Charmian Smith

The Sunday roast has been a New Zealand family tradition for generations, although it has fallen from fashion over the past decade or two. However, Selaks roast day is coming up on Sunday, Charmian Smith reports.

Food can be more than just sustenance; it can be art, a storytelling medium, part of our personal identity and part of our culture. Charmian Smith reports from the International Food Design Conference at Otago Polytechnic last week.

The Otago Polytechnic is hosting an international food design conference this week, with food designer Emilie Baltz, from New York, as keynote speaker. She tells Charmian Smith about the excitement of experiencing food with all your senses.

Sugar is flavour of the month, so to speak, although not in the way you might expect. There's a lot of confusing talk about sugar, how it's bad for you, how we should reduce our intake, and whether we can substitute other sweeteners. Charmian Smith gets back to basics with Prof Jim Mann.

A love of music has driven Martin Riseley since his childhood, the Wellington violinist tells Charmian Smith.

Central Otago winegrowers held their new release pinot noir tasting recently with six wine writers gathering in Cromwell to taste more than 80 pinot noirs that have just been, or will soon be, released.

The new 2014 sauvignon blancs are coming on to the market and those in this tasting are delicious, ripe and mouth-filling with a lively fresh finish. Let's hope it's indicative of the vintage in general.

When faced with a difficult choice, people react in different ways. Charmian Smith talks to Helen Fearnley about The Choice, which opens at the Globe Theatre next week.

Southern Wines, owned by the Moffit family, is based in Alexandra and produces some excellent value pinot noir under several different labels - Pick & Shovel, Rock n Pillar and Dry Gully.

Big buttery chardonnays are becoming rarer as many winemakers are choosing lighter styles, sometimes with a little nuttiness and texture.

There are more brands of pinot noir than any other variety, and each offers something different, in style, in reputation and prestige, in availability, and most importantly, in flavour and value.

Haydn wanted to write a work that would give him permanent fame so he created The Creation. Charmian Smith talks to conductor Nicholas McGegan about the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's concert of this oratorio featuring former Dunedin soloist Jonathan Lemalu and City Choir Dunedin.

A perfectly roasted chicken is a satisfying centrepiece to a meal, but usually there's more meat left over for other dishes, and a carcass for stock.

Lungs is a little play with big ideas, director Stephanie McKellar-Smith tells Charmian Smith.

Black Ridge near Alexandra, is undergoing a renaissance with new owners Joss Purbrick and Belinda Green. One of the oldest vineyards in Central, it is known for its old-vine riesling and gewurztraminer as well as its pinot noir. Watch out for a new look and new developments as future vintages of wine come on stream.

If you thought chips, aka frites or French fries, were simply deep-fried chopped potatoes, Anne de la Forest's Frites (Jacqui Small) will introduce you to the intricacies of this old favourite.

Inspired by the night sky, by Bauhaus concepts, by deep space and many other things, Dunedin-based choreographer Daniel Belton has created Satellites for the Royal New Zealand Ballet's season of ''Allegro''. Charmian Smith reports.

Anathoth has a couple of new products out, a hot chilli relish and a tropical jam, which is a blend of mango, pineapple, guava and passionfruit.

Smoking food is an ancient form of preservation, and until recently was looked on as the exclusive domain of hunters and fishers or butchers.

Simon and Alison Holst's latest little Everyday Easy book is Slow Food Fast (Hyndman Publishing).