Stories

The search for quality and variety is what drives the city's passionate coffee roasters and blenders. Coffee, coffee, coffee – we love, love, love it. Whether it’s our breakfast latté, mid-morning long black or maybe even a frappé or cold brew later in the day, this get-up-and-go go-to is a source of both joy and strength. Which is why for the dedicated roasters and retailers putting their all into delivering Christchurch caffeine-istas with the best the world of coffee has to offer, the focus remains firmly fixed on quality and variety. Markus and Maria Hirner of Espresso245, who market their coffee under the Viking Coffee brand, source green beans directly from Bolivia, after travelling there in 2018 to follow up on reports of a rise in high-grade specialty coffee from the central South American country. The new trading connection is a cultural one as well – Maria Hirner is originally from...

The team at plant-based food producer The Brothers Green are on a mission to get more Kiwi farmers growing hemp and more people consuming it. What got you started on the road to launching The Brothers Green?  In October 2018, we entered a competition put on by Foodstuffs and the Ministry of Awesome. The idea was to try and bring food manufacturing back to the Garden City. We entered a plant-based, high-protein snack bar for gym goers under the brand Beefy Green. We won the competition but were advised to change the name, so we did, to Hempy Bar. We wanted to educate people about the benefits of hemp, both from a health perspective and as a cropping option for farmers. We targeted the hardest market of all – children’s snack bars. If we can get kids enjoying hemp, the flow-on effects for future generations will be immeasurable. How are food...

Liven up your pantry with a few special jars of somethin’-somethin’! Hazelnut butters from White Heart step your toast up to a whole new level. Growing hazelnuts in Tai Tapu and batch roasting to perfection, White Heart have blended them with premium, organic and fair-trade ingredients for spreads such as Hazelnut and Cocoa, Hazelnut and Coconut and the delectable Hazelnut and Honey. Mandys Horseradish needs no introduction to local foodies; their authentic, old-fashioned and creamy horseradish sauce (with a kick!) has won awards and fans up and down the country, and is still produced traditionally. Cookbook author and foodie Shirley Bradstock started Shirley’s Kitchen selling her own version of delicious Italian confection panforte, but her range just keeps expanding; her spiced figs are must-tries. Good Honest bakery supply artisan bread, pastries, cakes and more to all the top eateries in town, and luckily they also have online ordering so you can have...

Christchurch is home to some of the country’s best gastropubs, with mouth-watering menus as well as a wide range of beers, wines and other beverages on offer. They are havens for fine fare based on old-skool classics and chill surrounds – Christchurch’s gastropubs are well worth exploring. In Victoria Street you’ll find The Bog, an Irish bar and restaurant offering a range of hearty Irish classics and retaining all the traditions of the classic Irish pub. It’s a short jaunt from here down to the Carlton Bar & Eatery, the purpose-built post-quake version of a bar and restaurant long part of the scene. Towards the east, Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn is home to more than 30 taps of New Zealand and international craft beer. They do some awesome eats too. Make a beeline for The Terrace, where you’ll find Terrace Tavern, a modern watering hole overlooking the Avon. Continue up to...

Destinations that showcase a variety of eateries under one roof are an excellent option for the chronically undecided or those heading out in a group. Riverside Market Riverside Market houses a seven-day-a-week indoor farmers’ market, boutique shopping and space for events, festivals and music. Providing a reliable source of fresh, organic, locally grown food, Riverside is a community of local independent traders, showcasing the best food producers and creators in our city and region. The development’s market square is a grand space, with a mezzanine floor hosting restaurants, a bar and a cooking school. The plan to have students at the school source their ingredients from the market below typifies the dedication to community and a shared experience for business owners and shoppers alike. riverside.nz The Welder The Welder, on bustling Welles Street, joins the impressive rank of culinary haunts such as Welles Street, Burger Burger and Supreme Supreme. The Welder...

Tejas Nikam is head chef at Vices & Virtues Restaurant and Bar at the Sudima Christchurch City. How would you describe the cuisine you create? I always want my diners to experience the best meal. The cuisine here at Vices & Virtues is fresh, modern fusion. We try to create food that is flavourful, appealing to the eye and healthy, as well as considering various options for dietary requirements. What are you striving to achieve with it? We want to be the best restaurant and well regarded, where people come with expectations and we make sure that we fulfil or better them. How do you ensure your cuisine stays relevant? I am in regular touch with local producers and suppliers and love when we are able to find and offer something that’s unique, for example our Wairiri buffalo cheese that we use in our popular burrata dish. What advice would you...

