Cherry picker (+recipes)

Hot cherry souffle. Photo / Supplied

Let me tell you a true story about the time I'd been brought in as an extra pair of hands for a chaotic hotel restaurant popping at the seams in the seaside town of Pauanui on the eastern coast of the Coromandel.

It is New Year's Day and supplies had been bought weeks in advance, stored to over-capacity to keep the place going while suppliers shut up shop over the holiday break.

The kitchen is divided into larder, entree, mains and pastry, chefs were busy cramming order dockets into the marble-filled sliders that prevent them from flying around the kitchen.

In the dining room, an order is delivered to the wrong table, creating a back-log in the kitchen.

In true Gordon Ramsay-style, chef punches the shelving unit the docket brackets are attached to, the stopper at the end of the holder fires off, and the marbles shoot across the floor.

Mayhem. Order dockets fall like autumn leaves into containers of dressing, and suddenly the orderly system is out the window and nobody has a clue who ordered what.

What, you may ask does this story have to do with today's topic, cherries?

Some genius (me), replaces the marbles in the docket holders with unripened cherries and, hey presto, we are back in action.

But back to your own kitchen. Cherries are the sure sign that we've welcomed in the New Year, so enjoy them with a glass of bubbly.

Cherries should be picked when the fruit is red and the stem detaches easily. They have a short shelf-life so store them in a black plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Our best cherry growing area is Central Otago, with its cool winters and hot summers. The harvest starts in mid-December with the primavera and dawson varieties and ends in late January with a the crunchy red black staccato, which has a sweet-burgundy flesh.

For something different, try roasting halved cherries under a grill on non-stick paper with a good dusting of caster sugar and a splash of vodka. Then pour them hot over a glass of chocolate icecream.

Cherries also work well in a savoury jam paired with grilled pork fillet. Saute finely diced onion with a little port, the cherries, brown sugar and red wine vinegar. Simmer until the cherries just start to collapse, then fold through a little chopped parsley and spoon immediately over the pork fillet with a side of crispy sliced peppered potatoes.

These gems, the king of summer fruit, are not around for too long so when the kids are out making sandcastles, take a stress-free afternoon and make the most of these sweet treats.

Cherry clafoutis
Hot cherry souffle