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Wrinkles
and Raisins
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During the April school holidays we held a kids’
class which was all about tasty tin-filling home baking. Unfortunately for
the kids my research was based on my childhood favourites. Show and tell
began well but when it came to the ‘do’ part, the first question from a
member of my young audience was, “Can I make the sultana cake without
sultanas?“ I knew I was in trouble.
Many of the kids that day expressed their distaste
for sultanas, raisins and currants. I did explain that when you bake you
are creating comfort and joy for others and that did entice a few to add
the sultanas to their cake. Following on from the class my informal
investigation revealed that most people under 25 years old do not dig
traditional Christmas baking.
Fortunately our world famous Christmas cakes have a
following of people like me, wrinkly but still holding strong. I still love
Christmas Pudding, Christmas Mince Pies and even Christmas Mince Ice Cream.
Fruity Christmas treats will eventually become a
thing of the past. When I was a child we put ham bags aka stockings at the
end of our beds. The bags were on account of my father being a grocer.
Crack of dawn Christmas day we emptied the bags and amongst other
goodies there was always a can of Highlander condensed milk and an orange,
both endearing childhood treats for my parents but non-events for my
sisters and I. My brother, however, adored the condensed milk.
Will raisins, sultanas and currants go the way of
suet, lamb’s brains and tripe?
Best wishes,
Ruth
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RECIPES
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Soy, Star Anise and Ginger Whole Baked Salmon
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Potato Salad with Celery & Caper Dressing
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Buttercrunch, Avocado and Hazelnut Salad with Hazelnut Vinaigrette
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White Chocolate and Strawberry Mousse Cake
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A toast to pies, wines
and fritters and friends
If you
haven’t already booked your tickets to Toast Martinborough 2017, win two
tickets by entering on our Facebook
page.
Everyone loves pies. This may be the biggest thing I
have learned in catering. And it’s proven every November at Toast
Martinborough, for 26 years.
This year we are serving three pies (Thai Chicken
Curry, Pulled Beef Short Rib and Swiss Cheese, and Roasted Vegetable and
Blue Cheese), plus my best-ever Sausage Rolls. Which are pretty similar to
pies, after all.
Everyone loves ice cream too. From 4pm in
Martinborough’s leafy Square, we are serving our outstanding ice creams as
guests enjoy music and dancing to conclude a great day out with friends.
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COOKING SCHOOL
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Sailing away with Santa:
A Tropical Christmas
LAST CALL
Santa suggests you get your sleigh into gear if you
want to attend this light, fresh and truly delicious class. We have added a
new date - Saturday 16 December – to meet demand.
New Zealanders love the idea of a non-traditional yet
still festive Christmas lunch or dinner with sunny twists. And of course,
many of the taste treats in store are just as good at summer barbecues.
Saturday 16 December 2017
10.00am – 4.00pm, morning tea served from 9.15am
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Kids in the Kitchen,
Part 17: Summer Desserts
We expect
a stampede for this one: how better to celebrate summer, and farewell the
school holidays, than a cool blast of summer desserts? Every kid loves
desserts. Luckily for parents, the menu is not completely packed with
sugar, although to be frank there’s some sugar involved!
Thursday 25 January 2018
10.30 am – 2.30pm. Morning tea from 9.45am, and parents/chauffeurs are
welcome for morning tea in the Garden Room.
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Be a Barbecue Star
There are
few deceptively simple skills that can make you a Barbecue Star – and Ruth
knows all of them. She’s even shared them with Royalty. This could be the
Christmas gift that changes barbecues from blah to brilliant! Maybe you
could mention it to help Santa with decision-making?
Sunday 28 January 2018
Sunday 18 February 2018
10.00am to 4.00pm Morning coffee from 9.15am in the
Garden Room
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How to Summertime High
Tea
The
Springfield Garden Room is perfect for a summery High Tea with friends. All
those windows let the sunshine in, the garden is in full splendour and,
naturally, the food is light and delicious. Ruth demonstrates lighter fare
items, with no compromise on eating pleasure, and then you settle back to
enjoy it. At 11am-3pm it’s a bit shorter than regular classes. What could
be better?
And yes, since you mention it, a How to High Tea gift
voucher just might be the ideal choice for that hard-to-buy for friend or
family member, who will appreciate the pleasures of the table. Hopefully
with you.
Saturday 3 February 2018
Saturday 10 February 2018
Morning coffee in Garden Room from 10.15am
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Beautiful Beaded Baubles
We are
very proud to have these beautifully beaded baubles in the Kitchen Shop.
Not only are they beautiful, but (as with food) knowing their story
improves the experience.
Made in South Africa, they were brought to New
Zealand by Jane Rutledge from Palmerston North, during her time there with
Volunteer Service Abroad NZ.
Enjoying interacting with women in the townships,
Jane took the initiative to support their local craft products and bought
1500 baubles to bring back to New Zealand. Knowing Ruth, Te Horo was
top of her list of possible local outlets.
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Prestigious Venues
Wellington
We are very proud to announce that we are now part of
the Venues Wellington selected catering panel. This means we can cater for
big events at some of Wellington’s iconic venues:
·
TSB Bank Arena and
Auditorium (Shed 6)
·
Michael Fowler Centre
·
St James Theatre
·
The Opera House
·
Academy
Galleries
This is very exciting for us. While the venues are
very good individually, together they are fantastic. As usual with
Wellington, its compact size means it’s easy to walk from one venue to
another if needed.
For the Pinot Noir New Zealand 2017 event we used a
combination of the Renouf Foyer, Opera House, vast marquee on the wharf,
TSB, Shed 6 and the laneway beside the Opera House at various times. The
700+ guests loved the variety and the chance to move around, some fresh air
and the fabulous harbour views.
BTW, congratulations to Pinot Noir 17 for winning the
Business Events section of the New Zealand Event Awards. We were thrilled
to cater for this huge, challenging, exciting event – especially as we
adore pinot noir!
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Ruth’s Christmas Cake -
$59.00
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Room Scents Collection - From $25.00
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Pastry / Bread Knife
- $69.00
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