Joyeux Noël Gastronomads
/Let's forget all about the last few months and plunge straight into the Silly Season. FINALLY we are allowed to get together at my supper club, so last weekend we got straight down to business – eating on my floating glass terrace, listening to a little reading and having fun meeting new people. Come as a work group, come as mother and daughter, come as husband and wife, come as you are. I am double vaccinated and you will need to be too. I host Supper Club on Thursday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes. My friend Astar has just installed leafy fairy lights all around the terrace ceiling for your joy and illumination. Contact me via the website for available dates HERE.
Tours in 2022
Tours are definitely back on the menu in 2022, and I have a small but perfectly formed offering with something for everyone.
Auckland Long Weekend – 11-14 Feb
My third fashionable, gastronomic and entirely wonderful Auckland experience is happening again in February. We have a gorgeous private luxury sleepwear showing, crawl along Karangahape Rd eating and drinking in a string of bars and restaurants and rock around the Avondale food market. In our spare time there are cooking classes, a visit to Peter Gordon's Homeland for coffee and a smashing downtown Yum Cha. Find out more HERE.
Rarotonga Tour – 16-21 March
A little further afield, my joyful Raro 5 day tour is coming up in March. We will be met at the airport by my handsome tour manager Jacopo and from then on we will be in his care. We will learn how to cook, how to make flower leis and how to dance like a local. This is your opportunity to go troppo, drift off to sleep to the sound of waves, sing in church and cycle through the plantations. What could be more perfect just as the weather starts to turn in NZ. Find out more HERE.
Uzès Tour – 15-21 July
My first Uzès tour is full, so I have scheduled another one. We stay in the centre of Uzès and from there, radiate out for activities like cooking classes in my and my friends homes, cheese and wine matching, a farm lunch with my friend Annie, visits to Aix-en-Provence (for fashion shopping) and Nimes (for the market & fashion shopping). We eat in the best restaurants in Uzès and the last night bash is the usual elegant restrained affair where everyone goes mad. Find out more HERE.
Puglia Tour – 28 August-4 September
And finally to the deep dark heart of hospitality in the sexiest part of Italy, Puglia. Theirs is such an old culture and such a simple one and the people are relaxed, warm (some might even say hot-blooded where the men are concerned) and proud. Their seafood is beyond fresh, and their pasta is made right in front of your eyes. We spend half the week in the town of Lecce and half the week in the countryside. Find out more HERE.
Christmas Salad Recipe
This is the perfect recipe for Christmas... big on effect and small on time. There are no quantities – but as always, go for the best quality ingredients you can get. Enjoy.
Heritage tomatoes
Feta cheese
Fresh oregano
Pomegranate seeds
Vinaigrette
Happy Christmas everyone! After what we've been through, I'm sure it will be. I will be spending the Christmas period in Auckland and will have a waifs and strays celebration on the day. Then come February, I'll be heading off to Palmerston North, Carterton, Wellington and Hawkes Bay for my 'Shed Couture' book launches. Keep an eye on my social media for details.
My real Christmas tree on the terrace is up, the fairy lights are up, the fake Christmas tree in the kitchen is up, the wreath is stuck on the front door. There's even a wreath in the bathroom. If Santa doesn't get the message to visit me, I give up. Wherever you are, may your day be filled with Christmas Salad, sparkling lights and ridiculous amounts of fruit cake.
Peta