Serves 4. This needs to be made at least 12 hours in advance, 24 is preferable.

Serves 4. 1 large Australian mango. 24 fresh cherries, plus 12 to serve. ½ cup ginger wine.

If you haven't done so already, I suggest this year you make peace with a more casual style of eating out.

Since establishing their first cafe in 2004, Jackie Grant and Scott Brown have been quietly transforming Auckland's cafe scene in their quest to make this city a world-class eating destination.

The clothes are ready, invitations sent and models cast: designers share some behind the scenes snaps of their NZFW prep.

A handpicked selection of what's new in fashion, food and beauty right now. See this week's issue of Viva for more.

What do the hard-working people who run some of our city's busiest and best kitchens do when their restaurant kitchen is given a final scrub-down for the year? Do they put their feet up and let others wait on them hand and foot?

Can lunch ever really compete with dinner as the ultimate dining occasion? Definitely. Especially when it involves taking a trip to the country through rolling hills to a beautifully restored villa with white wicker furniture set out on a shaded verandah.

Let's face it - it really isn't summer unless the air is thick with the heady aroma of charcoal-infused food and the sweet sound of a sizzling grill-plate, jam-packed with a raft of delicious treats.

If you haven't sorted your Xmas selections yet you may be starting to panic about finding the perfect present for each person on your list. Go easy on yourself by simply buying a gift set.

They say twins develop a dialect of their own but perhaps married couples do too. When it comes to talking about their vision, it's lucky that interior designer Janice Kumar-Ward and her husband, Julian, a cabinetmaker, speak the same lingo.

Serves 4. 1 cup steamed edamame beans - peeled. 3 radishes, finely sliced. ¼ watermelon, peeled, deseeded and diced. 100g feta, crumbled. 2 Tbs olive oil, plus 1 Tbs extra for grilling the salmon. Juice and finely grated zest of one lime.

Serves 4. Garlic oil: 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp fresh thyme, 200ml extra virgin olive oil. Salad: 200g broad or green beans, 1 eggplant, 1 red capsicum, 1 yellow capsicum, 3 courgettes, 100g buffalo mozzarella.

They make their own ice-cream at this Indian restaurant down on North Wharf. The trio of flavours was so wildly fantastic that each mouthful took me and my friend by surprise.

A lovely bottle of something special is always a welcome gift — Viva picks some of our best buys.

Good brushes aren't cheap, so how do you judge if they are worth the expense?

Softened butter to grease an oven tray, ¼ cup water, 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup, 1½ cups raw peanuts, ½ cup pecan nuts, ½ tsp salt, 2 Tbs butter, 1 tsp baking soda

Makes approximately 20. 20 fresh cherries, 50ml brandy, 100g butter, ½ tin condensed milk, ½ cup white chocolate, chopped, 375g crushed wine biscuits

This recipe needs to be made a day ahead. 400g dark chocolate - at least 60 per cent cocoa solids, 200ml cream, Zest of one orange, plus a little extra to garnish, 2½ Tbs crystallised ginger, finely chopped

The interplay between fragrance and memory prompts powerful emotions. Every season leaves a scent trail, but perhaps none more so than at Christmas.

Isaac Sinclair, Ecoya's New Zealand-raised, French-trained, Brazilian-resident perfumer, answers Viva's questions about home fragrance.