Homeland NZ

is alive and well in this fabulous focaccia at which they served with their house-made smoked cultured butter and local honey.
Chef Sabrina has a way with dough, and chocolate mousse, and all things pastry.

Here are the four dishes I demonstrated a few weeks back at the 39th annual Marlborough Wine & Food Festival.

Pan-fried soy, ginger and sesame marinated salmon fillet on broccoli couscous (never use boiling water on your couscous btw) with caper lime salsa

Deep-fried salmon and chive fishcakes with black garlic aioli

Seared grass-fed SpeckleBeef fillet with roast tomatoes, mānuka smoked olives and horseradish dressing

Cherries baked with chilli, thyme, honey and orange
As always promoting local producers and seasonal kai / food - some of these we used to sell and demonstrate with at .nz

As always a terrific, fun and well organised festival - World class vineyards showing off their wines / a great low alcohol wine spritz from .nz / fantastic entertainment - Troy Kingi and others / a beer tent for the first time / plenty of tasty kai / and a terrific crew in the Culinary Tent - thanks Amanda and Annabel. Also shout-out to Dion for asking me along, Aaron for the geoduck lesson I’ve already posted about, and chef Sander (he’s the tall one) at for the back up and delicious snacks!

Thanks for having Homeland along for the 39th. Can’t wait to see what you have planned for your 40th

Made a batch of Homeland cheese scones yesterday and some were square. Lovely split and toasted - topped with avocado and tomato 🥑 🍅 and plenty of black pepper. Thanks for buying the Providores cheese cutters Matt and gifting them to me 🤗. nz

 
 


These producers are fantastic!

Peter will be cooking at this fantastic fundraising A Dinner for Scott in Invercargill next week. He’s looking forward to showcasing some of Southland’s fantastic producers, as are the other chefs he joining.

Introducing Peter Gordon
(Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa / Ngāi Tahu / Clan Gordon)

In a range of different ways, Peter has had a significant impact on this cause from the beginning. ‘Dining for a Difference’ and the U.K. equivalent ‘Who’s Cooking Dinner’ are both fundraising events combining great chefs, food, hospitality and vision, and are two events—started by Peter—that gave the Scott Richardson Memorial Trust inspiration and experience. To add to this, we also know and remember Scott’s pursuit to connect with, learn from and experience Peter’s food and philosophy.

Peter has been gathering ingredients from across the world’s kitchens, paddocks and oceans for more than forty years, earning him the title Godfather of Fusion Cuisine. With nine books and numerous TV shows to his name, a roll call of award-winning restaurants including The Providores & Tapa Room, Kōpapa and The Sugar Club in cities including Istanbul, London and New York, he’s been feeding and inspiring us for a long time. Not to mention devising recipes for Air New Zealand for a quarter century and founding the leukaemia charity event ‘Who’s Cooking Dinner?’ which has raised over $16M over 25 years in the UK. In March 2020 Peter relocated from London to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland with his partner Al where they opened Homeland – the Food Embassy, a cook school, community kitchen, restaurant and retail space. Homeland closed in August 2024.

Over the past few months of emails, calls and catch-ups with Peter, he discovered an email from Scott dating back to September 2005 regarding donating some signed books to be auctioned off, with proceed going towards fundraising efforts to get a group of Southland Boys’ High School students to attend WACS Congress in Auckland in 2006. A full circle moment!

nz