IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS !
FOUR NZ CULINARY HISTORIES IN ONE YEAR !

This sort of huge coincidence happens sometimes in book publishing.

This year has seen publication of four fine books all on similar themes, aspects of our culinary history.

Just to remind you these titles are:

LADIES, A PLATE
Traditional home baking
Alexa Johnston – Penguin 0 $45

COOKING TIMES
A culinary journey through Kiwi kitchens
From the 1930’s to the present day
Kate Fraser – Harper Collins – $44.99

THE PAVLOVA STORY
A slice of New Zealand’s culinary history
Helen Leach – Orago University Press - $40

FIRST CATCH YOUR WEKA
A story of New Zealand Cooking
David Veart – AUP - $49.99

All three are large, soft covered, colourfully illustrated and interesting books. And what a great collection they make, a wonderful resource.

Now Auckland City Libraries invite you to join them as author David Veart presents his new book First catch your weka: a story of New Zealand cooking.

Wednesday 12 November 2008 6.00pm
Central City Library
Whare Wānaga, level 2
Free event.
A welcome glass of wine will be available from 5.30pm, compliments of Glengarry Wines.

Analysing more than 150 years of recipes and cookbooks, this book chronicles the culinary history of New Zealand, looking at curious dishes such as boiled calf's head and stewed liver with macaroni, to the more traditional favourites such as homemade jams and chutneys.

It explores what makes New Zealand cooking distinctive, and examines how the culture has changed, from the prevalence of whitebait and mussels in the 1920s, to the arrival of Asian influences in the 1950s, and finally to the modern emphasis on fresh ingredients and fusion cooking.

By telling the history of what we ate - for example - in 1842 Charles Heaphy produced one of Pakeha New Zealand’s first recipes of Weka stuffed with sage and onion and cooked on a stick, it tells us a great deal about who we have been. David is a Department of Conservation archaeologist who has written scripts and narrated interpretative films exploring the history of North Head and Motutapu Island in Auckland.

A lover of cooking and recipes, he owns a very large collection of New Zealand cook books.Books will be available for purchase and David will be available for Q&As and book signing after his talk.