A week of gentle food at home
On isolation eats, Bluff oysters and an update on a controversial proposed Auckland bar.
Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome to The Boil Up, The Spinoff’s brand new weekly food newsletter. It’s lovely to have you here! Written by me, Charlotte Muru-Lanning, The Boil Up is a collection of Aotearoa’s best in food and beverage, delivered to your inbox every Thursday. Produced in partnership with Boring Oat Milk, the newsletter will bring you the political, social, trendy, personal and delicious aspects of this country’s diverse and ever-changing culinary landscape.
I’ve spent the last week in isolation. That means I missed out on eagerly-anticipated plans to eat and drink with friends and family over the weekend. Before the pandemic, food-based gatherings would colour my calendar, but these days they’re rare treasures as I do my best to avoid an encounter with Covid-19. So I won’t lie – it was a bit of a bummer to be stuck at home instead. Luckily our flat managed to avoid any spread in the house. So, to date, I remain yet to catch Covid-19 (and I hope to keep it that way).
I’d love to share tales of fantastical homemade meals and wholesome baked goods with you, but a week at home didn’t mean a return to the experimental cooking heyday of lockdowns past. Our tiring week-long game of “the floor is lava” (or, rather, “the air is Covid”) instead meant a course of gentle food, punctuated by vitamins, excess coffee and a couple of takeaway deliveries. We ate unapologetic comfort foods like mapo tofu, porridge with cream and brown sugar (made with Boring Oat Milk of course), soft boiled eggs with soldiers and shirley temples – both with and without vodka. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks were left at my Covid-positive flatmate’s bedroom door. Her used plates and cutlery left in the hallway afterwards – like some sad, strange hotel.
Weekly bites
After 40 years in business, Auckland Chinese restaurant institution Hees Garden closed down last month. I spoke to ex-owner Wynsome Wong about the legacy of the restaurant and how its evolution captured two decades worth of changes in Aotearoa, especially around our country’s relationship with Asia. Wong is a powerhouse, and now a new friend – we’re booked in for a yum cha date next week.
Food is expensive at the moment. It’s a global issue influenced by high inflation, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and excess profits being made by only a few. Locally, food prices have risen 6.4% since last April. So last week, when Countdown pledged price freezes on hundreds of supermarket items, it sounded pretty sweet of them. Turns out it wasn’t quite as sweet as it seemed at first glance.. This piece scrutinises the supposed price freeze by the supermarket chain that made more than $200m in profits last year – including the glaring fact that there’s no fruit on the list and pumpkin prices which usually go down over those months will instead have its price frozen. Cheeky!
Still on the supermarket front, Consumer NZ launched a petition this week calling for government officials to regulate access to wholesale food supply or to consider setting up a state-owned supermarket in order to introduce more competition to our supermarket duopoly. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei CEO Grant Kemble discussed the potential for an iwi-owned third-player supermarket chain in an article on the iwi’s website last week. An intriguing proposition, I reckon.
Ex-Married At First Sight contestant Chris Mansfield attempted to open a bar called Tomfoolery on Auckland’s Karangahape Road last year. But after allegations of domestic violence surfaced, controversy followed. Throughout 2021, the proposed bar was plagued by an enormous amount of objections to its liquor licence, and delays to their District Licensing Committees hearings due to Covid-19. By the start of this year, the bar’s social media and website had vanished and the Tomfoolery-branded brown paper that once covered the windows in the St Kevin’s Arcade space were gone. However, the saga apparently continues. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the branding on the windows has reappeared and work is happening inside the space, signalling that the bar might still be going ahead. Has Tomfoolery risen again? Watch this space.
Arnotts, the maker of absolute classics like Tim Tams and Shapes, is planning a move back to New Zealand, after its manufacturing shifted offshore 25 years ago. Apparently, the move could see new biscuit creations on the table. This all reminds me of this fascinating essay on the important cultural context behind the world of biscuit manufacturing and eating in India.
I managed to snag a copy of the cookbook of my dreams from Lamplight Books last week: Phaidon’s Portugal The Cookbook by Leandro Carreira. It’s an exhaustive encyclopedia of Portuguese cuisine and its history, including 14 pages dedicated to regional salt cod recipes – amazing.
The Boil Up is brought to you in partnership with Boring Oat Milk.
As the best supporting actor in cereal, flat whites and smoothies; milk is essential but honestly, who gets excited about milk? This oat milk isn’t particularly riveting either. It doesn’t have exciting artificial flavours, stabilisers or nasty surprises. Fortified with calcium and vitamins; it’s boringly similar to regular milk but without the actual milking bit. It doesn’t even come from anywhere fancy like Sweden, it’s all made in New Zealand using New Zealand oats.
Made with a tough crowd in mind, this is a neutral, yet creamy, full-bodied and delicious oat milk.
Head to boringmilk.com for an untapped supply of New Zealand made oat milk straight from the source. Plus, check the box that says 'Subscription' and save 10%.
An interview with Fowler Bluff Oysters in Motupōhue
The annual Bluff Oyster Festival was cancelled this year, but had it gone ahead, it would have been held this weekend. In honour of the festival (affectionately called “oyster-fest”) and the unique bivalve which is a taonga species for Ngāi Tahu, I asked Terina Stockwell, manager at Fowler's Wild Bluff Oysters, a few questions. Fowler is a third generation family owned and operated small business located in Bluff. The waterfront spot has a small shop attached to its factory that sells the local delicacy in various forms. My favourite: in the half-shell for breakfast, standing looking out to Te Ara a Kiwa wearing the warmest coat you own.
Why are Bluff oysters special?
They’re one of the only wild oysters left in the world. When eating Bluff oysters you taste a massive burst of the sea: very sweet, a lot of body and a beautiful texture.
How do you source your oysters?
Bluff oysters are dredge oysters sourced in the pristine waters of Te Ara a Kiwa. Food Youtube account Chasing a Plate made a great video of the process from start to finish. Worth the watch.
What would you have been offering at the Oyster Festival?
We do oysters, more oysters and then more oysters! Fresh on the half shell, oyster soup, battered oysters. The stand out is the platter with all of the above plus tītī, another local delicacy, blue cod, non-alcoholic oyster shots, plus some other local delights – but you’ll have to come and see for yourself next year!
How significant is the annual oyster festival for you?
It's always a great build up to the oyster festival for us and our small town. Visitors come from all over to celebrate the famous Bluff oyster with us. The town buzzes for weeks before and after the festival, restaurants and pubs are packed, and accommodation is full. All local businesses benefit greatly from the festival. It's kind of our last big hurrah before winter properly sets in.
The weekly snack
A little review of a little snack.
Lotte sweet corn ice cream sandwich, $2.49 from Jadan: You don’t encounter maize-flavoured sweet snacks enough in New Zealand, despite it being a pretty normal addition in countries overseas. For that reason, I was drawn to this ice cream. Clearly there was an emphasis on form in the lab when they were creating this one – with its life-sized corn cob-shaped casing promising a full-on corn experience . For all that effort, it’s delightful to look at, but I’m sad to report I couldn’t detect even a hint of a kernel. If you’re after a vanilla flavoured treat, it’s still well-worth reaching for in the freezer. 5/10.
Talk next week!
Hei kōnā mai, Charlotte