The Evolution of New Zealand Cuisine
New Zealand has an extremely young culinary culture by international standards. Our culinary heritage has its foundation firmly rooted in the Anglo-Saxon Kitchen and was transported (along with ourselves) when the English first established colonies in the Antipodes. This youthful isolation has afforded us virtual immunity from the cross-cultural pollination that occurred over centuries around the world as a result of one nation invading another. The inevitable influence exerted by the invader over flavour pathways, cooking methods, produce grown and even the religious significance of food, dictated the gastronomic evolution of many cultures.
Those countries most effective in the preservation of their borders are today representative of the purest culinary cultures. Within many of these cuisines are signature dishes usually reflecting a product or speciality unique to that region - dishes such as Spaghetti Bolognaise and Beef Bourguignonne. Despite past protectionism, some of these culinary signatures have escaped their local boundaries and become international property, faithfully reproduced in kitchens around the world.
If New Zealand has a recognisable signature in its culinary repertoire, its origins can be found in our beloved ‘meat and three veg’. The edible Kiwi icon, in all its various manifestations, has evolved through the predominance of beef and lamb in our cooking. As a young rural nation we required large, robust meals to provide energy to work the land (the culinary prowess of the resident matriarch responsible for delivering those succulent roasts and braises so fondly enshrined in our memories). The turn of the century began to accelerate out gastronomic evolution, with a new concentration of urban dwellers spared the rigours of predominantly manual labour. As our society became increasingly sophisticated, so too did the eating requirements of this developing population. Times were changing, reflecting a global readiness for modernisation in every arena, including and especially food.
top...The Nouvelle Cuisine Era
The Nouvelle Cuisine era that swept through professional kitchens in the 1980’s represents perhaps the greatest leap in our culinary development. Conceived in France in the mid 1970’s, Nouvelle Cuisine was a response to demand for a lighter, somewhat healthier style of cooking. This ‘new cuisine’ revolutionised the kitchen and the marketplace. Its emphasis on freshness and quality ingredients created markets for specialty and gourmet produce, whilst the attention to presentation elevated professional cookery to an art form. The true essence of Nouvelle Cuisine always assumed the application of classical principles. However, the rate at which this innovation was adopted, matched by an equally blistering abandonment of basic technique, caused the demise of the concept which arguably contributed more to our culinary evolution in 10-15 years, than anything past or present.
The Emergence of Fusion Cuisine
The last decade has seen the gradual emergence of Fusion cuisine; a fusing or blending of culinary cultures. First manifested here amidst our early Brasserie-style preoccupation with Italian foods, Fusion cuisine is a result of the accessibility of the ‘Global Village’. Increasing numbers of people are travelling, experimenting and experiencing. Many have settled permanently in new counties, introducing the cultures and traditions of their homelands.
‘Pacific Rim’ cuisine reflects our proximity to the kitchens of South East Asia, the pacific and Japan. It is a fusion of ethnic Pacific and Asian cultures with our own traditional Anglo-Saxon heritage, Chilli, wasabi, coriander, noodles and sushi are an intrinsic part of contemporary Kiwi culinary language and represent the advent of Global cuisine down under.
This integration or gastronomic osmosis will continue to drive the evolution of cuisine, as will the determination of those at the coal face whose dedication to the search for edible perfection, shapes our culinary future.
top...