Tucked behind a strip of box stores in Glenfield's Wairau Park, a sweet-faced Matrouschka doll signals the entrance to World of Dumplings. Entering through an inconspicuous door, owner Olga Barbina smiles and ushers us into the large, low-ceilinged room of her factory.
From a steaming pot she scoops the small ear-shaped dumplings of her homeland and melts a sliver of butter over them. It's 10am but I'm in no way opposed to a sampling. The tightly packed morsels are somewhere between an Asian dumpling and tortellini and it's not out of politeness that I finish the whole bowl. And the plateful reserved for photographing.
While a Russian dumpling traditionally contains pork and beef mince, Olga's creations include chicken and vegetarian fillings and there are sweet versions made with cottage cheese.
"I really want to see New Zealand people enjoying this food. It's good for kids and students. It's a good, quick meal, heated from frozen," she says of the dumplings' easy preparation.
In Russia where it's minus 50 to 60 degrees in winter, the freezing process is simple.
"You could see small bags of dumplings hanging outside apartments to keep them cold if people ran out of room in their freezers."
Olga, who'd worked in finance, moved to Auckland four years ago because her husband was offered a job. But her new home sparked a new career.
"I decided to do something new, have a challenge and keep my brain going."
Dumpling introductions began when her family of four first settled on the North Shore and invited people over for dinner.
"When you come to a new place, you want to meet new people and make friends. So you think about what you can offer, something from your culture, from your cuisine."
The dumplings were a hit with guests, so much so that her daughter suggested she try to sell them.
So, after much research, testing and importing machinery from overseas, Olga established New Zealand's first Russian dumpling factory just over a year ago.
She now stocks her dumplings, made from all natural ingredients, in several New World supermarkets and Nosh stores throughout the country. Olga will be showcasing her dumplings in the artisan section of The Food Show.
MAKING WHOOPIE
WHAT
Whoopie
WHERE/WHEN 2A Hakanoa St, Grey Lynn, Tues-Fri 10-6pm, Sat-Sun 10-3pm
WEB www.whoopie.co.nz
Confession: I don't like cake. For some time I've been secretly on-side with a former editor who prefers beer to birthday cake. But Whoopie Cakes are my game changer. The spherical sweet treats with smooth filling smushed in their middle really are something else.
Under the shade of lofty plane trees in Grey Lynn's Hakanoa St, you'll find Lucy Stuart busy making Whoopie in her recently opened store. At just three months in, Lucy and her partner, Nick Maddren, are the newest kids on the block, but the Wiggles dancer turned pastry chef says she already has repeat customers.
"There's a lady who comes in with her kids on a Wednesday, they call it Whoopie Wednesday."
The story goes that Amish women baked the hand-size treats for their husbands who would shout "Whoopie" upon finding them in their lunchboxes.
Lucy, originally from Sydney, first discovered Whoopie pies in America while touring with the Wiggles. She also met Nick on tour - he was working as a sound engineer.
"The Whoopies that I tried [in America] weren't all that nice. Like a muffin, you get good ones and bad ones. In America, they use a lot of vegetable shortening and quite often this horrible sugary stuff called marshmallow fluff. But I really liked the idea of them. They're not as frilly as cupcakes so men are more inclined to buy them. They're easy to eat and they travel better, too."
Her sweet tooth eventually overruled her hectic Wiggles' touring schedule, and Lucy trained as a pastry chef, moving to Auckland with Nick.
She developed the New Zealand version, calling them Whoopie Cakes because they are made with more of a cake-like mix and don't use preservatives. Lucy also notes for Kiwis pie is usually associated with meat as opposed to Americans' sweet pie.
From Red Velvet Whoopie to the Peanut Butter Whoopie - Lucy's favourite which she says she 'hates' making because she can't stop eating the filling - they also make Whoopie pops (Whoopie cakes on a stick) and mini Whoopie. They supply to a few local cafes and deliver around the country.
