I hope everyone had a good chill during the holidays. Melbourne at Christmas was wonderful. My family and I ate at some really really good restaurants – The European, Supernormal, Taksim Square, coffee at Marios and Albert's Wine Bar. Oh and the sparkling gastronomic paradise of the Victoria market. Stood in line for a croissant at LUNE. Took in the extraordinary exhibition of the dotty work of Yayoi Kusama at the NGV.

I am looking out my window at the huge Christmas tree that has just burst into brilliant red bloom – our wonderful NZ Pohutukawa tree – a true sign that summer is here. Pohutukawa are our coastal guardians and the red flower symbolises bravery, strength and resilience.  So having complained non-stop about the horrible weather in Auckland we are now finally happy in the heat and sunshine and girding our loins for the holiday season.

I'm back in Auckland hosting my Supper Club on Wednesday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes on the floating terrace. Nobody ever wants to leave the table after a cooking class because it is the centre of the universe, the place where we share stories and memories, drink wine and laugh. The childhood table is where we learn to socialise and communicate. My plates are very colourful and rustic – can’t bear white plates – and the tablecloths and napkins are flamboyant. 

Puglia covered us all in sunshine, beauty and good vibes. We devoured polpette (tiny deep fried meatballs), foccaccia, bombette (finely sliced pork shoulder, stuffed with coppa and caciocavallo cheese, rolled up and fried), orecchiette pasta and raw gamberro rosso (pink prawns) with just olive oil and salt. The wine has very sexy names like susumaniello, primitivo and negroamaro and we did lots of tastings in the interests of research. Our wonderful group were up for everything.

Having recently completed a Basque and an Uzès tour a week apart, I can report that lying on the floor in my house for a week does wonders for recuperation. Firstly it straightens your back out, secondly it allows you to spot the cobwebs and thirdly it gets rid of the alcohol in your system because you can't sip gin while supine.