TASTE after TASTE

TASTE after TASTE A taste of our life, after our life at Taste. We hope you’ll keep coming back for more.

JUST THE ONE!While out at a cafe last week, Gary ordered a muffin to go with his coffee. It was advertised as a Blueberr...
04/10/2026

JUST THE ONE!

While out at a cafe last week, Gary ordered a muffin to go with his coffee.

It was advertised as a Blueberry Muffin. Gary is quite partial to a Blueberry Muffin.

It was as advertised. Technically. It included A Blueberry. Yep. Just the one!

No end of hunting unearthed any more. Nope. Just the one.

Don’t be fooled by the photo. Cutting the muffin in half also cut the one & only Blueberry in half, meaning each half of the muffin was still a Blueberry Muffin. Technically. Just.

Why do places have to be so mean? We thought hospitality was all about generosity!

Gary & David. 👬🧡

BOBOTIE.Have you ever tried this classic dish from South Africa? It’s a spiced minced meat dish, topped off with an egg ...
27/09/2026

BOBOTIE.

Have you ever tried this classic dish from South Africa?

It’s a spiced minced meat dish, topped off with an egg custard before baking in the oven.

In a pan, fry off some onion with curry powder. Add some fruit chutney. We used a mango chutney. Add the minced meat, along with some torn bread that has been soaked in milk. We used beef mince.

The other addition is some dried fruit. We used sultanas, but some recipes we saw suggested dried apricots.

Once cooked, put into a baking dish & pour over an egg & milk custard mixture with a pinch of turmeric. Top with some bay leaves. Bake in the oven until the custard is golden, puffed & set.

Have a look online for an exact recipe. There’s quite a few variations to choose from.

It made for a tasty Sunday night tea, served with some extra mango chutney on the side & a simple salad of sliced iceberg lettuce, spring onion & diced tomato.

Try this bobotie. We reckon it’s a beauty.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

A BUNCH OF ASPARAGUS TIPS. Asparagus is in the shops. It must be spring. Here’s a bunch of asparagus tips to inspire you...
20/09/2026

A BUNCH OF ASPARAGUS TIPS.

Asparagus is in the shops. It must be spring. Here’s a bunch of asparagus tips to inspire you.

To us, the most important thing is to prepare your asparagus properly. Don’t use the whole spear. The tough ends are woody, stringy, bitter & hard. They ruin the whole eating experience.

The spears will naturally “snap” at their tender point when bent, leaving the sweet, tender tips. Yes. Sorry, there’s a bit of wastage. Now you can proceed.

We prefer to blanch our asparagus in a single layer in a large frypan of boiling salted water. They’re done when they turn a lovely bright green & you can prick the point of a sharp knife easily in the thickest end. Don’t overcook.

Then you can use them in so many ways. Drain & serve them hot or plunge them into iced water to refresh them if using them in a cold dish.

Perfect hot when tossed in butter, with chicken, fish or steak. Or smothered with tasty cheese sauce or lemon hollandaise.

Who remembers the toasted asparagus rolls with cheese sauce & poached eggs we served every season for Brunch at Taste?!

Cold, they make a wonderful addition to a spring salad too, with avocado, grapefruit, rocket, shaved parmesan or crumbled goat’s cheese & a red currant & poppy seed dressing. Add some prosciutto too & a slice of crusty sourdough.

They make delicious fresh asparagus rolls too. Buttered soft white bread, crusts removed, a smear of lemon mayonnaise. Quite different from the tinned version.

There’s so many other uses. What are your tips? We’ll be making the most of asparagus during it’s short season. You should too. You might see some other ideas here.

Use our bunch of asparagus tips to make the most of your bunch of asparagus tips.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

CATCH ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN. It’s whitebait season. In September & October, are you one of the people who flock to your favo...
13/09/2026

CATCH ‘EM WHILE YOU CAN.

It’s whitebait season. In September & October, are you one of the people who flock to your favourite “secret” fishing spot to catch ‘em while you can?!

It will come as no surprise that we’re not one of those people. Sitting patiently on the banks of a stream or at an estuary in the cold isn’t our idea of fun. Plus we don’t have the outfits. No waders or Swandris in this house.

So we’re grateful to those who do enjoy setting out day after day during the season in the hope of catching these elusive little fish. We’re happy to pay the price for their efforts.

We had our first taste of whitebait last week. It appeared on a restaurant menu as an entree. Simply a single fritter, served with lemon. Egg, whitebait, salt & pepper, cooked in butter. Perfect. Just how we like it.

They’ll be on restaurant menus for a limited time only. Better catch ‘em while you can.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

EGG SANDWICH. We do love an egg sandwich. What about you?This is the egg sandwich “recipe” Gary shared with his friend &...
06/09/2026

EGG SANDWICH.

We do love an egg sandwich. What about you?

This is the egg sandwich “recipe” Gary shared with his friend & food hero Lois Daish. She was kind enough to print it in her 1997 cookbook “Fuss Free Food For Two”.

