The first time I made chimichurri, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I’d read about it in the context of an Argentine barbecue and thought, sure, a herby sauce sounds nice. I chopped some parsley, garlic, and chili, splashed in olive oil and vinegar, and gave it a stir. Then I dipped in a piece of bread for a taste—and instantly wondered why no one had introduced me to this sooner.

I borrowed this Basque Cheesecake recipe from my old mate "The Cheese", which is an apt name for somebody who makes cheesecakes. I believe that she borrowed it from some guy called Nigel, who probably borrowed it from somebody else and so on and so on, until (according to some online encyclopedia thing) you get to a dude called Santiago Rivera who invented it in the Basque Country (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say that the Basque Country is in Spain, because it's a bit of a touchy subject, so I won't mention Spain).

We went here because...The US is the home of fast food, in fact my analyst (an unnamed search engine) gave me estimates of 213,155 and 216,110 fast food restaurants in 2024, one thing that both results agreed on; the number is increasing. So surely New York is the place to put it to the test, This is one man's journey to hunt down the best gluten free fast food that New York has to offer - Farce & Furious XI!

Our friends Neil and Sharon were coming around for dinner, they are regulars and we had tried many different incarnations of big meat, or bbq extravaganzas so we wanted to give them something a bit different, I thought why not go for my take on a Japanese Chicken Karaage Bowl. Chicken Karaage Bowl is a dish that gives so much, sure it consists of 22 ingredients so it may seem daunting, but it is a crowd pleaser.

If you grow chillies, you will know that the end of the season is a bonanza of fruit (yes believe it or not they are fruit, but don't put them in your fruit salad). Chillies can deliver a plethora of poblanos, an abundance of anchos, a glut of ghost peppers, a heap of Jalapeños, an overabundance of ... anyway I'm pretty sure you get the idea.

Thai Villa - 5 E 19th St, New York, NY 10003, United States of America We went here because...Thai Villa - New York was on a list of highly recommended restaurants that were friendly to the GF's of the population and once again we chanced our arm and just turned up and said "Hi, we're from New Zealand, can we please have a table?" (I think the saying is "ignorance is bliss").

Ever since I have been cooking, I have been fascinated with Indian flavours. It started with me experimenting by adding curry powder to anything that would take it (much to the horror of those around me at the time), it then progressed to shop-bought pastes and finally to toasting and grinding my own spices, making my own pastes and using those pastes to create many different concoctions, including Chicken Madras.

Friedman's Herald Square - 138 W 31st St, New York, NY 10001, United States of America We went here because...Friedman's is a family business with seven locations around New York, it famously has a menu that states "99% of our menu happens to be gluten-free or can be prepared gluten-free" and the menu contains some of the great meals that us GFer's often cannot partake in.

Gramercy Tavern - 42 E 20th St, New York, NY 10003, United States of America We went here because...We had received a number of restaurant recommendations for New York and the Gramercy Tavern - New York is one that really piqued our interest. Then one day we found ourselves in the Flat Iron District at lunch time, starving after having no breakfast and some mentally exhausting sightseeing under our belt (queuing, walking slowly around a crowded establishment while being shouted at by employees, who were frustrated by the 10% of morons who just want to make up the rules to suit themselves), so we thought, why not just stroll up to this famous Michelin starred restaurant shopping bags in hand and ask for a table at 1.30pm.

I decided it was time that the Raumati Kitchen Diaries went on tour, to try some other countries cuisine in their own country and then again some other countries cuisine in yet a different country altogether. Welcome to the first Installment of RKD on Tour - New York & DC It's only been 2½ years since I was last in New York, but for The Wife and The Daughter, this is a first experience of the city that never sleeps.

Red Elephant, 195 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Auckland 1023, New Zealand We went here because...The Red Elephant Thai Restaurant has been in Newmarket for over 35 years (originally called Chang Thong), but back in Mid 2024 they announced that they were sadly closing, then they announced that they would stay open for a little while longer, then one day the famous Red Elephant that has stood outside the front since the beginning (originally gold) was hoisted onto a truck and sent north to Langs Beach to live out it's days as a garden ornament, surely this was the end of one of Auckland's finest and long standing Thai restaurants?

