A YEAR'S WORTH

Recipes from the Dunsandel Store

Sam Mannering & Annabel Graham

Juno Publishing - $55

ISBN 978 0 473 17327 2

What a delightful surprise to come across this at the University Bookshop in Christchurch last week.
Books photo right by Louise Graham.Photo below from Cuisine.

The Dunsandel Store (building from the 1880's) was established in 2001 as a cafe, deli, wine shop, dairy, post office, scooper of ice creams, flea market, occasional art gallery and music hall, dry cleaning depot, purveyor of Camla Farm apple juice and cider, party venue, information centre and helpline. And holder of keys and large packages. And now to this list can be added book publisher. Hooray!

Dunsandel Store was also a Finalist in The Cuisine Restaurant of the Year Awards 2007 and food writers Lauraine Jacobs and Ralph Kyte-Powell ahd this to say in Cuisinme about the store:

If only there were more country stores and cafés like this around the regions of New Zealand where the passion for local produce was showcased. Owner Annabel Graham provides a sense of community with a store packed with household essentials, artisan products and gifts from throughout Canterbury. She also offers superb tasty food, cooked in a rustic country style plus a selection of local wines. Look for dishes like comforting macaroni cheese or a hearty venison shank.

To which The Bookman says hear, hear! I am fortunate enough to have enjoyed several breakfasts at the Dunsandel Store when travelling with friends south from Christchurch on our way to Central Otago, it is about 40 minutes south of the city on the main road.
The service was excellent on each occasion,and the fresh-cooked food always delicious.And on our winter visits there was a roaring log fire.

A Year's Worth is a most appealing, profusely illustrated book crammed with the recipes for the meals for which the store is justly famous. At times the pages are somewhat overcrowded but I guess that can be put down to publishing inexperience and it doesn't distract one too much from the otherwise excellent cookbook.
Everyone who has eaten at the Dunsandel Store or called in for provisions will want to own this book. I suspect the good folk there are going to be surprised at how many copies of this book they are going to sell. All power to them.

Dunsandel General Store
P.O.Box 1,
Dunsandel
RD 2
Leeston 7682

Phone: 03-325 4037
Fax: 03-325 4389
camla@xtra.co.nz
A website is under development.

For more on the store and the book and co-author/chef Sam Mannering from The Press  link here.


Pic left, The Press - Sam Mannering