This will be the first time Whoopie features at The Food Show and the couple say they can't wait.
"I remember going in the past and thinking I wish we were further ahead (developing their Whoopies) so we could have taken part."
Lucy says she loves seeing customers' reactions to Whoopies and eventually hopes to open another small store in the CBD. "It sounds so cliche but it's so nice to see people's faces. Sweet little foods are such a nice thing to be involved in."
PURE VANILLA
WHAT
Equagold
WHERE/WHEN 0800 Vanilla for stockists
WEB www.equagold.co.nz (online store)
Stepping into Equagold's packing room in Takanini, you're immediately accosted by the sweet fragrance of vanilla. Real vanilla. But as Ross Appleton admits: "We can't smell it anymore."
Ross and his wife Dianne bring high quality vanilla, cocoa and other products into New Zealand aiming to raise ingredient standards and make them accessible to everyone from top chefs to home cooks.
Ross points out the source of the scent, a peculiar cream-coloured machine used for making vanilla extract.
"Even in my mum's era, there was only ever imitation vanilla," says Dianne. "For a long time people were used to buying imitation essence, some of them have caramel or prune juice added. It's not real vanilla," says the long-time baker.
The couple's business began after Dianne discovered a woman importing real vanilla from Niue and selling it on behalf of the Niueans. But she got too busy, so Dianne and Ross bought the business from her nine years ago.
"I set it up in the basement and it literally went crazy, it just took off," says Dianne.
The company name reflects the origins of vanilla. Grown in a narrow band either side of the equator, it is sometimes referred to as "black gold", hence Equator Gold and so Equagold.
The vanilla is now sourced from a cooperative in Papua New Guinea and the company has expanded to supply glace figs from Syria, Belgian chocolate and high quality ginger to local chefs, caterers and home cooks.
They have stockists throughout New Zealand, Australia and Singapore and are just entering the Malaysian market.
Dianne has worked with the likes of Piako yoghurt devising the vanilla component to their product and is often asked by chefs to find particular ingredients.
"Our products are the highest we can source," she says. Since taking on the business, the couple say they have seen a huge shift in the Kiwi at-home cook and believe the average consumer has become far more discerning.
"People have become more keen to try things that chefs demonstrate," says Dianne. "New Zealand has grown in its encouragement to cook at home... people are getting a bit more savvy."
Ross, who comes from a marketing background, says since gelatin leaves were featured on TV cooking show MasterChef, gelatin "sales have been through the roof".
Their most common customers are women aged 35 to 55 and men aged 25 to 35.
They are seeing an increasing number of online customers from outside the food service industry buying in bulk.
"Things like 250g bags of cinnamon, we're seeing these orders going out to someone just cooking at home," says Ross.
Equagold will be set up at the entrance to the Electrolux cooking theatre at the Food Show. Dianne and Ross say they are looking forward to interacting with their customers and getting them to try out new products, like their mango and vanilla syrup.
"Attending the Food Show is part of the opportunity to educate people and get feedback from our customers. To talk to people about what they cook and what they're looking for," says Dianne.
Keep an eye out for the New Zealand Herald Food Show supplement, free in the newspaper on Wednesday, August 1.
TASTE SENSATIONS
WHAT The Food Show
WHEN Thursday, August 2 to Saturday, August 4, 10am-6pm. Sunday, August 5, 10am-5pm
WHERE ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane
HOW MUCH Thursday preview tickets $40. Preview sales online until Aug 1, $23 adult, under 12s $15, under 5s, free. Gate sales, $25 adults, under 12s $15, under 5s free.
WEB www.foodshow.co.nz
WIN TICKETS (COMPETITION CLOSED)
The Aucklander has four double passes to The Auckland Food Show to give away.
All you have to do is email us by Sunday, July 29, saying why you'd like to win, with Auckland Food Show in the subject line. Email letters@theaucklander.co.nz
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