The Akaroa Cooking School

A huge thank you to everyone who shared feedback on our new logo! We received more than 400 comments across our social media channels, plus countless texts and conversations around Akaroa. The vote was incredibly close, but we carefully considered all your suggestions and made a few refinements.

We've chosen Version B, with slightly larger text inspired by Version A and several other tweaks based on your feedback.

Many people asked about the meaning behind the logo, so here's why it resonates with us. The pestle and mortar represents a life-changing cooking course we took in Thailand in 2001. It inspired us to open a cooking school in New Zealand, and the granite pestle and mortar we bought after the course is still something we use every day.

The school of fish reflects both our cooking "school" and our seaside location. The single fish swimming in the opposite direction represents Ant and me taking a different path by starting a business in a village of just 500 permanent residents. Many thought it was a crazy idea, but we always believed it could work.

And finally, congratulations to Michelle Mercer the winner of an Akaroa Cooking School apron featuring our new logo! Keep an eye out for more exciting merchandise to come.

Thanks again for all your feedback—we truly appreciate it!

Porcini season is here, and these beautiful mushrooms are one of my absolute favourites. Simply sliced and fried with plenty of garlic and olive oil, finished with a squeeze of lemon and served on crunchy toast, they have an incredible rich, almost meaty flavour. For a little extra indulgence, add a splash of cream.

If fresh porcini are hard to find, dried porcini are a wonderful alternative. Soaked in boiling water and squeezed dry, they bring deep earthy flavour to soups, casseroles and risottos.

We made a bacon and porcini risotto in last week’s Autumn Harvest class and it was absolutely delicious — here’s the recipe, give it a try…

Porcini, Bacon, Lemon and Thyme Risotto

Serves 4

20g dried porcini
300g porcini, Swiss brown or field mushrooms
4 Tbsp olive oil
60g butter
200g of smoked bacon, finely chopped (or omit for a vege risotto)
1 brown onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
300g Canaroli or Arborio rice
½ glass white wine
1.5 litres chicken or vege stock
60g parmesan, freshly grated
Juice of a lemon
2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil to finish

Soak the dried porcini in a small bowl of boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid to add to the stock. Chop the porcini into small pieces and set aside. Gently clean and slice the remaining mushrooms.

Heat a heavy based pan with 2 Tbsp olive oil (we use a cast-iron casserole dish for our risottos). When the pan is hot add the fresh mushrooms in batches until they are golden brown adding in a tablespoon of butter and a little fresh thyme near the end of cooking. Set aside.

Pour the stock into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.

Using the pan you cooked the mushroom's in add the bacon and fry until it has turned golden and then remove from the pan and set aside.

Turn down the heat, add the remaining olive oil, two tablespoons of the butter, the onions along with and a good pinch of salt over a medium temperature until the onion is very soft and translucent. When the onion softens add the soaked porcini and garlic and continue to fry over a moderate heat for a couple of minutes.

Add the rice and cook for a minute or two, stirring and coating in the buttery mixture, until it just turns translucent. Add the wine and some fresh thyme and wait for the wine to be absorbed. Then turn down the heat to medium and start to add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring after each addition, letting it absorb into the rice before adding the next. Continue to add the stock until the rice is al dente and then remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining butter, parmesan, lemon juice and more fresh thyme along with the bacon and fried mushrooms. Rest with the lid on for a few minutes then remove and season to taste.

Serve in warm bowls and drizzle with truffle oil and extra parmesan. Enjoy!!

NOW FULLY BOOKED - but don’t worry if you’ve missed out as we’ll be running another in August.
We only have 7 spaces left for our evening of cheesy goodness. Get in quick so you don’t miss out! Call / text Lou on 0211663737 or email [email protected] to book your place.

Misty start up at the summit for the start of runakaroa … woohoo!!! Let’s go!!!

I had plenty of egg whites left over after making crème brulée for today’s French cooking class. While egg whites freeze beautifully for later use, I always love an excuse to make friands — they’re the perfect way to use a few up.

