Stories

Eating local doesn’t get much better than fish fresh from our South Island seas. Early each morning, a shipment of fish fresh from the West Coast waters comes in to the team at Theo’s Fisheries in Riccarton Road. One of the standouts is the spectacular-looking moonfish, red and black and flat as a pancake. Theo’s Fisheries has been in operation for 70 years, ever since Theo Papageorge settled here after striking up friendships with Kiwi soldiers during World War Two. They currently have four generations of fresh fish experts manning the store, so when they say moonfish is one to try, we believe them. Moonfish is reeled in from over 300 metres deep, in the Tasman Sea off the coast of Greymouth. It has dark red flesh, similar to tuna, and can be grilled, smoked or used in sashimi. The team at Theo’s love whacking it on the grill, and seasoning...

Curated wine flights and the fresh flavours of the Mediterranean make Cellar Door, in the Arts Centre, perfect for a night of culinary adventure. Sometimes a meal out is just that; other times it’s an adventure. Working our way through a curated wine flight while revelling in the flavours and textures of the Mediterranean at Cellar Door, the Arts Centre’s new wine bar, was definitely an adventure to repeat. Cellar Door is in the same location as the legendary Annie’s Wine Bar, where for several decades Annie Edmond helmed one of the city’s hottest haunts. Her legacy is alive and well in the hands of Tim Ogle and Kate Hide, who see themselves as guardians of the room’s past as well as steering it to a new future. Honouring that past goes all the way back to when the room formed part of Canterbury College School of Art – among the...

At No.4 Bar & Restaurant, chef Ian Mulling stays true to the food by respecting traditional pairings and serving up dishes that are delicious, simple and modern. How would you describe the cuisine you create? My food is inspired by my travels, the chefs I have worked with, and the locals at No.4. We try to develop a menu that will taste and look amazing. Tell us about your career journey? For 28 years I have been in the industry – meeting people, travelling and exploring new places. I have endured cramped conditions, foul language and terrible hours. But I kept on learning and worked my way up to where I am today. What’s the No. 1 dish people should try at No.4? At the moment it’s our chicken sandwich, a modern take on our memories of supermarket hot chicken sandwiches made with fresh, soft sliced bread. We took this idea,...

Want to wow at the next dinner party? Forget after dinner mints or affogato. This decadent and mouth-watering dessert from The Tasty Twins will keep guests coming back for more. We suggest using The Avo Tree avocado delivered fresh from the paddock to your plate. Be creative with your toppings for a beautiful finish that will be remembered. theavotree.co.nz Ingredients Mousse 1 large avocado¾ cup coconut cream2 Tbsp. maple syrup1 Tbsp. cacao powder½ block melted dark chocolate1 to 2 tsp. ground coffee1 tsp. vanilla extract  Topping 1 handful freeze-dried raspberries1 handful chopped nuts  Method In a blender combine all the mousse ingredients. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and set in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours. Remove from fridge, top with raspberries and chopped nuts and eat! instagram.com/tasty.twinsss  

Deneale Knox started Food for Thought, an eco-store and pantry refillery at The Tannery in Woolston, after struggling to fit the plastic waste from her family’s supermarket shop in their red bin. Now she’s on a mission to help all of us reduce our ecological footprint. How did you decide what to stock at Food for Thought? Our priorities were to be plastic-free and ethical. We work with responsible suppliers: some, for example, get their products mass-produced in China, but they ensure everyone is getting a fair wage and working in good conditions. And we stock brands like Trade Aid, which are sustainable and fair trade. We also stock local wherever possible – I’m a firm believer in supporting local businesses. So it’s all ethical, sustainable, and if something’s got plastic in it, that’s a no-go. Who are your favourite local suppliers? We get great hazelnuts that are grown over in...

Chef Paul Howell brings a wealth of international experience to his cuisine at New Regent Street’s Twenty Seven Steps. How would you describe the cuisine you create? We’ve always described our cuisine both at The Little Bistro and Twenty Seven Steps as rustic European. Tell us about your career journey? I’ve been in a professional kitchen in some shape or form since I was 15. I’ve worked in England, Wales, France, Sweden and Ireland. What’s new at Twenty Seven Steps? We’ve just recruited a new pastry chef called Yusri from Indonesia. He’s creating some lovely things. What’s the No. 1 dish people should try? Our venison tenderloin from Tai Tapu is my favourite dish at present. What are some interesting trends you’re seeing in food? We’re pretty classical when it comes to food. I keep abreast of what’s happening but I don’t follow trends just for the sake of it. What...

