KEY POINTS:
A new child-friendly cook book with appealing recipes could encourage even the fussiest young eater to try something new.
Cool Kids Cooking, a spin-off book from the television show that encourages littlies to enjoy eating well, was launched by the Prime Minister in Auckland last Friday. Child chefs supplied the canapes at the function.
The book's recipes range from breakfasts to mains and include drinks, snacks and sweet treats, with the aim of helping achieve the 5+ a day quota of fruit and vegetables.
The book, published by Hachette Livre, sells for $24.99, and is being sent to primary and intermediate schools. The Cool Kids Cooking show screens on TV2 weekdays at 3.25pm.
Pans at dawn
Gordon Ramsay is closing one of the crown jewels in his restaurant empire, in a row over room service. The cantankerous chef is pulling out of the Connaught Hotel, where his protege Angela Hartnett won a Michelin star. The London hotel is closed for a costly refurbishment, and now it has emerged that the restaurant, beloved by celebrities and statesmen, will not have its lease renewed because the Scottish firebrand was apparently unhappy at being told to provide guests with room service meals prepared in the restaurant.
Ramsay's position as top dog among Britain's chefs has also been called into question after his flagship restaurant in Chelsea lost top billing in the esteemed Zagat restaurant guide. Despite suggestions his souffle is slumping, he still has five restaurants in other major London hotels, including the Savoy and Claridge's, and a thriving on-screen career.
Wait not, want not
Fed up with having waiters sneering at your choices? Germany may have found the solution. A bistro in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg has done away with serving staff, replacing them with giant corkscrews. Baggers Bistro, in what seems like a parody of the advertising slogan Vorsprung durch Technik (Progress through Technology) has installed 5m steel spirals, each connected to a dining table and held in place by rods attached to the ceiling. Diners keep an eye on these contraptions to see whether their orders are on the way down the twister. "Billions could be saved if the concept were to be adopted by major restaurant chains," the founder says. Orders are made on computerised touch screens above the tables, and chefs put the orders on the conveyors where gravity carries them to the tables below.
Gourmet chocolate
Green & Blacks has launched its luxury organic range of chocolate in New Zealand. To help chocoholics make the most of the more-ish treat, a Green & Blacks' Chocolate Recipes book, judged best chocolate book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, is also on the market.
Its chapters have evocative titles, such as Abracadabra (for quick and easy recipes), Licking the Bowl (for children) and Wicked (for irresistibly rich concoctions). The book is published by New Holland, and costs $39.99.
Recipes range from the expected sweets and cakes to vodka chilli chocolates, chicken mole and chestnut and chocolate souffles.
Green & Blacks makes milk, dark and white ranges in 35g and 100g bars, available from supermarkets and selected retailers. Maya Gold, a dark chocolate with orange and spices, is one to look out for. The brand began in 1991 and has Fairtrade certification, as it uses cocoa from hundreds of smallholders in Belize, who are aiming for self-sufficiency.
New chef
The Stamford Plaza Auckland has a new executive chef, Mohammed (Mo) Arun, who began his career in Fiji, but has worked in New Zealand since 1991, including at the Hyatt, the Waitangi Resort Hotel and Auckland restaurants Cin Cin and, most recently, Iguacu.
The Stamford has introduced new menus in its restaurants, as well as packages combining hotel stays and meals, including a girly break for two starting from $234.
Mo Arun is also hosting a Gourmet Cooking Weekend on September 29 and 30 and the hotel's monthly market takes place on the Sunday. Details of the girls' Celebration Package, the cooking weekend and other offers are on www.stamford.com.au/spak
Essential, naturally
Hansells has introduced a range of natural essences in 10 flavours, including almond, vanilla and fruity flavours such as banana, lemon, orange, raspberry and strawberry. The longtime pantry stalwart has a new easy to open and pour 50ml bottle. Vanilla and lemon essences have a recommended retail price of $4.97; the others, including coconut, caramel and peppermint are $2.97.
