KEY POINTS:
Christmas is creeping ever closer and it's time to start planning ahead to ensure your culinary celebrations go down a treat. Viva will be bringing you many tempting morsels as we countdown in the weeks ahead. Next week The Dish serves up a few ideas for keen foodies'
bookshelves, but we're getting in early in recommending the Indispensable Wine Guide 2008: Wines under $25 to help you enjoy the party season without breaking the bank.
The guide, by former Viva wine writer Joelle Thomson, is an annual release with no-nonsense advice on what to drink and where to get it. It covers New Zealand wines and popular imports and explains what all those fancy varietals are and, very handily, how to pronounce them.
The guide is published by Harper Collins and priced just under Thomson's magic mark at $24.99.
No bones about it
Free-range ham is the way to go for Christmas, so look out for Freedom Farms pork, raised at the foothills of the Southern Alps. Much of the ham on sale here does not show country of origin and is produced from frozen imported pork from animals that have been intensively raised, possibly with growth hormones. A bottom line then should be asking your retailer for assurance you are buying product from New Zealand raised livestock. Freedom Farms are this country's only SPCA certified pork farms, because the pigs live healthy outdoor lives rather than being kept in crates or cages. The hams are cured with woodsmoke, not pumped with water, so they have a natural texture and robust full flavour. From specialist food stores and selected supermarkets nationwide.
www.freedomfarms.co.nz
Local relief
Since much-loved Brazil closed its doors on K Rd, coffee fiends have had few options for a good brew. But there is hope in the hood. Millers Coffee Ltd, which has been roasting and blending for 14 years at 31 Cross St, now serves shots between the hours of 7.30am and 11am weekdays. Coffee only, not food, but it's excellent espresso.
Food for thought
Burgers and special needs eaters don't usually go hand in hand, but Burger Fuel has spotted a market opportunity and is now serving gluten-free buns on request.
Waxing lyrical
Poesy bread is made by passionate poetry lover Alex Tyler who is including a a New Zealand poem with every pack. Sales help support poetry and there's plenty to pick from, with 40 poems from 15 poets featured and more being added.
Tyler, who owns Pipi restaurant in Hawke's Bay, has chosen the old English word for poetry for her brand name and hopes its taste evokes simpler times. The pizza-style bread is free from additives and has a recommended retail price of $5.75 a pack of three loaves, including poem.
Poesy is available in New World Albany, Brown's Bay, Takapuna, Victoria Park, Devonport and Papatoetoe.
Go nuts
Another breadmaker branching out is Vogel's, with a range of nut bars and a new breakfast cereal selection. The Nuts Glorious Nuts bars mix oats, nuts, seeds and fruits including cranberries and apricots. They're available at supermarkets for $3.99 to $4.29. The Cafe-Style Light cereal is fruit and nut-rich and gluten and wheat-free and comes oven toasted with bush honey for $6.59 to $7.40 a pack.
Nana knows best
Baileys is the drink that nana loved a little nip of, but now it's looking for new fans, with the maker seeking Kiwis to give opinions on what makes the creamy liqueur special. If you're keen to share your views, and make the cut of 3000 panellists then you'll get a bottle for your trouble. Check out www.baileyspanel.co.nz.
New head chef
Dine by Peter Gordon has a new head chef in Ben Mills, who has worked on and off at SkyCity for several years, most recently as sous chef at Orbit. Just 25, Mills has also worked at the French Cafe and Palazzo Roma and is looking forward to the step up to running his own kitchen. "I love Peter's style of cooking and this role will allow me to continue building on my personal style, while tapping into Peter's knowledge and passion for food," he says.