From Paua to Peru Peru

The Fluteys are new stall-holders at the Kerikeri farmers' market.

If you've ever been to Invercargill, chances are you would have visited the famous Paua House in Bluff, owned and developed by the late Fred and Myrtle Flutey. It's a long way from the Far North and yet in a roundabout way it brings us to the Kerikeri farmers' market.

Greg Flutey is the grandson of the famous Fred and Myrtle and his family still live there and now, every other Sunday, his specialty breads are sold by his wife, Debbie, at the market. In fact the couple have 17 acres on the Karikari Peninsula on which they've built a home and a bakehouse and plan to move north once their busy bakehouse in Huapai is sold.

Greg is of French and Maori ancestry. Indeed, his great grandfather was one of the first immigrants in the South Island to marry a Maori woman. Debbie bubbles when she says she 'can't wait' to move north and when her family tree is examined you can understand why. She is from the well-known Jones Whanau of Awanui, of Croatian, Maori and Welsh ancestry.

"My great grandfather was a gum digger from Croatia and his was the first registered marriage between a Croatian and a Maori. My uncle, Danny Jones, recently passed away and 13 years ago he gave us of some of the delicious Maori potatoes from which we produce our peru peru potato starter, so this bread is very special to us."

Greg has been a baker since he was 16 years old. He and Debbie met in Melbourne where Greg worked for an Italian bakery and when the couple returned to New Zealand they decided to start their own specialty lines. They tested the acceptance of their breads at the Titirangi markets for six months before opening their own shop in historic Lopdell House which they called A Tavola Breads, by way of summing up what they do - providing every day and Italian breads.

Greg will start baking at three in the afternoon and won't finish until half way through the following morning, until the last loaf is in the oven. The hours might be unsociable but it's what they love to do and the mouth-watering results include intriguing content combinations like hazelnut and onion bread, wholemeal walnut and Manuka honey, olive and oregano bread, sourdough made from a rye starter or grape and apple focaccia bread.

Other breads contain native plants like kawakawa (bush basil), horopito bush pepper or flax seeds. Nothing is processed, there are no preservatives and only the best ingredients are chosen. For special occasions Greg will produce a koru-shaped loaf and it was one of these chosen for the table at Government House in Auckland for a function hosted by Prince William.

They are new stall-holders at the Kerikeri farmers' market but such is the popularity of their artisan and specialty heritage breads that it's rare for a stick or a loaf to remain by noon. It's almost impossible to walk past the stall, breath in the nose-tingling aroma pervading the market air and then, quite simply, being unable to resist buying and biting.