The Sauce NZ

What matters more - expertise or your ability to talk to a camera? Vicki would rather follow someone who knows what they're talking about than someone who knows how to talk to the camera. Tash reckons the bigger problem is who the algorithm decides to show you. This week The Sauce goes looking for New Zealand's new food voices: Kate Stanbury on Meadow Mushrooms' hunt for the country&#3...

Vicki and Tash welcome spring (it's been dry in Canterbury with early fires while Vicki reckons it's been the best Waikato winter in a long time - of course, she was away for a month of it!). Join us for a chat about asparagus and how to make the most of the seasonal treasure for boosting your folate - where it comes from, how to pick it and cook it, and whether tinned asparagus rolls have...

With an election just weeks away, Tash speaks with Sam MacKinnon, head of communications and advocacy at Hospitality New Zealand, about what the sector wants parties to prioritise. The conversation covers hospitality’s role in the economy, the pressure of cost of living, and why skills, training, and regulation are central issues for the industry right now. In this episode, Sam explains how Hospit...

What does it take to turn a food idea into something people reach for every day? This week, Tash sits down with Kim Whitman, Product Development and Procurement Manager at Barkers of Geraldine, for a behind-the-scenes look at food innovation in Aotearoa. Kim shares how new products move from a kitchen-bench concept to supermarket shelves, why packaging and real-world testing matter as much as flav...

In one of our most upfront conversations yet, Asher Boote, owner of Hillside in Wellington and longtime chef, joins Tash and Vicki to talk about what it really takes to survive in hospitality for more than a decade. This conversation goes beyond food and into business design, staff development, closures, mental health, and why honest conversations matter more than polished ones. They discuss how H...

Tash checks in with Vicki from Sicily for a food and travel catch-up that goes well beyond holiday envy. Vicki shares what she has been eating, drinking, and learning on tour, with a focus on Sicilian traditions, regional identity, and how food tells the story of place. We discuss Sicilian dishes, wines, coastal food culture, and how travel changes when you spend time with locals instead of just t...

What does wine mean when it’s more than a drink? In this week's episode, Tash and Vicki meet Brent Eddy of Home Fields Wine to talk about his unexpected journey from corporate life to winemaking in the Wairarapa—and the deeper cultural role wine plays in bringing people together. They explore the hard work and human stories behind a vineyard, the pressure facing New Zealand wine producers, and...

Tash and Vicki couldn't visit Wellington without inviting Lucy Corry to the group chat. Iconic food writer and noe RNZ's Lifestyle Editor, Lucy says the fix for NZ food writing starts with telling better stories about real people, real seasons, and real kitchens. If you care about how we eat, what gets published, and why some food content connects while so much of it disappears into the sc...

The Sauce is on the road! This week we went on an adventure to Wellington, to spend time with some behind the scenes hospitality professionals making a real difference. One of whom is Dominique McMillan, co-owner of Floridita's and Loretta and co-founder of Kitchen Day. Kitchen Day started as a series of events to bring hospitality industry in Wellington together and it's blossomed into a...

This week we unpack the real and true history of fish & chips: a journey of migration and how food, techniques and technology move around the world. We're so passionate about understanding how this dish evolved and has become uniquely Kiwi in it's own way - and different in every part of the world. To help understand it, we talk to Izzy from Rivers Catch in Rotorua. Izzy shares how she...

Winners of Best New Restaurant 2026 at the Cuisine Good Food Awards, Matt and Barbara Lambert join us to talk about opening Return Restaurant on Ponsonby Road in Auckland, what changed after years overseas, and why the new venue is more about people, family, and consistency than chasing trophies. The conversation also digs into how they define intentional dining, build a hospitality team with genu...

If you've ever wondered if you're up for the challenge of judging hundreds of toasties around the country - this episode is for you! Vicki and Tash dive deep into one of the most important foodie competitions of the year - the Toastie Takeover. We talk to head judge, Kerry Tyack, about the judging criteria behind the competition, and why a great toastie is all about balance, story, and con...

Tash and Vicki cut through the noise around the latest macronutrient obsession and get honest about why we need to pay as much attention to what's coming out of our bodies as what's going in. From the surprising reality of how little fibre many of us get, to why protein has been easier to market than fibre, this episode goes straight at what our bodies actually need. And then we discover h...