It’s the method Gary learnt from his mother many years ago. She was famous for her delicious finger sandwiches. Particularly the triple layer egg, tomato & ham clubs. Yum.

Unlike most egg sandwiches, this method doesn’t include mayonnaise for moisture. Butter is combined with the eggs while they are still warm. It softens & amalgamates with the egg yolk to make a rich, soft, creamy spread.

While Lois recommends eating it while still warm, it’s equally delicious made in advance & eaten later. We have to admit that we also butter the bread. Yes. Lots of butter involved here, but that ensures the sandwich sticks together.

We used this method in our “Downtown Catering” days, where egg & tomato club sandwiches were always included as part of any lunches we dropped off to various advertising agencies & corporate offices. Downtown.

Try it for yourself. It might become one of your “meals for me” in the same way it did for Lois.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

PARFAIT. ANY DAY. Yay. When we see it on a restaurant menu, we will order parfait. Any day. Made from chicken or duck li...
30/08/2026

PARFAIT. ANY DAY.

Yay. When we see it on a restaurant menu, we will order parfait. Any day.

Made from chicken or duck livers, parfait is a smoother, more refined , posh big brother of the more rustic pate. But both are delicious!

In our Taste days, David’s chicken liver pate was a hugely popular menu favourite. We weren’t posh, so we called it a pate, but technically it was probably more of a parfait really. It was pushed through a sieve to give a really smooth, creamy, mousse like texture.

The parfait in today’s photo was ordered in a restaurant last week. Instead of being served in small, single serve pottles (which we prefer), it was set in individual portions & turned out on the plate.

It was served with some balsamic braised grapes & pickled onion cups that were a nice addition.

In our view however, the toast that was served with it wasn’t quite right. The crisp crostini was wafer thin. And we mean wafer thin! So much so, it wasn’t strong enough to support the parfait. It just crumbled, making the dish messy to eat. Give us some toast triangles or crusty bread any day.

That aside, it was a tasty starter. Yay. Would we order it again? Yes. We’d order parfait any day! Perhaps with a side of bread. 😜

Gary & David. 👬🧡

TAMARILLO - YES OR NO?These deep red egg shaped fruit, are a welcome addition in the winter months. Their lovely colour ...
23/08/2026

TAMARILLO - YES OR NO?

These deep red egg shaped fruit, are a welcome addition in the winter months.

Their lovely colour & smooth shiny form with the long stem attached, look beautiful in a fruit bowl, as well as being tasty to eat.

It’s true that the tart, tangy fruit prove a bit divisive. Do you say yes or do you say no to tamarillo?

We’re not keen on eating them raw, but when cooked & sweetened, they’re a definite yes.

The ones in today’s photo couldn’t be easier to prepare. All you have to do is slice them in half, put them in a shallow baking dish cut side up & sprinkle the flesh with (lots of!) caster sugar, grated orange zest & a squeeze of orange juice. No need to peel them.

Roast the fruit in the oven for around half an hour until they have softened & released their juices. This combines with the sugar & orange juice to form the most delicious syrup.

Serve them warm, drizzled with the syrup. On the side, serve some yoghurt mixed with honey & ground cinnamon to spoon over, for the simplest, tastiest winter pudding.

Done this way, we know you won’t say no to tamarillo.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

SILENCE IS GOLDEN.Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding with vanilla poached pear & proper English custard. We enjoyed this at ho...
16/08/2026

SILENCE IS GOLDEN.

Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding with vanilla poached pear & proper English custard.

We enjoyed this at home recently. The perfect pudding to have on a cold winter’s night. Like tonight! What could be better?!

The pears were peeled, halved, cored & gently poached in a vanilla sugar syrup. An egg yolk based anglaise, or as David prefers to call it - proper English custard - was made.

Then individual golden syrup sponge puddings were steamed in a water bath in the oven.

Turn out the warm puddings. Add a poached pear half. Drizzle with some extra warmed golden syrup. Ladle over lashings of proper English custard. Dig in!

It was so good, there was silence around the dinner table until every last bit was gone.

As it says in the song. Silence is golden.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

GET SMASHED. We don’t usually get caught up in the hype of “Burger Wellington”, that seems to take over the city dining ...
09/08/2026

GET SMASHED.

We don’t usually get caught up in the hype of “Burger Wellington”, that seems to take over the city dining scene in August.

But it seems to attract a large audience & is a much needed boost to the hospitality sector for sure. Even if some of the burgers are so extreme, the only thing “burger” about them is the bun!

This caught our eye though. Who could say no to this burger for lunch. For a mere $10. Yes. $10. Including the fries. Bargain. Called “Get Smashed”, it’s on offer at Caffe L’Affare.

It’s a really simple “smash” burger. Nothing wrong with that. Smashed beef patty, cheddar, pickles & burger sauce in a milk brioche bun.

Soft, saucy, tasty & familiar. Easy to pick up. Easy to eat. Everything a burger should be in our view. No fuss. No frills. Not trying too hard.

Get smashed at lunchtime! Why not?! Available for a limited time only.

Gary & David. 👬🧡

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