Cityscape puts its beer goggles on and tracks down the best places to sample craft beers both local and from further afield. We’ve come a long way from a nation where you could have any beer you liked so long as it was made by Lion or DB. Since the craft beer revolution kicked off in the 1980s, some of those original breweries are now themselves large enterprises, and there seems to be a new boutique label every other week. Add to that the ever-expanding offering of brew pubs, beer-focused restaurants and bars, boutique fill stations and bottle stores and you have a nation of beer drinkers confronted by more choice than time to sample and choose. Now ain’t that a First World problem! Ask the brewers and they will say it is their customers’ openness to trying new styles and flavours that drives innovation in the New Zealand industry –...

Brewing beer can use a lot of resources and can be hard on the environment, but at The Fermentist, they are determined to find a better way. Sustainability is the new buzzword for everything from drinking straws to air travel but few take it as seriously as Christchurch micro-brewery The Fermentist. Not only do they chase down and replace any product or process that doesn’t meet their high standards for sustainability, they see this commitment as a way to help other brewers and hospo houses up their game. If that all sounds a bit too serious for a fun night out, fear not – sustainability doesn’t mean austerity, and the delicious plant-based menu is well matched to the bodacious beverages on offer. The chefs do an amazing job at creating flavoursome food, such as delicious tofu bites that taste like popcorn chicken! Sustainability is a big challenge for a brewery –...

It’s true, Asian food tastes better eaten with chopsticks. Using a fork or spoon may be easier for the uninitiated but those big mouthfuls will fill you up faster, meaning you won’t be able to sample all the delicacies. And making the effort to master the sticks also shows respect for the culture that is feeding you. So grasp the nettle (and the chopsticks) and give it a go. But remember, they are utensils, not drumsticks, so hold off on your table-top cover of ‘Wipeout’. Never pass food with your chopsticks. Doing so reminds Asian people, particularly the Japanese, of the ritual of passing cremated bones between chopsticks at funerals. The same rule applies to sticking your chopsticks vertically into a bowl of rice, another symbol of death. Here’s a few simple rules: You wouldn’t do it with your fork, so don’t point your chopsticks at someone while talking. Likewise, don’t...

Ralph Bungard of Three Boys Brewery reckons fortune favours the brave when it comes to matching food and beer. What could possibly go wrong, he asks. You can really put a unique spin on your next dining date by taking an adventurous jump into matching food with some of the amazing beer styles now on offer from our independent New Zealand brewers. Aromatic hops, complex malts and funky yeasts are the tools modern brewers use to provide anything from gentle fruitiness and complex maltiness through to in-your-face hop explosions and mouth-puckering sourness – all in the name of beer. The secret to good food-to-beer matching is not complex. Let’s face it – what can really go wrong that won’t, in the worst case, just leave you with some great talking points and memories to savour. For me, a good starting point in beer-to-food matching is to chant “similar or contrasting”. That...

Cityscape seeks out some of the truly epic burgers on offer around Christchurch. BurgerFuel // The Bastard Ingredients: 100% pure grass-fed beef, melted cheddar, bacon, raw grated beetroot with chia seeds, mango, smashed avocado, salad, tomato relish and free-range aioli. One of the originals on the menu at the first BurgerFuel store. The Bastard is like a pizza with ‘the works’ and once people got over the polarising mango and beef combo, it quickly became one of the most popular burgers on the menu. The Burger Joint // The Bomb Ingredients: 100% pure NZ beef, bacon, cheese, egg, beetroot relish, lettuce, onion and pickles. From a menu of sumptuous choices, including kimchi and a delicious grilled eggplant vegetarian option, The Bomb stands out. It’s been on the menu since the New Brighton eatery’s start as a food truck and it continues to please the punters. The name says it all –...

If you're going to be a truly cosmopolitan foodie, you've got to know the lingo. Cityscape breaks it down. Indian Aloo: potato. Bhaji: vegetables dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep-fried. Biryani: a mixed rice dish. Dahl: a lentil curry similar to thick lentil soup. Dosa: similar to a crêpe in appearance and made from a fermented rice batter. Ghosht, josh or ghosh: meat, usually lamb. Kofta: meatballs or vegetable dumplings. Korma: braised in yoghurt and/or cream and nuts. Often mild but rich. Lassi: a yoghurt drink, ordered with salt or sugar, sometimes with fruit. Murgh or murg: chicken. Naan: teardrop-shaped flatbread cooked in tandoor. Paneer: Indian cheese, a bit like tofu in texture and taste. Pasanda: thin fillets of lamb cut from the leg and flattened with a mallet. Pilau: flavoured rice cooked with meat or vegetables. Popadom: large thin wafers made with lentil paste and flavoured with pepper, garlic...

