Dish Articles

Love and Loathing

Story by Catherine Bell

Lately I often find myself being either delighted or, on the other hand, frustrated, irritated or just plain angry about certain things. I do hope this is not one of those sneaky signs of aging, but rather that I am more easily thrilled by small pleasures, and far less tolerant of other annoyances than I used to be.

I thought I’d share a few of the things that have recently given me pleasure and a few of the things that have made me irritable. As is usually the case with me they relate in some way to my primary obsession in life: food and eating.

THE PLEASURES:

·The farmer at the Parnell Farmers’ Market who displays little piles of zucchini on a cabbage leaf, rather than putting them in a plastic bag

·At the same market (indeed, at the same stand) being able to choose from five or six varieties of tomato and so freshly picked they still have the dew on them

·Buying freshly pulled onions tied together with string

·The food vendor at Matakana Farmers’ Market who serves crêpes on a glossy green banana leaf – you can’t get more enviro-friendly than that!

· Restaurant prices in Wellington – why can’t we eat such excellent food in such excellent eateries for the same price elsewhere?

· Seeing kids with roadside stalls selling home baking and lemonade. I commend their parents for letting them

·He rise in people across all social-economic levels wanting to bake at home and grow their own vegetables

·I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but well done McDonalds for starting to use free-range eggs, at least in a few stores. But please don’t keep telling us how fabulous you are for using real milk and real beef – what other sort is there?

·Michelle Obama digging the White House vegetable garden and, more importantly, her quest to address childhood obesity

·Nuggets of brilliance on Food TV. Having just got Sky for the first time I have naturally enough discovered the food channel and its highlights such as Thomasina Miers’ A Cook’s Tour of Spain and her even older Wild Gourmet series. She’s fresh and inspiring – almost a female version of Jamie Oliver, but not so irritatingly enthusiastic.

THE PAIN:

·The really bad and grossly oversized food on offer at the plethora of eateries along the main road in Tirau! Sorry, but it’s the 21^st century – either get with it or go back to the 1950s and serve good traditional home made food.

·The end of American Gourmet magazine – to my mind a monumental mistake on the part of the publishers and one I am sure they will regret.

·Poorly made coffee – there is just no excuse in a country with over 100 coffee roasters and such a vibrant coffee culture. So, café owners who don’t already, please send your staff to training! Otherwise don’t charge me the same as those cafés who care about the product they serve.

·reality food television – does this get people off the couch and into the kitchen to really cook? I hope so.

Photo by Dish Magazine

Story by Catherine Bell