Ask Peter
Each week, award-winning executive chef Peter Gordon answers your culinary questions and conundrums. If you are stumped over something food-related, or looking for a little expert advice on ingredients, recipes and kitchen tips, then send your question to [email protected]. Keep checking Bite magazine and right here for answers.
latest articles

Ask Peter: Making stem ginger
We have tried various methods to make stem ginger but have never been terribly successful: the ginger is always a bit tough and hard despite prolonged...

Ask Peter: The LA screen industry gets a taste of NZ
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had recently catered an event for 130 people in Los Angeles for the New Zealand Film Commission. The aim of the event was...

Ask Peter: chillies — you should never be without
I love making my curries from the basic ingredients — I make my own paste rather than use store-bought because I grow most of my own ingredients. I wonder...

Ask Peter: A good, moist and buttery scone
We’ve dined at your restaurants, adore your fusion cuisine and your column in Bite. Thanks for sharing your fantastic cheese scone recipe. I had been...

Ask Peter: Along Mexican lines
Some time ago I enjoyed a bake at a Mexican meal. It was a meat-based sauce that was topped with a light and fluffy, and I think, cheesy corn topping. I...

Ask Peter: A golden glow
We have set a gold theme for a 50th birthday party and would like to run this through the food and drink menu somehow — any thoughts on how we could do it,...

Ask Peter: Many coloured beans
I have fresh purple and yellow beans that go green when they are cooked — would you know of any way I could prepare them to keep their colour? Jacqui It’s a...

Ask Peter: Yacon
Klaus Laitenberger, a master gardener based in Ireland, has been in touch to ask Peter whether he knows of any farms growing yacon and/or yams that he could...

Ask Peter: Awesome plum chutney
Hi Cuz! Our plum tree is heaving with fruit. What was that awesome recipe you had for plum chutney you made for the Fusion Feast at Tuahiwi Marae in the...

Ask Peter: Scones
I am writing to you from British Columbia after returning here from two months roaming New Zealand. While there we fell in love with scones . . . savoury...