Taste Farmers’ Markets Awards 2012 dinner and presentation

Taste Farmers’ Markets Awards 2012 dinner and presentation

Join us as we celebrate the real food producers of New Zealand.  Farmers' Market Producer Categories for 2012 as awarded by NZ’s leading Chefs Jonny Schwass, a Canterbury localvore, Master Chef 2011 Nadia Lim  and Acclaimed Author and Chef Julie Biuso.  Dinner and Awards including Farmers' Market of the Year 2012 at the Parnell Farmers' Market, Jubille Building, 545 Parnell Road, Auckland.  1st of July - 6 - pm - Dinner and Awards Tickets $60 pp, limited seats available

Click here to register online for Taste Awards Dinner

Click here to download a registration form for Taste Awards Dinner


Farmers Markets NZ Conference 2012

“ FEEDING OUR COMMUNITIES “

2ND & 3RD JULY 2012

FMNZ Conference 2012 Programme

Click here to register online for FMNZ Conference 2012

Click here to download a registration form for Conference 2012

Out Standing in their Fields

Out Standing in their Fields

Farmers' Markets New Zealand is pleased to present our four outstanding regional chefs for - the perfect Christmas Present for 2011

Trade me Auction - Jonny Schwass - Click here- Lunch for four people in Jonny's Christchurch Garden - Awarded Cuisine Restaurant Personality of The Year

Trademe Auction - Marc Soper - Click here
Luncheon at Pirinoa Station in the Wairarapa for 6 people, serving a combination of dishes including 2011 Wellington chef of the capital award winning dishes and utilizing some of the finest regional products available

Trademe Auction - Jan Bilton - Click here
Cloudy Bay Winery will be your venue for 8 guests to sample the very best of Marlborough with Jan Bilton for a cooking demonstration and luncheon to be matched with Cloudy Bay Wines

Trademe Auction - Julie Biuso - Click here
Cooking Class for 6 in Julie Biuso’s home featuring fresh produce from the market, organic meats, and eggs from Julie’s own chickens

Check out the Out Standing in their Fields Blog for detailed updates, videos and recipes from the road!

Outstanding Kitchen being built - Chris Fortune NZ Chef

Outstanding Kitchen being built - Chris Fortune NZ Chef: "A Marlborough-built kitchen is being prepared to tour the country helping top Kiwi chefs promote homegrown New Zealand cooking to the world."

'via Blog this'

Well deserved Winner of NZ Rural Womans Award

Lisa Harper is Supreme Winner !!

Lisa Harper attended the awards ceremony at the Rural Women New Zealand National Conference 2011 on Friday night and has just been announced the overall supreme winner.

Well done Lisa from the Marlborough Farmers' Market Team.

Making cheese is something the Harper women have done for generations. We lovingly coax fresh milk into cheese, in our tiny farm dairy, from recipes more than two centuries old. Each cheese is hand-crafted using traditional methods, which have been discarded by modern dairy factories in the quest for efficiency. At Sherrington, we choose to make only limited quantities of cheese, using the old ways, because we believe it creates a better product - this is the way cheese was before mechanisation and standardisation became the norm. Sherrington cheeses look, smell and taste the way they were meant to - a real taste of history.

Strengthening rural communities is the aim of Rural Women New Zealand.

As an organisation they are constantly working to enhance our position as a respected voice of rural New Zealand families and communities.

They aim to develop rural communities by valuing rural uniqueness, understanding the needs of rural communities and working with agencies and RWNZ members to develop a strong rural network.

Master chef recipes

My step mother had a special recipe that would make a appearance once a fortnight at the dinner table, it was her pride and joy, and to her it was a culinary masterpiece or signature dish. Little did the three hungry boys who devoured every last little bit know that it was little more than glorified leftovers. She would lovingly call this impossible pie

Impossible pie recently made a comeback to the dinner table in the Fortune household as our Miss Four year old princess helped me make dinner for the family. Having recently been collecting eggs from our friends cookhouse she is always looking for a reason to get the bowl and whisk out, and once we had removed all the broken shells we had something that is acceptable for whisked eggs to form the base of our impossible pie

Mr Eight year old “I know everything “came bowling through the kitchen with a big ''yukkkk - I am not eating that !!! '' - which resulted in the prompt reply from missy – “ then you cant have any icecream !!”. That settled that. The Fortune fridge promptly gave us left over peas, carrots (sorry rabbits !), silverbeet and some cheese that had seen better days. The more leftovers the better for impossible pie

Missy would not allow any further help so I was relegated to the dishes and setting the table while she mixed all of the ingredients and then decorated with tomato smiley faces and cheese teeth ontop of. Into the oven and a new master chef contestant was born. I cant remember ever being taught how to cook at home, dinners were just provided and we were expected to eat it, no questions no fuss, and what we did not eat was put into our lunch the next day. Impossible pie never tasted good cold in lunch boxes so I am pretty sure this was the main reason we used to eat it all, the fear of lunch consisting of left over left over’s for lunch was just to much for us to stomach

Mr “I know everything” enjoyed seconds that night, and as I carefully removed egg shell from my dinner it was decided that impossible pie truly lives up to its name, and we will look at leftovers as the next culinary superstar dish, but I doubt you will find it on masterchef soon !

