It was school meets Hell's Kitchen as top culinary students from around the country battled it out in Auckland yesterday.

Chocolate makers and fans of hazelnut-filled products including Nutella spread may need to brace themselves for price rises, after poor weather devastated hazelnut crops.

We regularly revisit our 5.30 theme (five ingredients in under 30 minutes) in Bite to help satisfy the constant demand for quick, easy recipes that help put good food on the table every day of the week.

Top chefs are swinging into action to help educate kids who think potatoes are long yellow things from McDonald’s.

Our love affair with Japanese food is becoming ever more intense. A whole generation of Aucklanders is growing up with the idea that the only acceptable quick lunch is a box full of cold rice surrounding slivers of salmon and cucumber.

Sean Armstrong's baking business, Loaf, started in a fit of anger. As a chef, Armstrong outsourced the bread baking when he needed large volumes for functions at Prime Bistro.

More than 2000 avocados stolen from a Whangarei orchard had recently been sprayed and are unsafe to eat, police say.

Not a week goes by where I don't eat at least one fish meal - pan-fried with salad, crumbed with chips, stir-fried in to Asian dishes, raw in Japanese dishes, baked, grilled, barbecued, marinated, curried, steamed - fish is so incredibly versatile.

The first mouthful of Gareth Stewart's chocolate pudding had me close to tears. I've been lucky enough to eat a lot of delicious meals this year, but this was one of the most wonderful desserts I'd had in a long time.

The rest of the world is now sending us some of their best wines, which enables us to see what all the fuss is about. These are worth checking out.

It was a night full of surprises. First we were surprised to be taken out to Le Vietnamese Kitchen's back room, and find it warmer and buzzier than in the front.

For cheese lovers it will be news worth celebrating with an extra slice of cheddar.

The focus of this week's Bite was going to be on foods we should be eating right now to ward off winter ills and moody blues.

Karena and Kasey Bird salute their mother’s home-cooked treats.

It's time to dump the sav and the pinot noir and enjoy a "wine epiphany".

'Tis the season for hearty comfort food and wines to match. If you’re looking for cuddly, well-made and red wines that are a bit off beat … you’ve come to the right place.

Out in the suburbs it is difficult to suppress a yawn when it is announced a new Indian restaurant is to open.

The faux outrage over Tim Groser hosting a so-called lavish dinner at which Patagonian tooth fish was served is absurd.

The menu was a cool, hand-drawn selection of breakfast options with a Southeast Asian flair.

British nutritionists threw down the gauntlet to dietary guidelines in April by declaring seven daily portions of fresh fruit and vegetables, rather than the recommended five, were the key to health.

Honey manufacturers are praising a new set of guidelines aimed at distinguishing the genuine manuka article from the knock-offs.