Award-winning blog of Irish food writer and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy.
One of the nicest meals out that I ever had with my family occurred in a small, unpromising, cellar-type Italian restaurant on the Douglas promenade in the Isle of Man about five years ago.
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.
I have just been informed that Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder is actually available in New Zealand. As you may have noticed from past posts, it was my stock powder of choice in 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.
Having thought that there wasn’t too much different between the New Zealand and Irish climates, I’ve been amazed to discover that lemon trees grow here. And, what’s more, they actually fruit too! While living with the boyfriend’s parents in Nelson it was a great treat to go out and pick some lemons from a tree that fruits year-round but, as we live in much colder Christchurch, I didn’t think that we would have that option ourselves.
As the perfect birthday present for a person on the other side of the world to Ireland, Clare Connery’s Irish Cooking comes pretty close. There’s nothing new about this cookbook – nor does there need to be. With an introduction that brings the writings of Maura Laverty to mind, Connery talks about her grandmother’s farmhouse kitchen and the dishes that came from it.
I spent Wednesday night last week at a cookery demonstration by the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Vegetarian Society. No, I’m not going over to the dark side – I love meat too much – but their description of the evening intrigued me.
New Zealander Judith Cullen used to run her own café in Dunedin before she changed careers to become a successful teacher of cookery classes, many of which are run from her home. Judith Cullen’s Cookery Classes is her first published book but she has a fresh and simple approach that many more seasoned cookbook writers would envy.
