Celebrity chef Anne Thorp - former Whakatāne Local Wild Food Festival Judge

Anne Thorp is no stranger to incorporating wild ingredients into her cuisine, and she will be no stranger to any Bay foodie worth their salt.

Born and brought up in Whakatane, Anne attended Whakatāne's Apanui Primary School and she is quick to attribute her time there as the key to her success as a celebrated author, television personality, and chef popularly known as the Maori Queen of Cuisine. "My Home Economics teacher at Apanui was Ms Betty Cuthbert and she not only taught me how to cook but inspired me to pursue a career as a chef. I remember making a fruit sponge in her class and it was the most delectable kai I'd ever eaten, and from then on I knew exactly what I wanted to do."

"Manaakitanga is the highest quality culinary hospitality that enhances the mana of others who experience cuisine made with aroha..."

Anne spent a long stint at Auckland’s trendy SPQR and recently at Harbourside and Botswana restaurants as front of house, and she has served as the New Zealand Food Ambassador to the P&O Cruise Line after embarking on her broadcasting career on Māori TV and publishing her sold-out cook book Kai Ora. Since then she has been based in Auckland and focussing on promoting the concept of Manaakitanga, which is usually translated as hosting or hospitality. "Manaakitanga is the highest quality culinary hospitality that enhances the mana of others who experience cuisine made with aroha," she says. "Manaakitanga starts with the greeting, with a smile that makes everyone feel at home. The mission of a person with manaakitanga is to make one feel absolutely at ease, comfortable and joyful as one can. For me everything after that falls into place and becomes a breeze, then I can happily carry on with the cooking!"

And for Anne that means getting creative with some of the great ingredients that New Zealand has to offer. "Tītī (muttonbird) feature often in my cooking," she says. "My mate Tini Molyneux from Tuhoe gets a bucket every year, and I always get half the bucket. I love them! When I'm in Auckland, every Saturday I go get the freshest and the best from the Otara Market, and at this time of year that means kamokamo will be on the menu. I'd cook them every meal if I could. I prefer them boiled and plain, and I love their raw nutty flavour, though sometimes I'll slice, season then roast them for variety."

Another of Anne favourite is sea food, and by that she really does mean pretty much kai moana in all its forms. "I love whipping up whitebait omelettes. Whether I use the egg white only or a whole whipped eggs I adore the look of them, sexy, delicate and such a treat, though kina in season is my all-time favourite Maori tucker. Though tio (oysters) and mussels straight off the rocks and crayfish with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves would be a pretty close second."

And her one piece of advice for getting the best out of sea food is simple. "When I cook hapuku, snapper, terakihi, or any sea food I watch over it like a hawk.  Kaimoana is never the same when it’s overcooked!"

As a judge in the Whakatāne Local Wild Food Challenge, Anne says she will be looking for originality, quality and presentation, and to whet your appetites for the Challenge she has shared a great recipe that uses some simple wild seasonings that anyone can master.

Wild Peppercorn Pork in a bag

Serves 4

• 1.5 k pork

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons flour
• Seasoning- flaky salt fresh ground pepper
• 1/3cup fennel seeds
• 1/3cup whole green peppercorns
• 4 cloves garlic chopped roughly
• Fresh thyme
• 2 cups chicken stock
• extra water if needed

You'll also need a large oven bag.

Apple Sauce

• 3 apples, peeled & sliced
• A little water to boil apples in.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 130°C
2. Place all sauce ingredients into oven bag leaving a few peppercorns fennel seeds, garlic & thyme to sprinkle over top of pork once in the bag.
3. Lay pork on top. Add rest of ingredients. Tie bag as per instructions.
4. Place in oven
5. Slow cook 3-4 hours.
6. Prepare apples and cook until soft.
7. To test meat: Compress bag with fingers (watch out for pierced holes where the steam escapes) if it feels soft & spongy the meat is ready.
8. Remove from oven.
9. Take pork out of bag. Keep warm.

Sauce:

1. Scrape the sauce ingredients into a pot, sop up any liquid fat and discard.
2. Add stock and whisk all the lumps out over a medium heat. Strain if necessary.
3. Add a little water if sauce thickens too much.
4. Skim off any oil/fat visible on top of sauce.

Serve the pork and apple together on a green vegetable, puha if available. Enjoy!