February update from Brewed

Hello, coffee lovers and valued patrons! We're excited to present the newest issue of our monthly newsletter, packed with thrilling updates, delightful news, and plenty of energizing excellence.
 

We hope you're all enjoying the lingering warmth of summer and the delightful weather it brings. We wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt thanks for your incredible support at the restaurant during this busy season. Summer might not be over yet, but we're already buzzing with excitement for the adventures that lie ahead in the coming year. Behind the scenes, our talented chefs are hard at work crafting a brand-new Autumn/Winter menu, set to debut in March with a tantalizingly worldly Mediterranean twist. With the Brynderwyn's closing and traffic diverted through Mangawhai, we're here and open for business as usual, so if you're journeying further north, do swing by for a refuel.
Plus, we have some events on the horizon, including confirmed Poetry nights and more pop-up evenings to be announced shortly. Imagine joining us for our own pop-up evenings, set to commence after the refresh of our core brunch menu after the April school holidays. Picture yourself indulging in a selection of tapas-style small plates paired perfectly with a glass of wine, transporting you to the sun-kissed shores of the Mediterranean. We can't wait to share these experiences with you and create more unforgettable memories together!

Whether you're a long-time visitor or new to our café, we're grateful to have you with us as we continue to create memorable moments and celebrate the love for exceptional coffee.

Sip, savour, and share the magic of coffee with us.

In this months newsletter, we've got some tunes for your Sunday vibes, interview with our Sous Chef Lou, and a few upcoming events we're really excited for!

Music is a big part of what we enjoy here at Brewed, and we make it a point to keep our playlists fresh. I, along with the team, listen to music every day, and to ensure a dynamic musical experience. This month we've got a set that is perfect for that Sunday chill out, drinking a few wines lounging under the sun umbrella.

It's Nightmares on Wax closing set at Splore, an annual boutique music and arts three day festival held at Tapapakanga Regional Park, in Orere Point, New Zealand with approximately 8,000 attendees. Throughout the three days — and deep into the night — an eclectic line-up of musical artists from Aotearoa and abroad play the multiple festival stages. Multi disciplinary performances, interactive visual art installations, workshops and forums unfold across the site. And people dance like nobody’s watching.

It's the best sort of party. But it's more than a party, it's a community. To come to Splore is to be part of Splore.

The first Splore was held on New Year’s Eve 1998 and the festival ran consecutively for four years and then took a year off. In between 2004 and 2014 the festival was a bi-annual event until 2015 where it was it announced that the festival would continue annually.

The next is this weekend, 23rd Feb - 25th Feb. Get yourself a lilo and float in the ocean while you're whisked away in the beautiful music coming from the stage. Pictured below is a snippet of the festival.

For clarification, as much I'd love to see two dogs run a kitchen, these are actually Lou's favourite beings. Lou is an epic woman/chef, has an abundance of knowledge & experience, who has been with us at Brewed As for well over a year now. We had the chance to ask our Sous Chef a little bit about herself, from her responses, I have added additional information in Lou's favourite colour.

Quick fire questions:

Cats or dogs? Dogs

Books or movies? Books

Movies: Comedy, Drama or Action/Adventure? Drama

Travel: Adventure or Relaxation? A bit of both

Summer or Winter? Winter

Favourite Colour? Purple

Other Questions:

Where are you from?

Huntly, New Zealand
Originally settled by Māori, European migrants arrived in the area some time in the 1850s. The Huntly name was adopted in the 1870s when the postmaster named it after. Huntly is home to Rakaumanga Kura which became one of the first bilingual schools (Māori/English) in New Zealand in 1984.

Where have you been?

American & most of Australia, I lived there for 10 years.

Where would you visit again?

New York

Favourite spice or herb?

Tarragon

Beef, Chicken, Fish or Vege? What's your favourite protein to work with?

Beef

Cooking soundtrack? What's your go-to music or playlist when you're in the kitchen?

Modern country & Jazz

Kitchen Superpower? If you could have one kitchen superpower, what would it be?

The ability to foresee how many people were coming in to dine.

Dream dinner guest? If you could cook for any celebrity or historical figure, who would it be?

Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. In 1995, aged 33, White became the first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. A Michelin Star is awarded to restaurants offering outstanding cooking. They take into account five universal criteria: the quality of the ingredients, the harmony of flavours, the mastery of techniques, the personality of the chef as expressed through their cuisine and, just as importantly, consistency both across the entire menu and over time. The Michelin Guides are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants. There are no Michelin star restaurants in New Zealand.

Guilty pleasure food? What's your guilty pleasure food you can't resist?

Beef Carpaccio, is a dish of meat or fish (such as beef, veal, venison, salmon or tuna), thinly sliced or pounded thin, and served raw, typically as an appetizer. It was invented in 1963 by Giuseppe Cipriani from Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, and popularised during the second half of the twentieth century. The beef was served with lemon, olive oil, and white truffle or Parmesan cheese.

Cooking challenge? Sweet or savoury? What do you find more challenging? Sweet

Kitchen Hack: Share a quick kitchen tip or hack that everyone should know.

Never season scrambled eggs or an omelette while in the pan, it makes the mix go watery & tough.

Kitchen rituals: Do you have any unique rituals or habits in the kitchen?

No

Adventurous eats: Weirdest/unique or most adventurous dish you've created or tasted?