Vocal force Tami Neilson is set to blow audiences away at Isaac Theatre Royal this September with rip-roaring tunes and a snap of swagger. With a voice that invokes memories of Etta James, Amy Winehouse and Dolly Parton all at once, Tami Neilson is tearing into town with her soul-infused, western swing sounds. Though we know Tami could keep our toes tapping all night with her voice alone, this will be far from a one woman show. She’ll be joined by an epic roster of guests, her rockin’ rhythm band and the rounded-out sound of the twelve-piece Soaring Orchestra Soul. Canadian-born Neilson cut her teeth touring with the Neilson Family Band, opening for the likes of Johnny Cash, before coming to New Zealand and blossoming in her own right. Her last four albums have each won the Best Country Album category at the New Zealand Music Awards. Her listed of accolades...

New limited-edition signed prints are dropping at Fiksate Gallery every month, but you’ll have to be quick to get your hands on one. Pick up a piece of New Zealand urban art history with the Fiksate x M.K. Press Risograph limited edition print release series. Each month, Fiksate is releasing a new A3 print, each featuring the work of New Zealand’s best urban artists, and there are only 20 copies available. They’re about to release their fourth print out of twelve, and so far they’ve all been incredible. Fiksate has already sold prints by Dr. Suits (Christchurch), Elliot O'Donnell (Auckland/USA) and Meep (Christchurch). The next print is due to drop on August 5, and features the work of TOGO, New Zealand’s most infamous street artist. TOGO’s garnered a reputation for his defiant acts of vandalism. Even if you don’t realise it, you will have seen TOGOs larger-than-life tag, on a background...

Get learning with these upcoming workshops at The Colombo – master homegrown gourmet mushrooms, indoor plants, Instagram, the kitchen and the garden with the guidance of experts in easy-to-digest sessions at Sydenham’s trendy mall. Gourmet Mushrooms workshop (sold out) Thursday 30 July If you can’t get enough of the umami feast that is gourmet mushrooms, get your lucky self along to The Colombo for this workshop run by Taylor McConnell from Sporeshift Mushrooms. You’ll learn more about the many different varieties and how to use each of them to best advantage, how to grow your own mushrooms organically, and even get the chance to start your own home mushroom farm! Indoor Plants workshop Thursday 6 August No matter if you have a flourishing green thumb or are an aspiring plant parent who can’t seem to stop accidentally killing your babies, this workshop has something for you. Ben from Monstera and Men...

Get psyched, city-dwellers, there’s a new gym on the block in central Christchurch. Sitting just inside the four avenues at the corner of Fitzgerald Ave is the brand new Anytime Fitness Hereford Street. What’s especially cool about this club is that every new membership comes with a free one-on-one session with a personal trainer. Get some expert guidance on how to smash your fitness goals, or get them to point you to the lightest weights and cushiest mats – whatever works for you. And if for some reason you have to venture far from home, you’ll have access to all 4,000+ Anytime Fitness clubs worldwide. anytimefitness.co.nz/gyms/nz-1057/hereford-christchurch-south-island-8011/  

In a world of Netflix, Neon and YouTube, we have access at home to a huge range of cheap and readily-available content. What’s missing is the joy of watching a film in a cinema with others – as we know from the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, connection, communication and learning are powerful forces for individual and communal good. That’s where the Canterbury Film Society comes in. Each year it has a programme of superb arthouse films, many of which do not reach New Zealand cinemas or television. Regular screenings satisfy Film Society members’ craving for viewing films in a large group and doing deep in the topics with guest speakers, question and answer sessions and panel discussions. There’s a strong sense of community, the incomparable feeling of watching a film on the big screen. Membership is easy with a range of options to suit every wallet. True to its more than...

With the opening of the Good Times Comedy Club this year, Christchurchers have a dedicated digs for a good guffaw. The bar’s comedy might be what sucks you in, but the warm vibe and great banter from the bar staff will be what keeps you laughing your way back in. On top of the special booked gigs, the bar runs a vortex of regular shows you can catch every week. Monday is Fresh Comedy night, an open mic hangout for up-and-comers and Christchurch comedy royalty. Anyone can get up and give it a bash, so it’s your chance to try your stuff with a receptive crowd, or hear experienced comics testing out new material. For quiz with a twist, check out the Off the Wall Quiz on Thursday nights - it’s the loosest quiz in town. You don’t need to know facts to win, and the markers won’t punish you for...