Wander into New Regent Street’s Rollickin Gelato HQ on the right day of the week and you may find yourself part of “the huddle meeting”, where the chefs at the city’s hippest gelato joint will be brainstorming new flavours and lobbying for old favourites for the fortnightly menu update. “Because our customers are listening in around us, often they’ll jump in and make suggestions. And we’ll see if we can slot it in somewhere,” Jed Joyce, Rollickin’s founder, tells Flavours of Christchurch. That’s just how Rollickin came to have The Cinema on its roster, with a salted vanilla base and layers of caramelised popcorn and chocolate. “That’s a classic example,” says Jed. “We were sitting there having our meeting and somebody sitting at a nearby table just jumped in and suggested it.” For Jed and the rest of the Rollickin Gelato team, it’s about being responsive to their community. Oh, and...

The days of chips and onion dip are long behind us (yawn!). Grazing platters are the way to go, so we teamed with Barrys Bay Cheese to show you how to pull together the ultimate party platter. Platters offer something for everyone and most importantly show off your fab presentation skills! Everything can be prepared ahead, leaving you free to greet your guests. People eat with their eyes, so spread everything across your board and add plenty of pops of colour. Start with your heroes The stars of any good platter will take up a decent chunk of space and be the most coveted. It’s safe to assume that cheese will be snapped up, so be sure to get a few decent-sized blocks. Place the cheese throughout the board so the goodness can be reached from any angle. Meat is something else that will be in demand and may take more...

Switch from four wheels to two with one of Bespoked Cycles’ sleek custom-built bikes. Starting with one of four different framesets, Bespoked Cycles rock a huge number of build combos including unlimited colours to choose from. You can design, build and spec your bike from scratch with high quality components. Tailor your bike to fit your own style and aesthetic, add flip-flop hubs so you can switch between fixed and freewheeling options or take your pick from their range of primo prebuilt custom bikes. Bespoked Cycles use only high-end Factory Five quality components including chainrings, Pista cranksets, carbon-fibre forks, and alloy and steel frames. bespokedcycles.co.nz

Those who like to imbibe in swank surrounds where exotic cocktail lists meet craft beers, fine Kiwi wines and savvy service are in for a treat, with Christchurch rocking some seriously swishy bar action. You’ll find the slinky, speakeasy cool of O.G.B. resplendently housed in the Old Government Building. Ballantynes’ Lichfield Street wing is home to Kin, an elegant café, deli and wine bar with a fine collection of wines, craft beers, spirits and bubbles. Stroll down historic New Regent Street to The Last Word, an intimate and beautiful cocktail lounge and bar where you can enjoy a fine selection of craft beers, New Zealand wines and a wealth of hand-picked whiskies. The rebirth of pre-quake fave Fat Eddie’s on Oxford Terrace offers toe-tapping live jazz and blues every night in an old-skool atmosphere and with some excellent snacks and drinks. On Poplar Street, four-bar venue Dux Central consists of London-esque...

Rex Ormandy of Christchurch specialty wine shop Vino Fino knows more than most about the phenomenal success of the New Zealand industry. He tells Cityscape you don’t need to be a connoisseur to appreciate a good wine. In 25 years at the helm of Vino Fino, you would have seen plenty of changes in the wine industry? The past 25 years virtually covers the history of the modern New Zealand wine industry. When I first set up Vino Fino in 1993, Marlborough was still an emerging wine region with only around a dozen producers. Central Otago and Canterbury were making their first fledgling steps. Gisborne was the major producing region and Müller-Thurgau was the most popular variety. So the growth in volume, quality and variety has been enormous. The wine industry is now a major part of the New Zealand economy, driven mainly by Sauvignon Blanc, which is now recognised as...

Christchurch is blessed with an abundance of farmers’ markets bringing the goods when it comes to fresh, locally grown produce, artisan goodies and awesome handmade trinkets. Here are our top picks for where to fill the pantry and grab unique food finds. Riverside Market This enclosed seven-day market serves up some of the best eats in town. Located along the hip and happening Oxford Terrace, Riverside is supporting local by bringing a range of small businesses together under one roof. You can pick up craft beers, fruit and veg, cured meats, cheeses and baked treats, or you can pop into one of the cafés, restaurants or bars and indulge as you overlook the Avon River. The Riccarton Market The grandpappy of Christchurch markets is the biggest of its kind in New Zealand. Running each Sunday 9am – 2pm at Riccarton Racecourse, the market has a wealth of artisan food and beverages,...