As you're reading this we will have had a few tries at our menus at Kiwi House in King's Cross in London. We're hoping that Kiwi House will be a place of tasty calm and stress-free catching-up in among the chaos of the Olympics. I decided that though it would be fabulous to create a gastronomic extravaganza, it simply made more sense to do a very simple New Zealand-themed menu based around morning coffee and lunches based on the barbecue.
During the morning we're serving terrific Allpress coffees (London has been educated in the way of coffee by many NZ-led roasteries and cafes), muffins, Little Melton fruit yoghurts and bacon butties.
At lunchtimes we will showcase marinated barbecued New Zealand lamb, beef and occasionally venison alongside sweet potato salad (we can't get New Zealand kumara), rocket salad and coleslaw, as well as a changing rota of beetroot salads, pasta and couscous. We've got plenty of Ora King Salmon which we're serving as platters and some lovely locally made G'Nosh dips.
Desserts will be simple mousses and fruit. Moa Beer is being served alongside New Zealand wines.
Get in behind it
Kiwi House, a haven for proud supporters of the New Zealand Olympic Team, is one of a series of London 2012 national houses scattered around the city. Granary House in King's Cross is at the heart of the London Olympic transport system and will have a distinctly Kiwi take on the Olympic competition with live Sky feeds, entertainment, visits from medal-winning athletes and special events (opening and closing ceremony parties are sold out.)
Kiwi House: 1 Granary Square, London. Entry is £5 per day (with additional special ticketed events); Kiwi House gold pass holders get priority access (£50). Tickets from nzolympic.musicglue.com.