Cheeky cow
Zealandia CEO Nancy McIntosh-Ward taste-tests braised beef cheeks.
Rata, the Karori sanctuary’s new terrace cafe, is doing a main of braised beef cheeks for this month’s food festival Wellington on a Plate.
“I wanted [to make] something a little different,” says Dunshea, who also manages Rata Cafe. “[Beef cheeks] is not something you see in supermarkets.
“Any muscle that is used a lot is more flavoursome - a chicken thigh is more flavoursome than a breast. And cows are always eating.”
Rate Cafe is one of 90 cafes and restaurants serving a two course meal plus a glass of Wellington regional wine and a cup of tea or coffee for $25 in August.
The braised beef cheek dish is served with creamy polenta and broad bean puree (made with mint, parsley and peas). Dunshea says the combination of slow-cooked meat, beef stock – which takes eight hours to make – and crispy parsnip is a must-try seasonal meal with a glass of Instinct Martinborough Pinot Noir.
The main is followed by decadent chocolate brownies with cream and winter compote (flavoured with plums, cardamom pods and cloves).
To end the meal Dunshea recommends one of the cafe’s loose leaf teas.
“Tea is the new coffee,” he says.
We tried the Mint Fusion (natural peppermint and spearmint), Camo Jazz (pure camomile flowers with lemongrass, mint and orange blossom), Island Paradise (dried tropical fruit) and Red Diamond (Rooibos infused with bourbon, vanilla and truffle extract).
Capital Times recommends the Mint Fusion after a meal to cleanse the palate, and the Red Diamond all day every day.
Wellington on a Plate, August 14-29, wellingtononaplate.com.
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