Chef Hermann Schafellner explains the principles behind the delicious food at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat

Viva joins designer Stella McCartney in Miami for a sneak peek at her new sports collection.

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

Makes 1 x 22cm tart. Shortcrust pastry: 180g butter. 240g plain flour. ½ tsp salt. ¼ cup iced water.

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.

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?

Go with the flow - "Don't get stressed about your hair, go with the gypsyness of summer," advises Louise Pilkington of Dry & Tea salon in Newmarket. "Go with your hair, work with the sea."

This year Auckland label Ingrid Starnes ran a series on their blog that interviewed and photographed local fashion craftspeople, showing the work that goes into NZ-made clothing.

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.