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Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Tasty delights work of art

Amy Shanks
Hawkes Bay Today·
3 Apr, 2015 04:00 PM3 mins to read

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Chris Mirams, pastry chef at Smiths Eatery in Ahuriri, with his Easter delights. PHOTO / PAUL TAYLOR

Chris Mirams, pastry chef at Smiths Eatery in Ahuriri, with his Easter delights. PHOTO / PAUL TAYLOR

You know the chocolate is good when people tell white lies to get their hands on it.

A collection of quirky, specialty treats at F.G Smith Eatery in Ahuriri are rushing out the door faster than Chris Mirams can make them.

Six handmade speckled Easter eggs in a carton are $30 and customers have been going to great lengths to secure a pack in time for the weekend.

"People are telling us they're from out of town so they can take them right away - I'm not sure if they are or not," he said. "They are so popular we can't keep up with demand."

A chef by trade, Mr Mirams switched to working with pastry about six years ago and for the last two he's also been dabbling in chocolate.

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Through plenty of research and a little ingenuity he has created a selection of delights - including one with a jelly centre in the shape of a fried egg.

From his home kitchen and using equipment imported from Europe, he has whipped up about 100 eggs in the past few weeks.

"I read books, search the net, see what others are doing and add a twist of modern and classic techniques."

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Speckled designs in gold, pink, black and blue resemble marble, but are made entirely from natural edible ingredients. Decoration is added using paint brushes, cocoa butter and colouring.

"One is inspired by an emu egg, it's green with purple splatter."

Another of his creations is inspired by a Spanish chocolatier who uses sunlight to melt the surface of giant eggs giving the outer a distorted appearance.

The sun here doesn't pack enough punch so Mr Mirams has had to adapt the method and true to form he added a unique touch - a hollow oval opens up to reveal a smaller golden egg inside.

Flavours are kept to standard milk, white and dark chocolate but what hides inside is anything but ordinary: "Now and then we do a freeze dried flavour or nut, just as a bit of a surprise when you bite into it."

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His skills as a chocolatier were not the only impressive part, Mr Mirams came to New Zealand having worked at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant in Australia.

He completed an apprenticeship at Huka Lodge in Taupo, and has worked at The Old Church in Meeanee since moving home to Hawke's Bay.

Having been at Smiths for about a year he trialled selling some chocolate treats at Christmas, they went so well they decided to roll them out again at Easter.

For those who miss out Mr Mirams hinted there will be more to come.

"Keep an eye out. Over time we will be doing other things and we want people's feedback."

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