Brown Bread

Actual brown bread found in a Wanaka super market!

The skiing at Cardrona has been terrific lately. We had several storms in succession followed by some pretty stunning sunny days on the heels of four consecutive weeks of very busy Kiwi and Australian school holidays. I’m fortunate to have some friends who have nudged me into free skiing with them in “civies” (meaning out of uniform) instead of putting my feet up at home on my days off, and it’s been oodles of fun. Invariably when this happens, our conversation turns to food.

On a recent awesome day of skiing awesomeness at Cardrona, my friends and I took a quick lunch break at the Captain’s Lodge on the far side of the resort. Among my companions that day were a couple who are long-time Wanaka residents and ex-pat Germans who, naturally, brought their own snacks. Out of their backpack came some cheese, sausage from the local butcher, and slices of homemade brown bread. What’s the big deal? No big deal at all, if you’re accustomed to being in the Alps or in the Eastern USA. Still, here in New Zealand, it was a revelation, albeit a small one. Eyes rolled as we all talked about how much we miss brown bread, how much our favorite mountain meals include brown bread and, invariably, soft cheese. I talked about my very vivid memories of a ski trip in remote Alberta many years ago where lunch typically consisted of sandwiches of fresh baked pumpernickel, strong-flavored spreadable cheese, and a tin of sardines. Open the tin half-way, squeeze the oil out into the snow, place those little delectables in a row on the brown bread, and enjoy. Eyes rolled, groaning ensued, and we were all transported for a moment. Then we promptly returned to New Zealand and enjoyed the rest of the day in this incomparably beautiful place that we all love so much.

Of course, this is not merely about food. Time and again, Kiwis amaze me with their keen interest in trying new things from far away places, food in particular. It’s not tough to imagine that in the early days here on the South Island, without the large Maori populations that they have on the North Island, the people here were pretty isolated and it shows in their cuisine, which is acutely Anglophile. Think hard cheese, soft sausages, and, yes, white bread. Things are evolving quickly here given their openness – Kiwi-style cafes serving barista coffee and panini sandwiches are ubiquitous enough to have become an essential feature of everyday Kiwi culture, where a few decades ago it was all tea shops and scones. It’s a young country that embraces this evolution, and it’s one of the things that makes the place so compelling for me. Bear in mind that in Vermont, I happily will drive twenty minutes to get to my source of authentic New York black-and-white cookies.

The butcher in Wanaka now makes some pretty wonderful hard sausages. Kiwi dairies are doing well bringing to market an ever expanding variety of cheese. And last night, while doing a typical big shop at the big box local super market, I found fresh made brown bread made with rye flower and molasses. Add some local salmon and dill mustard, or some salami and soft cheese, or maybe even some warm pastrami … The future looks bright here in the Land of the Long White Cloud and I’m ready to taste what the future brings.

August 1, 2017 at the close of another stunning Cardrona ski day.