Christine Griffith of Cambridge, New Zealand! That’s a long way from Paris. Christine brought more new followers to The Everyday French Chef than anyone else since my subscription drive started on August 30, making her the winner of the first (and only) prize — a signed copy of Ann Mah’s brand new Mastering the Art of French Eating, which came out last week. Thank you, Christine, and congratulations!
I couldn’t be more delighted at this outcome, for two reasons. First, Christine Griffith is a friend and a wonderful foodie. We met in 2010 when she began attending cooking classes in my Paris kitchen. I was very sorry to see her go last year when she moved first to Australia and then back to her home country, New Zealand. Which is the second reason. It’s halfway round the globe from France, and now quite a few people from that part of the world are tuned into this site, largely thanks to Christine. What a great tribute to the genius of the web — uniting people across the miles.
But how many miles? Well, the distance between Paris and Auckland is about 11,500 miles, or 18,500 kilometers. And Cambridge lies just south of there, relatively speaking. On the map at right, imagine a tiny dot on the North Island, about even with the wing that juts out to the right. That’s Cambridge, in the Waikito region. Doesn’t that sound exotic? I hope to see it one day. But imagine how long it takes to get there. Well, on Air France you can leave Paris around 1:30 p.m. and, after a seven hour layover in Shanghai, you will reach Auckland at 6:50 a.m. — two days later!
At our cooking class, Christine loved sharing recipes from that part of the world, many of them involving lamb. As it happens, she went to dinner recently at La Cave, a French restaurant and gourmet food shop in Hamilton, which is near Cambridge. If you’re curious about how French cuisine is interpreted in New Zealand, have a look at the menu from that dinner, which she kindly sent along to me. I’m particularly intrigued by the sheep’s milk granita! You will find the menu below.
Meantime, I am happy to report that the number of subscribers to The Everyday French Chef has increased by 20 percent since the contest opened on August 30. Christine wrote to 18 friends and relatives to tell them about this site, and at least 8 of them have already signed up. As we say over here, merci! Thanks to one and all for spreading the word.
— Meg Bortin
Hi Meg,
Thanks so much….I really enjoyed your write up, especially the way you promoted NZ. I am really looking forward to reading Ann’s book….had a sneak preview of it on her blog today. Thanks again and I hope you continue to sign up new followers to your website and FB page.
By the way, the sheeps milk granita was interesting….it looked like curds but was smooth as on the tongue with a slight citrusy tang…….nothing like I have ever had before.
Christine 🙂