January and 2009 began as December 2008 ended. Cold, wet, grey and with bad economic signs all around us. But it was also great to begin the year with so many things to keep us at the restaurant, and me personally, occupied. First up was a visit from vineyard owner Quintin Quider and his wife from Wild Earth Wines in Central Otago. Quintin has had remarkable success with his various vintages, with his Wild Earth Pinot Noir 2006 receiving the trophy for Top International Pinot Noir at the prestigious International Wine Challenge in London in June 2008. Considering it was only the third vintage for the winery it was wonderful. This vintage as well as their 05 and 07 were, incidentally, made by the talented Michelle Richardson who is a partner in our vineyard Waitaki Braids, from North Otago. We tasted his 06 and 07 with him and they were terrific, very fruit driven, but elegant and sumptuous. Quintin also brought along two paua and a crayfish that he’d dived for himself, and I ate these a few weeks later enjoying every last mouthful. New Zealand Winegrowers hosted a wonderful showcase at Lords Cricket Ground and so over the following week we were fortunate to see many of New Zealand’s leading winemakers and vineyard owners in the restaurant, which is always a pleasure.

http://www.wildearthwines.co.nz/

It’s not often that you get to eat a meal at an art exhibition, but that’s what the management team, Michael and I did in the second week of January. The Double Club is an installation that is also a pop-up restaurant, bar and club has been set just behind Angel Tube near Islington. It’s been designed by Belgian artist Carsten Höller and to save a lot of explanation by me, read the following two links. The food at the restaurant is half Congolese and half European. On the night we opted for the former and the food was great. If you’re coming to London before the end of spring then check it out – it’s expected to be here for only six months, and as the Prada Foundation are behind it you know it’ll be fabulous.

http://www.wallpaper.com/travel/the-double-club-london/2840 http://www.airdeparis.com/holler.htm

Will Martin, the talented young New Zealand performer and entertainer I wrote about last month gave a fantastic showcase to invited guests and fans. He really is quite something, belting out his powerful and versatile voice. Just after the showcase he was headed to New Zealand to perform alongside several others in a series of concerts.

http://www.willmartin.net

In the middle of the month I gave a cooking demonstration to 60 journalists and food business operators to showcase some of the finest regional produce in the EU in a project called Discover the Origin. This project has been set up to promote five key products, all of which I have a fondness for luckily; Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, and the wines of Burgundy, the Douro Valley, and Port. A few months earlier I had filmed a pod-cast in which I’d cooked a chilli spiced pear and parmigiano tart tatin to be served with chilled port, and on this day I demonstrated a miso and prosciutto risotto, parmigiano scones with balsamic butter, and steamed asparagus with prosciutto, parmigiano and a chilli hollandaise. One of the journalists asked me why I, a Kiwi who creates Fusion Cuisine, was involved in such a project. When I explained that what I really appreciate is quality ingredients from wherever, rather than only ones from a specific region, it made absolute sense that I was involved. In fact, I said, if I were European how much harder would it be for me to promote such brilliant foods from one country without looking like I was biased against another. For me it is the quality of produce and the way it is reared or grown, the history behind it and the flavour of it on the plate or in the glass that means far more to me than any national allegiance.

http://www.discovertheorigin.co.uk/

On the 17th January I headed west to the town of Bath to give a cooking demonstration at Richard Bertinet’s cooking school. Richard has done many wonderful food-related things in his time, but his current focus, apart from his award winning books (shot by my good friend and my own photographer of choice Jean Cazals) is his cooking school and bakery. Guests arrived around 10am, and by 3pm I had demonstrated eight recipes which we’d all cooked together, or parts thereof, had a lovely leisurely lunch and hopefully all learned a thing or two. If you’re coming to Bath it’s worth checking out the programme - in between visiting the ancient Roman baths, and eating a Sally Lunn bun, you might pick up a great class.

http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com/

Hussein Chalayan, the fashion designer extraordinaire and now creative director of Puma opened his retrospective at London’s Design Museum and it was brilliant to see his amazing and inventive clothing designs from the past decade and more on display. I first met Hussein at the 2008 Wallpaper Awards as he is a good friend of the owners of muzedechanga and changa restaurants in Istanbul. That night muzedechanga won best restaurant in the world, and Istanbul best city in the world (I was presented with the award for some strange reason) and we all had dinner back at The Providores to celebrate.

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/

In the third week of January it was time to get the new menus on board for Air New Zealand. Murray Hare, Culinary Standards Manager on their international routes, flew into London and we work-shopped the ideas I’d forwarded to him previously until we had a menu worthy of their planes which will be served on flights to Los Angeles and Hong Kong. I have worked as a consultant chef to Air New Zealand for over 13 years now, always working alongside Murray as well as Alistair Dunlop, and I always find it exciting to create food for the flights, knowing that for many people the food is an intrinsic part of the enjoyment they hope to have on their flight. The dishes we created will be on board by March.

http://www.airnewzealand.com/gateway.jsp

Lastly, with this hectic month of January drawing to a close, it was time to let my hair down. Grace Jones, who I’d seen in concert in 1981, was in London as part of her Hurricane Tour. She performed at the brilliant Roundhouse – a venue on Chalk Farm Road near Camden, a venue that had played host to The Doors, Jimmie Hendrix and the like. And if you’re a fan of Grace, as I am, then check her out on Jools Holland’s show below singing William’s Blood – and bear in mind that she’s over 60 years old!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe0ITnoEQuQ http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/whats-on/all-events

This month’s photo is of Alan, our Scottish scallop supplier, welcoming in the new year for us at The Providores.