Here’s our recipe for delicious Blueberry & Lemon Friands:

Makes 12 large or 24 small

160g butter, melted
230g icing sugar
50g GF flour
50g desiccated coconut
125g ground almonds
6 egg whites (approx 180g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
Small punnet of blueberries (or use any frozen berry of your choice - don't thaw)

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. (without fan)

Use some of the butter to lightly grease the friand moulds and leave the remaining butter to cool slightly to use later in the recipe.

Sift the icing sugar and flour into a large below and stir through the coconut and ground almonds.

Place the egg white into the bowl of a mixer and beat until they are white and frothy. Gently mix the egg whites into the flour mixture.

Add the melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest and stir everything together.

Fill the friand tin until each mould is 2/3 full. Place a few blueberries on top of each friand.

Bake the friands in the oven for approx 25 – 30 minutes or until they bounce back when pressed lightly. They should be golden and slightly crunchy around the edges. Let them cool in the pan for five minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container and are best served warm.

TIP: I find the silicone molds work really well to avoid the friands sticking

Calling all cheese lovers!

The Cooking School is delighted to be collaborating with the fabulous Emma Pedlar from The Akaroa Cheese Shop for an evening of seriously cheesy indulgence on Sunday 31st May at 6pm.

Your evening will begin with a glass of bubbles (or a non-alcoholic beverage) on arrival, along with a selection of delicious canapés created by the Cooking School team using Emma’s outstanding range of New Zealand cheeses. All cheeses featured throughout the evening will also be available to taste and purchase.

Emma will then guide you through the art of creating the ultimate cheese fondue — a true masterclass in comfort food! Guests will then gather around shared tables to enjoy the fondue feast, complete with a selection of delectable treats for dipping.

To finish the evening, the Cooking School team will prepare a beautiful dessert -Cheesecake of course!

Tickets are strictly limited to just 24 guests.

$80 per person includes:
• Glass of bubbles or non-alcoholic beverage on arrival
• Cheese-inspired canapés
• Fondue-making masterclass
• Recipes
• Fondue dinner with accompaniments
• Dessert
• BYO beverages

To book your place:
email: [email protected]
or text/call: Lou — 021 166 3737
Venue: Akaroa Cooking School, 81 Beach Rd. Akaroa.

We can’t wait to share this special evening with you!

We would like your help .... which of the two new logos do you prefer? The solid white fish (a) or the clear fish (b)? Whichever gets the most votes will become our new logo - please feel free to share and like as the more people that see it, the better! Thanks so much, and stay tuned as we will have new merch on the way!! Everyone who votes, or shares this post will go in to the draw to win one of our new aprons with the new logo. Winner will be announced on May 31st ... get voting!!

I feel incredibly lucky to have met Tina Loves To Cook very early on in my culinary journey. I worked for Tina straight after I finished my training at The NZ School of Food and Wine back when she owned the fabulous White Tie Catering. It was much smaller back then, but it had the reputation of being one of the best catering companies in the country, as it still does. From the second I walked in, I was treated as part of the White Tie family and I was nurtured by Tina and the team as I learnt everything there was to know about catering; from what could be prepared in advance, designing balanced menus, quantities to order, how to cater for huge events and to make sure every plate of food that left the pass was absolutely perfect. Often we would have very late nights and very early starts in the middle of wedding season, it was always busy and sometimes stressful, but we always had sooo much fun! Every single staff member was treated with plenty of respect, dignity and gratitude from Tina and I remember thinking that if I ever had my own kitchen that is how I would want my staff to feel. A few years later I approached Tina as Ant and I were toying with the idea of opening a cooking school in Akaroa. Most people thought it was a crazy idea so I decided to ask Tina's opinion. She was so positive and believed that if we did a good job it could be a huge success. This gave us the courage to take the huge step of opening The Akaroa Cooking School! To this day much of what I learnt from my White Tie days is still very apparent at the cooking school and many of the recipes are still included in our menus. I am ever so grateful to have had such a great start to my cooking career and to have had such a wonderful inclusive environment to give me confidence. So, thank you Tina for giving me such a great start and we love it when you pop in to say hi when you are over in Akaroa!!