Little Missy’s Impossible Pie

1/3 cup Flour

3 eggs (shell removed)

1.5 cups milk

1 cup left over peas

½ cup carrots

¾ cup grated cheese

½ cup cooked silverbeet

1 onion (optional)

Tomato and herbs to garnish

Salt and pepper to season

Any other left over’s that you fancy. Whisk eggs and then add all other ingredients, place into a oiled shallow dish and bake in a mid oven 170 degrees C for approx 30-45 min or until set. Serve with salad and follow with ice-cream for extra bribery

Marlborough in the running for Taste of the Year

When Marlborough Farmers' Market started 10 years ago it was only the second such market in the country.

But despite the relatively small population of Blenheim and the surrounding areas, market president Chris Fortune says people have embraced the ethos of "authentic and transparent" food grown close to home.

Out of 43 eligible markets in the Taste Farmers' Markets Awards 2011, Marlborough is sitting in sixth place as customers' favourite, but there is still time to register a vote. Voting closes on Saturday.

"We're doing really well – it's a good sign of the strength of the base and support that we have in Marlborough," Chris said.

"But all the markets are reflective of their own regions – what works in Auckland doesn't necessarily work in Marlborough."

The markets gave food businesses the opportunity to have a retail outlet in their region, Chris said.

Although New Zealand was still relatively new at farmers' markets, it was catching up fast.

"Australia only had them one year before New Zealand so we're still the babies of the group, but we're looking at what's happening in farmers' markets around the world.

"(Marlborough) is certainly a growing market."

In the 2011 awards, Tauranga is leading the voting, with New Zealand's first farmers' market, Hawkes Bay, second.

Chris said rural people were generally more supportive of the markets and cities could struggle to become established. However, once they do they have the population to make them grow.

Those interested can vote at tastefarmersmarkets.org.nz and be entered into a competition to win a trip to Singapore.

Transparency of Marlborough

Having settled in Marlborough over a decade ago after eating the grass on the other side of the fence, it was not a hard decision to start using local produce.

While the rest of the world is busy hunting and gathering from exotic corners of the Earth, the real tastes can be found right here in our own backyard.

We have some of the best aquaculture farms, and practices that produce a word-class product that can be found not only on New Zealand dinner tables but all around the world.

While I am not tempted by flashy promotions and marketing campaigns for the latest food fad or trend, I put just as much emphasis on getting to know the people who produce our proteins and starches as I do on cooking them. This gives me transparency and awareness of what I am cooking and serving to my guests and family.

Having been involved with New Zealand King Salmon for at decade, it is no wonder that the company is now seeking to increase the size of its operation as it meets the needs of the marketplace. I have visited the salmon farms and worked with the staff through the highs and lows

The proof of success is in the pudding or, to put it into context, in the taste of the salmon that is dispatched from Marlborough every day of the week.

Transparency comes with years of hard work, and this is part of the story of why New Zealand King Salmon has become one of the world leaders in salmon production and sustainability.

If a product is local, it gets my attention. If a product is local and tastes great, I am interested. If a product is local, tastes great and has a sustainable and proven record, then I am more than interested. If a product is local, tastes great, has a sustainable record and is produced by a transparent company or people, then it will take pride of place at my dinner table for my family and guests.

Ingredients

2 large salmon fillets

1 cucumber

3 litres water

200g brown sugar

300g salt

3 lemons, sliced

Dressing:

3 egg yolks, beaten

3 tsp dried mustard powder

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

15 drops Tabasco sauce

Olive oil

5 Tbsp white vinegar

Combine all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil in a blender, using low speed. Maintain speed and add the olive oil very slowly until the mixture thickens and is the consistency of mayonnaise.

Season to taste and refrigerate for up to a week, using as needed.

Place the salmon pieces in the brine for at least two hours and then rinse well. Pat dry and place on a smoking rack.

Place 2 cups of smoking chips in the smoker and hot smoke for 15-25 minutes or until the salmon is medium cooked.

Cut the cucumber in half, scoop out the seeds and peel the flesh into long, thin strips. Place the smoked salmon on top, sprinkle with the capers and drizzle with the garlic dressing.