Despite the bad press it receives the mighty burger is one of the great meals of our time. yes you shouldn't have one every day, yes it doesn't represent a balanced diet if taken on it's own, but neither do most meals (that taste good). It can however deliver amazing taste and be so damn satisfying to devour. Which brings me to "The Other Burger".

Thai Fish Cakes are a staple appetiser of any visit to the local Thai restaurant along with chicken satay and money bags. While these don't look like the golden delight that my favourite Thai restaurant outside of Thailand (Red Elephant, 195 Khyber Pass Road, Newmarket, Auckland 1023, New Zealand, just in case you are interested) serve, my Thai(ish) Fish Cakes are a great home iteration that taste pretty damn good.

Jungle 8 - Shop M17/39 - 41 Elliott Street (Elliott Stables), Auckland Central, Auckland 1010 We went there because...We went to Jungle 8 because we had dropped the child off a the Civic Theatre for a show, we were hungry and had 90 mins to kill. About a year ago, a good friend of mine (for anonymity let's call her "Ruby") had suggested that I needed to go to Jungle 8 for lunch one day and raved about how great it was.

I always get nervous sharing recipes of something that is a my take on a true classic, for instance my Blender Béarnaise is probably blasphemy to many, which is why I make it clear that I am not attempting perfection, just giving you my take on it (which probably includes shortcuts). That is why I call this "One Man's Interpretation of Lasagne", It's not meant to be an accurate attempt at an age old recipe, it's just my attempt, although there is a story that goes with it, so here goes...

Alma - 130 Quay Street, Britomart, Auckland 1010, New Zealand We went there because...A group of us went out to farewell a colleague and it was suggested as a great spot to share delicious food in a convivial environment . It was only a matter of time before I visited this establishment as it had received such rave reviews over the past four years, so I was more than curious (albeit a little slow).

I've been growing chillies for over 25 years, in fact the first edible crop of anything I grew was the majestic habanero, a variety that I still grown to this day. According to a recent google search there are 3000 to 4000 varieties of chilli in the world and I've grown at least 12 of them (2988-3988 to go), and despite popular opinion in some parts of the world, all chillies are not created equal.

Cāntīng by Nic Watt - Level One Shop No/1190N Commercial Bay, CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand We went there because...It was The Wife's birthday, she has been a long time fan of traditional Yum cha, and we have enjoyed Nic Watt's take on other cuisines, so this piqued our interest. Fifteen years ago we went to Hong Kong for one of The Wife's significant birthdays and we ate Michelin Star Yum Cha that was next level (I can still recall the succulent pork melting in my mouth), so the bar was set pretty high.

Whether you say Pico de Gallo, Salsa Fresca or Tomato, onion and chili dip, this is a tasty and fresh addition to any summer dish. It takes minutes to prepare an hour to develop and seconds to devour. The beautiful thing is you can adjust the heat to your liking by changing out the jalapeno for your chili of choice. If I have time, I split the recipe in half and use the jalapeno for the family and use a habanero for myself and any unsuspecting visitors in need of a wake up call.

I find that some processes in cooking are unnecessarily difficult, when a close to perfect result can be achieved with a lot less sweat and stress and you can leave the ultimate perfection to the experts. One of these processes is the making of a hollandaise or béarnaise sauce. Sure we all like to try to make these sauces in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, while whisking vigorously (once), and experience the inevitable failure followed by quick web searches on why it's split or why it's too thick or thin, followed by valiant attempts to save what was supposed to be the show stopper of the meal, while the rest of the food is getting cold.

It's not a coincidence that when the weather prevents you from producing a certain produce, it is damn expensive in the shops, and likewise when your crops are in abundance the green grocer is practically giving them away. This is the time of year when I have so many tomatoes that "Tomato Surprise" regularly appears on the menu, often it's such a "surprise" that I don't even know what I'm cooking as I enter the kitchen.

Tacos are a crowd pleaser, lots of delicious flavours captured in a soft or crispy shell. I use the word captured loosely as whenever I eat them, a significant amount of that filling escapes, if I'm lucky purely back on to the plate, if I'm unlucky on to my shirt while the wife is watching, (but that's another story for a different blog).