Pies at Pepe’s Cafe
10 Broken Hill Road, Kenepuru, Porirua 5022
The inimitable @titty.eats is someone who I often message for a tip if I want to try something new. He is someone who truly understands the democracy of food and seeks to elevate and celebrate the food that is so often ignored by others. So when he said that Pepe’s Café in Porirua were selling potentially the best pies in town, I drove there the next day. And the day after. And the day after that. Three pies in three days. Pepe’s is a family run café in the heart of the industrial estate in Kenepuru, it’s the one that is always busy and feels like the beating heart of a vital community. The povi masima and kalo in coconut cream pie was something genuinely new but somehow familiar and warming. Sat tall and packed with salty, fatty rendered down brisket; ribbons of translucent fat holding it all together and topped with kalo bound in a rich coconut cream. It is the closest thing to perfection I have ever found in a warmer cabinet. The boil-up pie is just as good and so too are the panikeke with their deep banana sweetness. There is so much more to their offer that it has fast become the place I get most excited about visiting, and you should probably start getting excited too.
Hake Brandade at Moy Hall
1 Martins Road, Martinborough 5711
Just like when celebrities reach a level of fame as to be known by a single name: Cher, Zendaya or Scribe, so too can a restaurant for a single dish: Alinea and that pudding served over the whole table, St Johns with the bone marrow and then Moy Hall and the blue cheese gnocchi. Ask anyone about Martinborough and they will inevitably say something along the lines of you having to go to Moy Hall to have the gnocchi. And I liked it. I liked it a lot. It was delicious. But it wasn’t the Hake brandade. Now that is a dish. A full warm bowl to be enjoyed under the heaters on a crisp winters day. A brandade at its simplest is potato whipped with salted fish, olive oil, garlic and whatever other herbs or bits you fancy. Traditionally made with salted cod, here hake is used to create something so creamy and fatty, yet light and savoury, that it almost floats in front of you like some small miracle. All this served on a healthy portion of stewed winter greens, properly seasoned and deep with earthiness and verdancy. A slow roasted tomato and a crumbly cornbread provide a much needed sweetness that balances everything in absolute harmony. This is a dish that deserves to be remembered. To have its name graffitied across walls and etched into padlocks before being fastened to a bridge somewhere in Europe. Next time you are in Martinborough do go to Moy Hall and do have the gnocchi. But please also get the hake.
Recipes from James Ramsden
Sunday Sauce
Cooking at home can, when left unattended, become somewhat like cooking on train tracks. You just chug along the pre-existing routes you carved out long ago, finding yourself falling into patterns and routines that mean it can be quite tricky for a new recipe, ingredient or process to sneak its way in. It’s understandable. It’s winter and sometimes the days feel like they are there to be conquered rather than cherished and held close. In May I found out that James Ramsden has a new Substack of recipes and musings that has quickly found its way into my most read pile and, most impressively, my actual kitchen three times in as many weeks. James Ramsden is one half of the London hospitality duo that you may know from such hits as: Pidgin (tiny & perfect restaurant in Hackney),Sons & Daughter (home of the probably the best sandwich in London) and much missed podcast The Kitchen is on Fire. The beauty of the recipes and how James writes is that he wants everything to be as tasty as it can, but really can’t be bothered with laborious processes or any other silliness. Ingredients are often found in his freezer and all herbs and spices are ones you will have, if not he will be honest and tell you he often doesn’t bother and it probably won't make a difference. This month I have cooked a fierce Laab, a pasta with green sauce that is in near constant rotation, and a Thai BBQ beef dish so good I have made the sauce in bulk for other things. Sign up and cook something delicious this week.
Confit Duck by Lucian P
On a dark cold night in June, a group of us went to a rather nice house on Mt Vic and were served a three course meal by aspiring young chef, Lucian. It must be said that Lucian is not any normal young chef, he is more like a walking encyclopedia of food related information and processes. At such a young age he has trained under Laura Greenfield at Field and Green, has recently been staging at Myrtle Bakery and frequently runs the pass at Everybody Eats like someone twice his age. That evening he served us many treats, including steak tartare and a homemade chestnut ice cream, but the absolute star was his confit duck. Cured for 24 hours after removing the tendons for better presentation, then confit for about as long as it is possible to and the skin crisped up before serving. This served with a Joel Robuchon-esque mashed potato in which a quite frankly obscene amount of butter had been added, pure luxury and decadence. A sharp braised red cabbage and sauce reduced over a period of time that empires have risen and fallen in cut through everything and provided the acidity needed for the duck to shine. Finally on the side was a microgreens salad dressed in a lemon vinaigrette, a skillful touch that provided texture and cold contrast to the warming dish. At any age this kind of cooking is impressive, at his age it is nothing short of a marvel. If TAB took bets on the future success of young chefs, I would place a healthy bet on Lucian.