Isabel Gilbert Palmer interviews Daniel Brennan, an American who has settled in New Zealand and is working to do something different with wines in Hawkes Bay. His advice to anyone taking a step towards a winemaking career is to be ready to work hard and not make much money for a very long time. He says its important to work with people who have the same mindset as yours and are … [Read more...]
Guillaume Thomas (Maison Noir): A French harvest nomad follows his dream in New Zealand
Isabel Gilbert Palmer interviews a French man who has settled in Havenlock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand and who has just started to produce wine under the Maison Noir label. Like many in the food and wine world, he took a long time to find out what he wanted to do in life and after a life in music decided to work in the wine industry, studying winemaking and wine marketing … [Read more...]
Living in the Antipodes: New world wines, new New Zealanders and the new guard
History tells us that in the early 1800’s, French Missionaries, Brothers from the Order of Saint Mary, at the direction of France’s Pope Gregory XV1 in Lyon set sail for Nouvelle Zealandia, or Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) armed with their bibles, sacramental robes, rituals and seedling grape vines. Their destination, a collection of sparsely inhabited islands, … [Read more...]
Jake Westacott: The gypsy chef who is always on the road
I am speaking to you in Maine not Los Angeles, what are you doing there? I'm here to organise a new section of an existing kitchen with its open faced wood fired pizza oven, cooking and teaching staff how to use it. Meanwhile having fun experimenting with it between house orders and teaching. I mastered Montreal style bagels last week. So its not just about you cheffing … [Read more...]
Delphine Lippens – from Brussels to Los Angeles: ‘Working with clay was never part of my plan’
An illuminating discussion with Belgian-born, longtime Los Angeles resident Delphine Lippens, currently a successful ceramicist. We met in February at her studio, proudly located in South Central Los Angeles. Artisan Block Los Angeles (A B.L.A) is a collective of artists, artisans and makers located in one single block in this area of the city. Lippens created Humble … [Read more...]
