Yes it's out...2013 Wellington on a plate festival for all foodies. This year Finc & Coffee Supreme get to have some fun in a joint event... 'We eat coffee for breakfast'. Check it out online or come in and get a programme.

http://www.wellingtononaplate.com/events/we-eat-coffee-for-breakfast/

Cape gooseberries...coming soon to our menus. These little berries survive really well in frosty conditions, so we have plenty growing wild around our organic garden. When we include them in our diets, they help with inflammation and act as natural blood thinners. Yay for chilly sunny days Wellington.

 

Wild mushroom foraging for a good hearty winter soup. We took a long walk over the weekend and found lots of goodies around Wilton. Grab a good pocket mushroom book from Unity books and hit the bush.....

Yet again another month has flown by with wonderful events around us like graduation, the NZSO's stella start to its classical season, new exhibitions at Finc, ending with 'Handmade'....Wellingtons own crafty weekend festival. All this, while we've been beavering away with our foodie projects. So keep an out over June and July for some fab recipe sharing and food experiences. In the meantime, we sit and have a cuppa tea on this fine day being Queens birthday Monday. Thanks for the day off Liz!

Quina Fina, we can't stop drinking it. A dash of Gin, a dash of organic peach cordial. Tastiness!

Book your Mothers day High Tea this weekend. Divine treats; take the time to sit, chat and sip bubbles and Sweet Sunday Tea

For some the prospect of Winter looming, flu jabs, sunless days.....etc; kills all feelings of joy and happiness. For us however, it brings in a whole new season of grazing and feeding on all things tasty. And lets not forget all the tasty things we've bottled throughout the Summer and Autumn months. What better way to start our journey of tastings with these fine figs of our Dad's tree!

Manuka smoked fresh water Twizel salmon with a delicious soba noodle salad. Beautiful, plump and full of good fatty oils and a fab gluten free option.

All is peachy in the organic garden. We've been picking away and the last lonely peach was picked today. Come in and sip on a peach, gin and quina fina tonic over Easter or caramelised peaches on buttermilk hotcakes.

The best thing about working in a hot, humid, grumpy kitchen in the Summer is the knowledge that you will always have a heavenly batch of dough brewing somewhere.

Where did January go? In the garden that's where. Pumpkins, courgettes, garlic, artichokes, beans, potatoes, apples, tomatoes, poppy seeds, peaches, apricots......keeping us busy at home and the restaurant. The weather's been so fantastic, we are overwhelmed by the fruits of our labour!!!! Watch out for fresh figs, feijoa, tamarillos on the menu soon.

Fancy doing something on Wellington Anniversary day....pick some blackcurrants from Wilton bush or Belmont reserve and go home make this exceptionally delicious cake and invite your pals around to eat it! Easy pezzy!

Blueberry and fennel cake

3 eggs

150mls of extra virgin olive oil or melted butter

½ cup of raw sugar

½ cup of honey

1 ½ cups of flour

1 cup of whole meal flour

1 Tablespoon of baking powder

1 cup of yoghurt

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds

1 full cup of blueberries or blackcurrants

How to make it!

Put all ingredients into a bowl except the blueberries

Gently fold together to form the cake batter

Put into a greased tin and place the berries on top

Bake in a pre-heated oven @ 150 c for 40 minutes

Test the centre with a skewer to check whether it’s ready

Dust with icing sugar.

Getting back to the work groove? Juice up your brain power, boost your energy, slow skin ageing & prevent sun damage… What more could you ask for. Easy as…. 6 Spinach leaves 3 Carrots 1 Apple 1 Beetroot Combine all together in a juicer or blender and Voilà! Best taken at the start of the day

OK....Where did December go? An insane few weeks have gone by and now we have a new menu; Just like that! Some exciting, flavor packed dishes kept simple, but vibrant. Summer is short in Wellington, so we need to make the most of the Summer season if we want to support our locals!

Pan seared blue nose and prawns, polenta chips, mange tout on a roasted tomato and red capsicum couli

A kiwi Christmas is the warmest Christmas of all. Watch out for all the goodies we have in store over the next few weeks.

If we were here 70 years ago, this is the view we would have been treated to at the Wellington town hall. 17 Bobbies lined up and ready to go.

Hello Graduates, we are now taking bookings for your fabulous efforts. Graduation celebrations at Finc, what more could you be after.

Christmas time, oh Christmas time. How we love the taste of Christmas. Today we tested out our recipe for a sticky steamed christmas pudding. OH MY GOSH!

Our part-time staff have been studying hard with exams, but still they have time for food. Suzy sent us this lovely little message the other day which we think you should enjoy too!

Cheese at it's best! Recently Derek took the kids away for a long weekend and revisited Biddy Fraser-Davies and her husband, Colin at their farm and minature railway south of Eketahuna. They came back with their award winning cheese....Silver and Bronze at the European cheese makers awards this year. We couldn't stop eating it and there was a lot! Biddy does make the most devine product, so make it a weekend and go up and see them. Perfect family weekend.

http://www.modelrailway.co.nz/

Beautiful spring produce finally. Tis the season to get some colour on our plates.

Smoked bacon, bechamel, courgette and slow roasted tomato tart.

Halloween treats....come and get some! Indeed a very nice pumpkin and cardamon cupcakes.

Mad Muffin Mondays are back with bigger and healthier muffin & liquid refreshment options for a sweet $7 buckeroonies!!!!!

PARTY TIME......Unbelievable. Christmas bookings, cocktails and canapes already....2012 is coming to an end way to fast

GOMEZ make a welcome return to NZ, performing at Wellington’s Opera House on Wednesday 24th of October. To celebrate 15 years of existence the band are embarking on a celebratory “Quincenera Tour” Meaning literally “one who is fifteen” in Spanish. Come in and have a slurp and bite pre gig.

We've been making batches and batches of Macarons lately and it feels like we've finally mastered the 'foot' of the our beloved French treat! Yes!!

Salted nut and caramel Macaron.....with a foot!

It's not always easy to get it right especially when you have new staff on hand and they are trying their best to catch up to the rest of the team. Recently we were sent a link to an article on 'Stuff.co.nz' and it made for an interesting read; not just for the food industry but for anyone in business really. Online reviews are a way of life for most now and as a business we have to accept the comments good or bad. It is however how we deal with the response that matters. Obviously it is better that we are able to deal with an unhappy sitiuation straight away, but some times when you have inexperienced staff on board or your business has a high turnover of foot traffic that is not easy. All we can say is confronting the situation straight away in person will get you a lot more positve benefits than have a winge online! I'm sure most business who care would agree. So the next time you have something to say, we'll be happy to chat to you in person!!! http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7691463/Online-reviews-have-some-at-boiling-point

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7691463/Online-reviews-have-some-at-boiling-point

Small plates with a large bite! Slow cooked belly pork on crisped baked kumara with a sweet and sour daikon pickle......we are so enjoying this spring tasting lark!!!

David Byrne & St Vincent.... 'who'...how we love this man!

More deliciousness from our Spring dinner menu, today we had a tasting of 3 dishes......Treat!

Beautiful flavors of Cha ca

Venison denver leg with a celeriac and braised beetroot salad and creamed potato

Seared tuna, panko crumbed prawns and an udon noodle salad

Spring menu is coming....today we had a tasting of our Walnut goats cheese ravioli with a baby watercress, orange sage and beetroot salad...Yummmm!!