Author: Press Room

Salmon, bacon and “anything from vanilla to sauerkraut” are among the ice cream flavours planned at a new dessert bar opening soon in the Octagon. Blue Cockatoo is expected to open in November at 16 The Octagon — next to the Regent Theatre. Co-owners Hannes Bareiter and Melanie Hartmann had initially eyed up the premises six years ago, before starting their St Clair restaurant Titi, which they sold in April. They had always wanted to do “something different”, Mr Bareiter said. “There’s a good chance there’ll be savoury ice creams. “There might be salmon in it … same with cocktails,…

The Government says it has chosen its preferred supplier for two new ferries for the Cook Strait, due to arrive in 2029. Rail Minister Winston Peters said that Ferry Holdings, the Government-established company to lead the procurement and delivery of the new ferries, had narrowed down its shortlist of six shipyards to build the vessels to just one. The shipyard would be named once the contracts are signed. Peters said a letter of intent had been signed with the ship builder to begin the final stage of technical negotiations. “Nobody can accuse us of a lack of pace when Ferry…

The Goverment’s announcement that it will provide loan funding of $30 million for at-risk regional airlines is being welcomed as a lifeline by Air Chathams to maintain its Whakatāne to Auckland route.However, Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca thinks the Government offer falls short of what it should be doing to keep regional airlines operating.”It’s a start,” he said. “Only the operators know if it’s enough.”I still think the Government has an obligation to do more. If Air New Zealand is 51% owned by us, and they are making hundreds of millions of profit these days, then I think they need to…

Nelson-based nutritionist Julie North got her hands on the only Harricado in the country and put it to the smash – comparing NZ avos in form and flavour.The Harricado, described as creamy and nutty, is a new variety of the popular fruit discovered this year. The home orchardist who grew the avo, Harry Pearson, first stumbled upon the huge avocado tree at an open home in Nelson.”I joked with the owners after I purchased the property, I said ‘the main reason I bought it was the avocado tree’,” Pearson told RNZ.Pearson is working with the New Zealand Tree Crops Association…

ADVERTISEMENT A viral wave of disinformation targeting Spanish olive oil is shaking up the industry with claims that bottles labelled as ‘non-EU’ actually contain Moroccan olive oil.  However, while these claims are false, similar ones arguing that the Spanish government will recall olive oil products from the markets if the next harvest is too abundant are partially true. Claims on social media are leading Spaniards to believe that their olive oil industry – which accounts for nearly 50% of global production and is vital to Spain’s economy, generating around €3.2 billion and supporting close to 42,000 jobs – is being…

Nine bottles in 10 minutes.That’s how many discarded nitrous oxide canisters Manurewa Local Board chair Matt Winiata says he found across three local streets, with some far larger than the small silver “nangs” commonly scattered across Auckland.The discovery prompted Winiata to urge Auckland Council’s Safety and Regulatory Committee public forum yesterday to press central government for urgent controls on the sale and size of nitrous oxide bottles.Nitrous oxide, known as nangs, was legally sold as a whipped-cream propellant. But Winiata warned councillors that bottles now appearing on local streets were up to 3.3 litres in size, the equivalent of 300…

The co-owner of Wellington beer brand Fortune Favours says he’s “stoked” that Garage Project will be taking on their central Wellington Brewery bar after its abrupt closure last week.Shannon Thorpe said skyrocketing costs and a 45% down-turn in revenue over the last two years had forced the closure of the brewery.The announcement came just days after the brand won a top honour this year’s annual Beervana beer festival.(Source: rnz.co.nz)Fortune Favours was founded by Thorpe and head brewer Dale Cooper in 2016.Thorpe said he was grateful to all his crew who continued to work last week as the outpouring of support…

West Coast Police say there’s not a lot they can do about online death threats to Grey District councillors.The council’s chief executive Joanne Soderlund filed a complaint with the Police in Greymouth at the weekend over recent anonymous threats to the councillors and mayor that included assassination and torture.In a statement, police said they did not condone the behaviour but there was not enough evidence of the alleged offences to take further action.Officers had spoken to the council to ensure it had sufficient security in place for its staff, police said.Grey District mayor Tania Gibson said the response was disappointing.Mayor…

Like a modern day “Robin Hood minus the robberies”, a competition winner has donated their $10,000 prize money to a kai distribution charity.When former social worker Kahukura Ahau (Ngāti Porou) saw the competition ad run by sandwich chain Subway, they already knew what they would do if they won.”The first thought I had was, how can I redistribute this money from a big company back into the community?” Ahau said.The competition itself was a quest to find Subway’s biggest fan, giving contestants freedom to show how much they love the sandwich joint.”From original songs to foot-long tattoos, sub-themed decor, and…

Hato Hone St John has recorded it’s busiest month ever – with more than 50,000 ambulance incidents recorded in August. Acting DCE Ambulance Operations Rosanne Shaw said winter often brought higher demand, but said this year there had been “unprecedented demand”. “We have seen a significant rise in respiratory-related emergencies. In the past year, ambulance crews responded to almost 6000 cases of breathing difficulties, up 33% on the 12-month average,” she said. Despite the soaring demand for ambulances, the agency said it had also been helping to reduce pressure on emergency departments through other initiatives. Shaw said one of these…