Throw your arms (and conducting batons) in the air and get ready to dance, because Synthony is returning to Christchurch Arena with a killer Kiwi lineup on Saturday 20 March. It’s a unique combination of body-shaking electronic dance music anthems and the unbeatable might of a full orchestra. The show will feature Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and local DJ Craig Shaw as well as conductor Peter Thomas and DJs General Lee and Greg Churchill, with performances by Jason Kerrison, Ria Hall, Cherie Mathieson, Nate Dousand and Lewis McCallum. With an epic backdrop of visuals, lasers, and a state-of-the-art sound system, it’s a magical, uplifting, hands-in-the-air dance party like no other. This dance music celebration takes the audience on a journey, track after track, down memory lane to celebrate unforgettable bangers. Synthony founder and producer Erika Amoore says she’s incredibly excited to bring Kiwis an outstanding musical showcase based on performances of the...

Lunch should be savoured, flavoured, and never a labour. At Cityscape we believe in the long lunch: a proper sit-down feast with good banter and maybe a glass of wine. Here are our picks for the best places to make merry over lunch in the central city. Universo Brasserie & Bar is equal parts edgy Euro chic and tropical escape with a drinks list that’s off the charts to match a brunch and lunch menu with ingredients that always give something a bit different. Try the Universo Platter – a selection of meats and sides to share that will keep you going for ages. Across the road you’ll find Fiddlesticks Restaurant & Bar, a sophisticated haunt that serves up an array of great fare and excellent tipple – the Saturday bottomless brunch option will keep your champagne, mimosa or bloody Mary glass full while you dine and there’s always Sangria Sundays....

One of the best things about going on holiday is getting to try exotic new foods, but for the owners of passports gathering dust this winter, Cityscape is charting an international culinary adventure without leaving the city. Join us for an intercontinental tour to treat the taste buds as we traverse through Christchurch’s finest examples of international cuisine. EUROPE From bangers and mash in the west to the thousand-year-old tradition of shchi (Russian cabbage soup) in the east, European cuisine is as diverse as the different cultures of the more than 50 countries in the continent. While countless French and Italian staples in particular have, of course, become favourites all over the world, a host of other European nations have given one or more famous and epically-tasty gifts to the globe. ITALY There are several excellent Italian food options in the city. The institution that is Café Valentino has an outstanding...

Returned to New Zealand, Christchurch boy and international dancer Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson has joined forces with Royal New Zealand Ballet in Venus Rising. We hear Venus Rising will be your first professional performance in your hometown. How does that feel? It’s a very strange circumstance to begin with. I’d not expected to be in New Zealand right now, given my usual place of work is the Houston Ballet, let alone dancing as a guest for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. I am deeply grateful to Artistic Director Patricia Barker for this opportunity, firstly to continue my dance training when ballet performances across America are largely cancelled for the rest of the year, but secondly to perform with the RNZB. Christchurch is where my dream began. It feels so important to me and poetic – I left Christchurch for the USA exactly ten years ago on the 29th of August 2010. We will...

Feeling a bit creaky this winter? Muscle People have the cure for what ails you. Winter is prime time for backaches. There are a lot of long days at ski fields and long nights on the couch, and of course, that heavy firewood doesn’t lift itself. But there’s a Christchurch clinic helping heal our aches and pains by combining fun, friends and… physiotherapy. The crew at Muscle People have designed a multi-week group course called Dynamic Spines, which can help us all rebuild our backs from scratch. They assure us things start of easy: imagine standing against a wall and rolling down, from your neck, one vertebrae at a time. You’ll also try neck tucks: instead of a double chin, you’ll go for quadruple or quintuple chins. This is so you can find your spine’s neutral position, not so they can snap unflattering photos. The classes ramp up with exercises including...

We round up three great films, reads, shows to bingewatch, new albums to treat your ears to and a couple of decent podcasts to enlighten. Watching Nick Paris from Lumière Cinemas reviews some of the best from the current crop of cinema releases: MILITARY WIVES Inspired by a real phenomenon, Military Wives follows a group of women who band together to form a choir while their husbands are on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. The director of The Full Monty returns to the realm of comedy-with-heart, although in this case it might be more heart-with-comedy. Through trials and yes, grief, these wives know that singing releases all those feel-good chemicals, and you’ll find yourself leaving the cinema feeling similarly buoyant. WHĀNAU MĀRAMA: NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Kicking off in late July, the New Zealand International Film Festival will be the first festival around the world to begin showing films...