#16 Craggy Range - hints of honeymoon

How to celebrate our twenty-third wedding anniversary on December the 17th? I couldn't ever forget as it is etched on my wedding ring! With Jamie being away for the occasion we decided to celebrate earlier. Featuring in The Great NZ Cookbook was Craggy Range, a famous local winery restaurant in the foothills of Te Mata Peak.There are two recipes shared by the chef Leyton Ashley. The first being "Scampi tail with essence of Bora Bora". Leyton describes how this dish was inspired from the time he and his fiancee spent on Tahiti. Well, it was a signal that this was meant to be our dinner destination as we had our honeymoon in Moorea, Tahiti.  I had to google "scampi" to find out that it is a food that includes a number of certain crustaceans, including shrimp. Broken up tomato jelly is dropped over the lime infused scampi which is wrapped in sorrel leaves. The dish is completed by the drizzle of coconut bubbles. From the featured photo, it does sort of look like one of those spittle beetles has got to your entree first, so it is reassuring to know that it is a designed bubble.

"Citrus Fromage Blanc" was the second detailed recipe. With a skill level of 3 (more challenging), a prep time of 4-5 hours plus overnight, a cook time of 12 hours for a serving of 4 - I kinder wanted this put in front of me rather than making it myself.

We arrived slightly late to the restaurant after needing to have an unplanned meeting with AA roadside emergency help. Car back on the road we pulled in through the CR gates (which being my initials have always felt belonged to me). The wait staff were fantastic but alas there was no longer Leyton Ashley and no longer any reference to Bora Bora or Citrus Fromage Blanc. The new head chef was Casey MacDonald who had returned to New Zealand after working in a number of Michelin starred restaurants in London and San Franciso. The menu did not disappoint and the food was exquisite. With busy lives it was a joy to be together, relaxing, enjoying fine cuisine and we didn't really need essence of Bora Bora to have hints of honeymoon.

Tahiti 1993
Craggy Range 2017



Stealing the initials















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