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Green is the new black for vegetarians and to celebrate being in fashion they're throwing a festival on Sunday. That's because it's practically World Vegetarian Day. It falls on Monday, October 1 which, given global time differences, means New Zealand is really the starter course for celebrations.
"It has never been easier to be a vegetarian in New Zealand," says Fiona Brodie of the Vegetarian Society. "More and more New Zealanders are cutting back or eliminating meat from their diets for reasons ranging from saving the planet, animals, health, taste or to save money."
The food and lifestyle festival in Auckland features food tastings, cooking demonstrations from vegetarian chefs including Peter Chaplin, who once worked for Madonna, and Alessandra Zecchini. Product displays include vegan items, soy cheese, Asian mock meats and non-alcoholic wines, plus bean dips and spreads.
Non-vegetarians are welcome and Brodie hopes they'll consider cutting out meat for a day. "Going vegetarian even for a day can have a positive effect on the environment," she says. "Plant-based diets are far more efficient than those relying on animal products. People are waking up to the fact that it's pretty hard to call yourself a meat-eating environmentalist."
The festival is at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, 489 Dominion Rd, Balmoral from 10am to 4pm. Entry is $2.
Scrummy crumb
A crumb of macadamias, lemon rind, salt, spice and sea kelp from Cathedral Cove is new at Farro food market. The rub/sprinkle was used to make the dish judged best at this year's Whitianga Scallop Festival, where it was used to roll scallops, before they were pan-fried for 1 to 2 minutes and set aside. To achieve a restaurant-style finish, deglaze the cooking pan by adding a small measure of wine or beer and pour this over the scallops. The crumb is also good with fish or chicken, and a 75g pack is $7.95. Farro, 80 Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington. Ph (09) 570-7071.
Name game
Winemakers from the Swiss village of Champagne have lost a legal battle to attach the town's long-held name to locally-produced wine. France has fiercely resisted the labelling of any wine as champagne unless it is from the region of France that produces the famous bubbly. But the Swiss village on the shores of Lake Neuchatel reckoned it had a good case, and plans to challenge the ruling in the European Court of Justice, saying it lost on a technicality. The Swiss winemakers say there is an ancient custom of naming their wine after their village, which has been called Champagne - with variations on the spelling - since at least AD885.
The Swiss Champagne does not have the traditional French fizz, but has been made in the village since the 10th century. France did not start producing its champagne until the end of the 17th century.
Takeout tipple
Wine enthusiasts who spend hours discussing bouquet, colour and the best years for bordeaux should brace themselves. Their revered tipple is about to be sold in tiny Tetrapaks and supped from a straw. A Bordeaux wine merchant hit on the idea to market the wine in a package that enabled it to be sold for drinking "on the go". Trials are taking place in Europe, and British supermarkets are also discussing introducing the Tandem range which comes with a straw designed to spray wine into the mouth through five holes for a full flavour experience.
This doesn't impress Alan Griffiths, of 300-year-old wine merchant Berry Brothers & Rudd, who says: "Part of the pleasure of any wine is the aroma, the bouquet when you pour it into a glass. If you drink it through a straw you lose that. It also brings wine to the level of fruit juices."
