In today's Bite magazine: NZ's finest foods

Strawberry galettes. Photo / Bite Magazine

Find all your favourite bits from today's Bite magazine online. Follow the hyperlinks in Jo Elwin's editor's letter and lose yourself in bite.co.nz.

I have just got back from the most incredible week in Australia where 80 VIP food influencers from around the world were brought together to celebrate Australian food, wine and good living. I visited Tasmania for the first time and realised my desire to visit

MONA

(the Museum of New Art). I also spent a few days in Melbourne dining at some hot new restaurants and some old favourites. Thank you

The Town Mouse

,

Supernormal

,

Tonka

,

Huxtable

,

Cumulus

and

Mamasita

, you were all outstanding.

I love Australia and am always impressed at how good Australians are at celebrating their fine country. So we are celebrating a little of what our own fine country has to offer in our recipes this week. Strawberries are peaking now and Warren Elwin is

macerating them

,

making galettes

and

sorbet

and a

syrup

for drinks.

If you're making the most of NZ's spring lamb, cook plenty so you can use the leftovers in Kyle Street's

kebab sandwich

.

Lamb kebab sandwich. Photo / Bite Magazine

The Air New Zealand Wine Awards were announced at a Hawke's Bay dinner on Saturday night and we asked Geoff Scott to create a special three-course meal matched with some of the gold award winning wines. He matched his

hot-smoked salmon

with the Terra Sancta Riverblock Chardonnay, a rack of lamb with the Murdoch James Blue Rock Pinot Noir and a

crumbled orange and raspberry cheesecake

with Marisco Vineyards A Sticky End Noble Sauvignon Blanc. You can see all of the medal

winners here

.

Photo / Bite Magazine

And to top of our celebration on New Zealand's finest, If you're lucky enough to have a catch of whitebait, you might want to read Peter Gordon's column this week.