I felt like I was going to be cooking for the Queen, as one of Greg's guests was restaurant royalty, Fleur Sullivan of Fleurs of Moeraki fame. Her legendary restaurants and immense support of regional foods have created legions of fans. In her honour, I thought I would try to use as many local products in one dish as I could - meats, black pudding, wild duck, Dean's Bush borlotti beans and more.
A cassoulet comes into its own, as this French classic has many variations on the base of a bean stew to which various meats and charcuterie are added. Simmered for a length of time, the unctuous brew is topped with bread crumbs to form a crust.
I bought some belly pork, smoked bacon, sausages, black pudding and some hogget from Oamaru's Campbell's Butchery. Still family run, the butchery has been operating for more than 100 years. I had my freshly-shot duck. I cheated on the stock and bought some prepared chicken stock, though this dish is so rich you could use water alone.
I bought the Canterbury-grown dried borlotti beans at the Dean's Bush market but if you can't find local, use imported dry beans. They need to be soaked overnight in lots of cold water. I had some sour dough bread from the market for the crumbs, then all I had to grab were a couple of tins of tomatoes from Katy's cupboard.