Slice of Life

By Peter Gordon - April 2009

New Zealand, Istanbul, New York, Whitstable and Sissinghurst

Firstly I have to apologise for this belated blog posting – the past few months have been incredibly busy as I’ve been trying to finish my new book – which I’ve now done. So this blog is going to cover February and March ‘09.

I began February by flying from London to Auckland to attend two workshops with Air New Zealand’s culinary team to focus on new menus, menu planning, some brainstorming and generally getting a feel of where we’d like to take the food to next. The workshops were great as all the chefs got together (Rex Morgan, Geoff Scott and myself) around the table with the Air NZ team and an awful lot was achieved. Look out for some tasty changes in the near future. http://www.wellingtonnz.com/bars_restaurants/citron_restaurant http://www.vinnies.co.nz/home.php

Next up was a meeting with Ali and Andrea from Penguin Books NZ – who commissioned my book and are publishing it – due to be released in October 2009. The book features over 120 recipes, seven travel pieces (which are more autobiographical than handy travel hints), and more than a dozen ingredient-focussed pages. The photos are gorgeous, shot by my long-time collaborator Jean Cazals here at my home in London. www.jeancazals.net

While in New Zealand, I also worked with the team at dine; head chef Ben Mills, sous chef Nancye Pirini, and our manager Sarah McDonald. We tweaked the menu here and there, tasted some superb new wines for the list and then had a great ingredient tasting over at Bellota, sipping some lovely sherries at the same time. On Waitangi Day weekend I was down in Wanganui seeing my family. The town really keeps getting better and better, the centre is bursting with flowers and the cafes make excellent coffee – which seems to be a good benchmark for how good a place is to visit. A highlight was the Wanganui River Traders’ Trust Farmers Market on the banks of the Whanganui River near Motua Gardens. Look out for Annette Main’s famous Peter Gordon’s kumara bread (where did she get that idea from eh!) and two delicious olive oils made from locally grown olives. http://www.farmersmarket.org.nz/WanganuiTraders.htm Ann Summerhays of SummOils: sumhow123@xtra.co.nz

Mike Collins of Kildara Grove: rockme374@hotmail.com

Back in London I was interviewed by a roaming American culinary couple who make their living partly by travelling the world and speaking to food-centric people. They were in London to talk to a few chefs and it was great to hear what they’d been experiencing during these tough economic times. And things are really getting tough – especially in the food, wine and restaurant sectors. www.onthemenuradio.com

I then headed to Istanbul – mostly to write a travel piece for my new book, but also to do some menu tweaks at Changa and Müzedechanga restaurants. Istanbul was as wonderful as ever, the weather was icy cold and wet, but when the sun came out the city was spectacular. I ate some gorgeous food – but you’ll have to wait until my book comes out to see what manti are! http://www.changa-istanbul.com/v2/englishmain.html

Two weeks catch-up at the Providores followed, many new menu dishes were put on the menu and we held another great NZ wine tasting. At the restaurant we have a tasting every 6-8 weeks where we try new vintages, new varietals, or new vineyards that we’ve sought out, or that our suppliers have suggested. As we list over 80 NZ wines, and around 16 by the glass, we have the UK’s largest NZ wine lists and it’s always a treat to discover something extraordinary from back home. Pyramid Valley’s Pinot Blanc is one such wine – so if you can find some then get it quick. http://www.pyramidvalley.co.nz/index.html

On the 10th March I flew off to New York with The Providores manager Sophie Uddin and her partner and our sous chef Cristian Hossack. We had an amazing six days in the Big Apple; the highlights were seeing Fleetwood Mac live at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island on Black Friday, and eating grilled corn at Café Habana in Nolita, which is just up from PUBLIC restaurant which we helped set up five years ago, and which was awarded a Michelin Star last year. I have to say Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were just as good live as on their albums, and it’s just a shame that Chrissie McVie isn’t in the current line-up. Stevie even managed to wave a black scarf around her head like in the old days - and not look silly. There’s talk of a tour and if they make it to NZ then make the effort to go see them. The food scene in New York is suffering at the moment with less expense account diners, but that means you can get some good dining out bargains. Sophie and Cris took me to Jean Georges on Central Park West. JG is a French chef from Alsace, who has loved the flavours of Asia since working there years ago, and although his food couldn’t be described as Asian, his touch shows the lightness that one expects from Asia. Lunch was US$29 per person for two courses – although we each had four courses and some fantastic wines making the bill…. quite a bit more! The Spotted Pig was another great meal, the kitchen run by a British chef called April Bloomfield. We had a great meal there that included the best and largest plate of unpeeled shoe-string fries ever! They have some delicious ales and lagers on tap, and they were also given a Michelin star last year which is great – seeing as how it’s like being in an old ramshackle London pub. We had a great meal at PUBLIC, where my signature scallops with sweet chilli sauce and crème fraiche still woo the diners, then had some really fantastic nibbles at their sister wine bar next door, The Monday Room, which is looked after by Ruben Sanz Ramiro – the most wonderful Spanish man in New York. Ruben will soon head off to join his wife Elna in Sweden to continue his wine studies – so get there soon for some of his hospitality. And no doubt Ruben will be replaced by some other fabulous personality – seeing as New York is full of personality. http://www.jean-georges.com/ http://www.thespottedpig.com/ http://www.public-nyc.com/

The month ended back in the UK with me heading off to Whitstable with my mate Simon and his dog Harvey – a wire-haired Fox Terrier. Whitstable is on the Kent coast facing north, and is famous for its oysters. In fact the Romans used to source their oysters for what was once called Londinium from here. The weather was like a special effect from The Perfect Storm – howling winds that cut through you and chilled you to the bone, wild seas and clouds racing against the sky. It was fantastic. If you head there, in summer, then book to stay at one of the simply furnished but brilliant fishermen’s huts. Dinner or lunch at the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Restaurant would be a good idea too – the fish is so fresh obviously. We drove back via Sissinghurst to check out the gardens that Vita Sackville West made famous. I’d visited the gardens four years ago in autumn, so it was great to see them at the start of budburst – a highlight being the Snakeshead fritillary plants that were looking gorgeous in amongst the daffodils. http://www.hotelcontinental.co.uk/hotel/view/beachhuts http://www.oysterfishery.co.uk/index.html

And then April began…

This month’s photo is of Snakeshead Fritillary at Sissinghurst