Food gurus reveal their favorites

Unforgettable meals are often made more memorable simply because the location has been as exotic as the food and service has been outstanding.

Now, with less than three weeks until Selaks NZ Roast Day and its international theme, some of the nation’s top food personalities reveal their most treasured braised fare on foreign shores.

Ray McVinnie, Nic Watt, Hayden McMillan and Lauraine Jacobs all have memories of outstanding roasts they’ve enjoyed.

Cuisine magazine food editor and Masterchef judge McVinnie says one of his favourite experiences has a dreamlike quality about it.

“In Spain, somewhere high in the mountains in the south, I lunched in a small restaurant where we were served roast lamb. I remember sitting outside looking out at the panoramic view across the huge plain below, eating what has become a benchmark roast for me,” Ray says.

“A tiny lamb had been roasted in a wood fired oven, it was fragrant with garlic and herbs, melt in the mouth meat and crisp golden brown skin. This was accompanied simply by a crunchy salad, crusty bread and the local wine. Paradise!”

Chef Hayden McMillan, currently leading the cooking team at the Waiheke Island Yacht Club at the America’s Cup in San Francisco, developed a New Zealand-inspired menu in a Michelin rated restaurant in Cannes (France).

“While I was there, the executive chef hosted us at his house for a French feast. It was amazing - it had everything from cherry glazed whole pigeons to charcoal roasted chickens and sage marinated pork rack with the most unbelievable crackling.

“The sides were mind-blowing wild asparagus with summer truffles grated over, medley of seasonal mushrooms, fresh bread from the local bake-house and a massive slab of foie gras with pickles and chutney to top it all off - and I can’t forget about the amazing local wine,” Hayden says.

Listener food columnist and author Lauraine Jacobs’ fondest roast memories are from Greece.

“With a friend I was eating in a humble taverna on a beach in Santorini,” she says. “We only found this out-of-the-way place with the help of my friend Rosemary Barron, author of the definitive book The Flavours of Greece.

“We feasted on an array of the freshest possible seafood, all roasted outdoors in a wood-fired oven. Roasted octopus and sweet little red mullet were cooked to perfection, redolent of the aromatic local oregano, served simply with lemon wedges and eaten with our fingers. I’d go back there in a heart-beat.”

In Japan, Nic Watt found a “beautiful lip smacking hot pepper paste” while he was working in Tokyo at a small local Yakitori bar.

“It was served as a side sauce with barbeque chicken. Since then I have adapted the recipe to lamb, the smoky sweet roast lamb flavours with the hot and juicy taste profiles of the jochujang hot pepper paste are a perfect match.”

Nic is executive chef of Masu Japanese Robata Restaurant & Bar, his new restaurant opening in October in Auckland’s Federal Street Dining District.

While we tend to think of the roast as being very British, it’s plain the time-proven cooking method is a favourite in many countries. And with the annual celebration of New Zealand’s favourite Sunday meal on Sunday 4 August, it’s time to start thinking of new and different ways of serving your favourite roast says food personality and event ambassador Nici Wickes.

“If you’re cooking your own roast, why not take a leaf out of a cookbook from your favourite country or ethnic cuisine and try something completely different.

“The choice is yours but Selaks NZ Roast Day has been created as a day to celebrate the important things in life – friends, family, the art of conversation and a tradition of amazing food and wine,” Nici says.

Nici has created simple and delicious roast recipes with an international flavour for the everyday cook and they can be found on the Selaks NZ Roast Day website. The site also features an eCookbook available for free download showcasing selected recipes from Nici, as well as previous years’ ambassador chefs - Jonny Schwass, Julie Biuso and Paul Jobin.

There’s a list of participating restaurants serving Selaks Wines on the Selaks NZ Roast Day website. Local supermarkets are supporting Selaks NZ Roast Day with great specials on meats and Selaks wines to help New Zealanders celebrate the roast in fine style.

Selaks New Zealand Roast Day
Selaks is celebrating the New Zealand roast on August 4, 2013. Now in its fourth year, Selaks New Zealand Roast Day honours New Zealand’s most loved meal and all the fun and fanfare and good times that go with it. With a proud 79 year history of bringing family and friends together over good food and wine, Selaks is determined to ensure the roast retains its rightful place in our country’s rich epicurean history. In the process, Selaks believes New Zealand Roast Day can play a lead role in bonding families and highlight the importance of homemade food and family dining.

About Selaks
Selaks is one of New Zealand’s original wine brands with a lineage stretching back to 1906 when Marino Selaks arrived from Croatia. By 1934 Marino Selak had produced his first vintage. He was joined by nephew Mate in 1940 and Selaks went from strength to strength becoming one of the driving forces behind the development of classic varietal wines in New Zealand.

Mate’s sons Ivan and Michael joined the firm, and the family tradition of innovation continued with the former seeing potential in Marlborough. In 1976 Mate become a founding member of the Wine Institute and only three years later the family completed its first export order, to Australia. In 1982 the Selaks brand was among the first tasting of New Zealand Wines in London and the company’s first sauvignon blanc vintage won three gold medals at the National Show in 1984.

Current head winemaker Darryl Woolley was appointed in 1985 and six years later Selaks bought land in Marlborough. Mate Selak passed away in 1991. Now part of the global Constellation Brands group, Selaks remains a firm favourite both in New Zealand and overseas, and in 2013 celebrates 79 years of winemaking heritage.

For more information see:
Website: www.selaksnzroastday.co.nz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/selakswines
Twitter: @selakswines #SelaksRoast