Transported dough & second rate pastries

Salt and pepper shakers at Mirabelle Cafe

How lucky we were to stumble upon the Cafe Mirabelle in Carterton (NZ). Yes, I mentioned the Mirabelle previously, but my visit there was such a memorable experience I can't help talking about them again.  I would visit Carterton again just to eat their delicious pastries, all of which are made in-house.

Increasingly we hear of dough that is made in one part of the world and shipped to another for baking and the results are a culinary disaster. I first noticed this in Germany where the delicious looking displays no longer tempt me. All their cakes now taste the same and all taste second rate. Now my sister tells me a New Zealand cafe owner proudly informed her that the dough for the pastries she was selling came from France 'so it was really authentic'. I asked her if the pastry had been good.
'No, not really,' said my sister.

Places like the Mirabelle in Carterton restore your faith in cooks and food. How long will it take for the population to revolt and seek out cafes where the food is home made?

One place that still sells delicious and authentic cakes is Slovenia. Perhaps having been part of the Soviet block for so long had some benefits and perhaps all the former Yugoslavia still has good food (my Yugoslav experience is limited to Slovenia). Lets hope they don't ever change. And long live the Mirabelle.

Wairarapa

Wairarapa landscape

I had never visited the Wairarapa, the region on the south eastern corner of New Zealand's North Island, but I knew it produced world famous wines.

I was not surprised to find a verdant landscape fringed with blue ranges but I was very surprised to find the Wairarapa dotted with quaint towns with French connections.

Carterton Building

Carterton Town Hall, and old building with modern addition

Everywhere there are French cafes, French bistros and French themed shops. I ate the best pastry I have ever tasted at the Mirabelle cafe in Carterton. The owner (very obviously French) assured me it had been made in his own kitchen and I am sure he was right. He had the most delicious prune and custard tart in his vitrine but unfortunately when we went back the next day (a Sunday) the shop was closed. The fabric shop with its lush and sumptuous French-made fabrics was very difficult to leave. The materials were so exquisite, each one lovlier than the next - linen, silk, cotton. 

Fabrics

Silk