Chocolate grasshoppers, are a unique culinary delicacy that combines the crunchiness of grasshoppers with the sweetness of chocolate. They are typically made by coating whole grasshoppers or grasshopper parts (usually the legs or abdomens) in melted chocolate or cocoa powder. This creates an interesting flavour combination of rich chocolate and savoury insect protein.

In many cultures, insects are considered a sustainable and nutritious food source, rich in protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Chocolate-covered grasshoppers are often promoted as a way to introduce people to entomophagy (the practice of eating insects) in a more palatable and approachable manner.

When/where did you know you wanted to be a chef?

Both my Grandmother & Mother were extraordinary cooks, My mother has always been an adventurous cook and was exposed to a great variety of dishes as a child.

Can you share a memorable moment or experience that shaped your culinary journey & influenced your cooking style?

Probably when I realised the power of food to bring comfort and love. Good food, good friends, good wine, Can't beat it!

Kitchen team dynamics: How do you foster a positive and collaborative environment within your kitchen team?/what's your approach to leading the kitchen team.
Well since you can't beat them with a stick, I try to maintain a positive attitude, lots of humour and am happy to share knowledge.

What's the most challenging aspect of being a chef, and how do you overcome it?

The heat....and you don't/can't.
The old saying, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen!

Favourite quote or inspirational saying?

"Many people have eaten my food and gone on to live normal lives"

"Soup of the Day" it's champagne, I'm drinking champagne.

Upcoming events

Poetry 'Open Mic' Night

We're thrilled to announce the upcoming third night, promising another memorable evening filled with shared short stories, laughter, a selection of fine wines, and delectable bites to savour.
Thursday 7th March

5:30pm - 8pm

Ceremonial Cacao, Psychedelics, Shamanic rituals, neuroscience for modern day mental health workshop

Where: Brewed As
Facebook event link
Who: Seleno Health - The Maca and Cacao Experts
When: 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Monday, 11th March 2024
How: Tickets
Pre-sales $10 (ultra earlybird - limited numbers)

Pre-sales $15 (early bird - limited)

Pre-sales $20 (standard)

Door sales $25 (if not sold out)

Includes a sample of our ceremonial cacao - 10% discount off Seleno Health products on the day.
 

Anna and I have incorporated Seleno Health's products into our daily routine for several years now. Seleno Health possesses extensive expertise in indigenous plants, supported by Corin's PhD in medicinal chemistry and over 15 years of experience. Their insights affirm the traditional knowledge passed down through Sally's ancestors for millennia. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were fortunate to organize several workshops with Corin and Sally.
-Maca: Incan medicine for fatigue, mental health and hormonal balance.
-Managing mental health, stress and fatigue with Maca and Hemp.
-Unlocking the endocannabinoid system with plant-based entourage.

If any of these subjects capture your curiosity, I highly encourage you to attend. We're incredibly fortunate to have such well-informed individuals sharing their insights to enhance your daily life.

About the workshop itself:
Do you want to truly understand and connect with the ancestral origin cacao? Come and journey with us into ancient traditions of cacao with modern neuroscience, anthropology and research into spiritual awakening and neuroplasticity. From its origin in South America, its ancestral traditions, cosmovision and application.

The ancient temple of Chavin de Huantar in Peru was the epicentre of shamanic initiation for the Americas from 1200-400 BC. During these intense spiritual experiences prospective priests would be subjected to days of sensory experiences whilst consuming brews of ceremonial cacao mixed with psychedelic plants like San Pedro. We explore the science behind ceremonial cacao and its application to spiritual awakening and substantiate its use in these ancient traditions.

Taking you on a journey through the cosmovision of cacao and how it was seen and used by various tribes we discuss its evolution and the challenges we face to incorporate this master plant into modern day ceremonies.

With research funded in New Zealand by Callaghan Innovations, the Seleno Health cacao research program now biochemically maps cacao from the Amazon and understands the key classes of bio-actives responsible for different sensory and therapeutic applications. Crafting specialised cacao for specialised applications. Come and learn about their exciting research, understand ceremonial cacao and the concepts of “awakening” associated with it. And learn about how we can use cacao in ceremony with reverence to its 5000 year old lineage to enhance neuroplasticity and rapid brain change.

A bit about the presenters, a true powerhouse dynamic couple:
Dr Corin Storkey (PhD – Med Chem) has over 15 years of academic and research experience, specialising in medicinal antioxidant chemistry, oxidative diseases, cellular protection and health. He has previously struggled with and overcome chronic fatigue syndrome and promotes an integrative and holistic approach to managing chronic health conditions.

He currently leads the New Zealand based Maca and cacao research program that studies Andean and Amazonian plant medicines and their bioactives.

Sally Huapaya is a native Peruvian of Andean descent, with a Bachelor in engineering and ancestral knowledge of traditional Peruvian medicinal plants and Andean/Amazonian cosmovision. She has a passion to bring the sacred plant knowledge of her people to the world and promoting respect and acknowledgement to the indigenous farmers and communities that produce them.

Through her combination of industry experience, cultural and ancestral knowledge she has created a range of authentic and high-vibrational maca and ceremonial cacao products under her brand - Seleno Health with her kiwi husband Corin Storkey and also provides training to facilitators and healers who want to better connect to both plants.