The Dish: Top sauce

I Love Sauce Real Tomato Sauce. Photo / Babiche Martens

From the people who create the delicious I Love Pies range comes this delicious I Love Sauce - real tomato sauce. Handmade with natural ingredients and free from preservatives, it is the next best thing to making it yourself and delicious with barbecued sausages and patties. $6.95 from good gourmet butchers, supermarkets and delis.

Sure Bet

If you don't have Auckland Cup Week (6-13 March) marked on your calendar, you should. It's going to be a week of top-notch horse racing and a chance for the who's who of our city to strut their stuff in racewear finery. One of the top social events of the week, we predict, will be the Skycity Auckland Cup Week Diamond Ball on Thursday March 4. TV star Jaquie Brown will the MC on the night which includes a three-course meal and drinks including Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne on arrival, dance music by Nu Soul Band, the Skycity show girls, plenty of giveaways and prizes to be won plus top tips for racing and fashion. Tickets are $195 per person or $1950 a table of 10 and are available through www.ticketek.com

Exotic flavours

Christchurch readers will know the delicious Middle Eastern food created by Sami's Cafe. Now owners Sami and Sonia are sharing their expertise with their Sami's Kitchen range of authentic herbs and spices. Add the sharwarma blend to sliced lamb or beef and marinate overnight, use the falafel spice blend to add extra flavour the next time you cook with chickpeas, or coat chicken with the shish tawook blend and barbecue. $7.95 each. For your nearest stockist go to www.samiskitchen.co.nz

Bigger and bigger

Fans of the Ponsonby Nosh foodmarket will be delighted it has now tripled the internal space dedicated to food. Both the butchery and fish counters have been extended, the selection of convenience food has been expanded and now you can even buy fresh flowers. With stores also in Greenlane, Mt Eden, Glen Innes and Matakana, Nosh provides a tasty mix of deli foods and day-to-day products. It's the perfect place when you can't face the madness of a supermarket. Nosh Ponsonby, 254 Ponsonby Rd, ph (09) 360 5557. Mon-Fri 10am-7.30pm, Sat 9am-7.30pm, Sun 9am-6pm. www.noshfoodmarket.com