery, we decided to make an exception – just this once, you understand.
After a stressful week, all you want to do at the weekend is get out of the city (without driving too far), stay in a comfortable place (without paying too much) and eat some good food. In search of just such a place, the Boyfriend and I stayed at the historic Governors Bay Hotel last weekend. Although it is only about a forty minute drive from Christchurch, once you emerge from the Lyttelton tunnel, which cuts through the Port Hills directly south of the city, you feel like you’re arriving in another, more relaxed world.
Spicy Chocolate Biscotti Ever since having Chocolate and Chilli Biscotti at Underground I’ve been wanting to try making these and, biscotti weighing hardly anything in terms of postage for Blogging by Mail, this was the ideal...
After enjoying a visit to the Nelson branch of Mediterranean Foods, I had intended to visit their shop in Christchurch, which also includes a café, for quite a while now but, somehow, it just never seemed to happen. But when I did finally make it I had a very pleasant afternoon, browsing through the shelves of this Aladdin’s Cave, piled high with ingredients from the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Eating Out / Living in New Zealand
by Caroline · Published July 15, 2005 · Last modified April 13, 2023
Those of you who are regular readers may have noticed that it’s been quiet on Bibliocook over the last week or so. The reason for this is because I have recently returned from a road trip up the East Coast of New Zealand’s South Island with my mother and aunt who were visiting from Ireland.
When you’re driving the long distances that are necessary to get anywhere in New Zealand, good quality rest stops, with coffee, cakes – and clean toilets – become very important. That’s why it breaks my heart to discover one so close to my current hometown of Christchurch.
We weren’t very well organised for the last bank holiday weekend so it was Sunday morning before one of the boyfriend’s friends and his girlfriend came over and we tried to figure out where to go for the night. Despite fears that all accommodation would be booked solid for the weekend, a quick scoot through the Rough Guide to New Zealand and a few calls later and we had rooms for the night at Formerly The Blackball Hilton in the wee town of Blackball on New Zealand’s West Coast.
It’s not very often we go out for Sunday lunch but the fact that I had a voucher for the Riccarton House Café in Christchurch made our minds up for us last weekend. The café only does lunch but that’s well worth the hour-long walk from our house.
