Layers of flavour elevate this pie from family meal to one you can proudly serve guests. A simple green leaf salad eaten before the pie is all you need. ‘Pimp[ the pie with a few uncooked raw prawn cutlets and local scallops, in this case you can reduce the amount of blue cod.

These three recipes work incredibly well on their own. Yes! You can just eat this delicious rum sauce off a spoon! Molasses gives the ginger cake an intense savoury flavour, which works well with the other flavours. The ginger cake and pears can be served warm depending on how far in advance you want to prepare.

Crisp, buttery and melt-in-the-mouth, these slightly sweet biscuits are sandwiched together with a crunchy peanut buttercream - which we made with Outstanding medal winner, Forty Thieves Peanut Butter. Kathy’s reliable taste testers said they reminded them of our very popular peanut brownie biscuits.

You’ll be truly heartened by our oodles of noodles! Cooked strings of spaghetti tossed through our local exceptional mussels - a 2025 Outstanding Food Producer Awards Silver Medal winner - accompanied by fennel, spinach and textural walnut flavoured crispy breadcrumbs.

Nothing beats the aroma of baking Hot Cross Buns wafting through your home! Kathy Paterson’s Spiced Chocolate Hot Cross Buns are perfect served with Lemon Curd and are bound to become a new family favourite.

Succulent, juicy beef with tenderness in spades and its own flavour nuances connected to landscape and nature – Matangi rump skewers are subtly enhanced with a spice rub and eaten with an ‘outstanding’ sauce made from Forty Thieves Peanut Satay. Tuck in!

Change up your picnic basket food by making these hand pies - the savoury short pastry acts as a brilliant wrapping for the fresh salmon and keeps the salmon moist and flavoursome. Everyone knows pulling together a picnic shouldn’t be stressful, which is why Paneton Pastry is perfect - life’s too short to make pastry!

According to our Outstanding recipe editor, Kathy Paterson, Golden Queen peaches bake extremely well with their flesh and skin becoming meltingly tender. Leefield Station Riesling makes a great wine match, taking this dish to a new flavour level.

Fresh, vibrant and protein-packed, we think you will keep craving this combination, from multi-award winner Matangi Angus Beef. Feel free to make the dressing more assertive by adding a little more harissa. When sourcing your 700g jar cooked chickpeas – it’s worth choosing good quality chickpeas if you are able – the flavour will reward.

According to Outstanding Food Editor, Kathy Paterson, thinly baked meringue, cut into pieces or broken into shards and filled with a plethora of different fillings seemed to be the dessert of the moment. “On a recent ‘eating’ trip to Sydney. So, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and made one myself. “

When whanau call by you want to entertain with ease - our Outstanding Sumer Platter is designed for that! Mixing and matching these products from award-winning producers is your guarantee your platter will not only look great - but it will taste ‘outstanding’. What’s more, we’ve chosen a selection of goods made with aroha which are so delicious guests will think they came from your kitchen!

Outstanding Food Producer Awards head judge Lauraine Jacobs has shared this simple take on the classic Mille Feuille. Using Outstanding Food Producer Awards winning products; Paneton Bakery “Ready to Use” Flaky Pastry and Lewis Farms, Whole Berry Strawberry Jam makes what is often a cook’s challenge in a dish anyone can whip up to wow friends and family.

A stunning warm salad doused in hot melted lemon, herb butter and topped with shavings of Outstanding local Meyer Cheese Parmesan. A salad that can be eaten on its own. However, we love it served alongside crisp breadcrumb-coated beef or chicken schnitzel.

A gifted copy of The River Café Cookbook from her sister after they dined there in August ‘98’ inspired Kathy Paterson and she’s been making their stupendous Lemon Tart ever since.

Always popular! Our ‘outstanding ‘ chicken meatballs are flavour-enhanced with a good splash or two of Robbies Champion Noir Gärlik (black garlic sauce).

Honey and pine nuts are a superb combination that elevates a simple, old school scone dough – true comfort eating. Work quickly but gently to produce swirl scones that have a light and fluffy texture once cooked.

This is our ‘outstanding’ take on the infamous Hollywood Bowl. Fresh, textural, good for you and  totally satisfying!

A combination of nuts and seeds enriched with pure vanilla and maple adds nourishment and texture to the French toast and fresh bananas.

Paper thin crepes are terrific with smooth, creamy yoghurt and the soft apples. Outstanding Food Editor, Kathy Paterson says the small amount of sugar brings out flavour in the apples, but if you prefer not to use refined sugar, you could go without it. Kathy decided to elevate the dish, serving it with a Leefield Station Riesling.

An orange-flavoured, Madeira-style celebration cake that is a brilliant carrier for icing. Madeira cake used to be served with a glass of Madeira hence its name, however a tipple of Grand Marnier would be the way to go here. For her afternoon tea Outstanding Food Editor, Kathy Paterson enjoyed a slice along with a cup of Tea Thief Mr & Mrs Grey.