In this episode, we explore the art of butchery, the importance of nose-to-tail eating, and the skills needed to preserve this craft in a changing food landscape. And we welcome a new sponsor to our supporters family - hello Barkers of Geraldine! Scroll for your discount code. Featuring a candid conversation with Nick Thomson, author of "Marrow," we delve into the history, techniques, an...

Celebrating Hamilton's wine and food community, this episode Vicki takes us to the heart of why she loves the Waikato so much... only 1 degree of separation, incredibly down to earth makers and a passion for connection and community. Join us for an authentic conversation capturing the essence of Hamilton life — its community spirit, culinary innovations, and the vibrant stories behind local wi...

Unlock the secrets behind New Zealand's elusive and delicious truffles! If you're curious about how to turn a short-lived delicacy into everyday magic, this episode is your essential guide. Gus Tissinck, one of New Zealand’s foremost truffle experts, joins us to demystify the underground world of truffle farming, harvesting, and culinary use. From the science of soil and climate effects to...

Move those tins from your emergency food supply to front and centre! And then pour a glass of Two Paddocks as Tash remembers her last conversation with Sam Neill. Then, whether you're a seasoned home cook or just looking to streamline weeknight dinners, VIcki and Tash have some innovative hacks, surprising facts, and inspiration to elevate your canned goods game. We dive into the magic of tins...

This year more PR budget than ever has been spent on World Chocolate Day and perhaps for good reason. In this episode, Vicki and Tash, alongside Nick Brown from Cook & Nelson unpack the complexities of the chocolate industry, exploring how prices are set, the impact of supply chain exploitation, and what consumers can do to make informed choices. And why we don't. Discover how sustainabili...

This one is The Sauce's love letter to the humble carrot — a deep dive into the unsung hero of the produce aisle at this time of year. Join Tash and Vicki as we cover: The carrot as underdog Vicki's observation that carrot prices almost never spike (unlike cauliflower, cucumber, tomatoes) leads into a celebration of how reliable and cheap carrots are — roughly $1-2/kg regardless of season....

It's the morning after New Zealand's first ever Michelin announcement, and we have thoughts. A lot of them. Some about the food. Some about the ceremony. (Okay, quite a few about the ceremony.) In this bonus episode, Tash and Vicki unpack what was arguably the biggest night in New Zealand's culinary history — 110 special mentions, awards and stars across Auckland, Wellington, Christchu...

You know we love our pasta! And we thought we'd discovered the next big food hero when we found Monty's Pasta. Just a few weeks later he took out the Supreme Outstanding Food Producer award. So with Vicki, our resident Pasta Queen on the case - we delve into the story behind Monty's Pasta, a pioneering New Zealand-based pasta producer committed to local grains and innovative food pract...

This week Tash and Vicki are separating fact from folklore — and a few sacred cows are not making it out alive. From whether your eggs actually need the fridge (short answer: yes, but not for the reason Americans think) to the five second rule, oil in pasta water, and the enduring belief that red wine is basically medicine — they're working through the food and drink myths that somehow became...

Before there was Food-Tok, there was Allyson Gofton, beaming into our homes and teaching us simple recipes in the minutes before the news. As we continue to explore where Kiwis learn to cook - this is a special interview with Alison Gofton, about her journey to our screens, what's she's learned about people, tips on food and nutrition. Join us for a lively conversation filled with food sto...

In our quest to unpack where Kiwis learn to cook, Tash and Vicki uncover the massive changes facing Home Economics in schools - when all the research says learning the fundamental skill of cooking is essential for healthy outcomes. Adrienne Reeves, president of the Home Economics and Technology Teachers Association of New Zealand, exposes how recent curriculum shifts threaten to strip away essenti...

PART ONE: This week Vicki and Tash unpack where Kiwis really learn to cook and along the way discover some potentially frightening changes to the Home Economics curriculum on the agenda. From Mum's elbow to Gran's roast dinners and a meal box or two, the difference between generations and Foodtok is stark. We thrash it out and maybe end up with more questions than answers.