there are lots of local options, be it wine or gourmet treats to enjoy over a few days I think a food and beverage gift is a lot better than a trinket that will never be used.

Red16 is a little haven in New Street, originally set up as Japanese style sushi restaurant, Sachi Sushi was designed as a calm relaxing space to enjoy beautiful seafood sashimi and sushi. When the owners sold it became Rhythm & Brown, a cool little cocktail lounge and now that it’s Red 16 the relaxed ambiance of the Japanese restaurant is still front and centre. They serve a range of craft beers, real ales, local & international wines and cocktails with delicious tacos and

ple who arrived in New Zealand with just the clothes on their backs as refugees from Bhutan ten years ago; since then they have worked hard, bought a house and now own a business.

was great to be able to order click-and-collect or contactless delivery food when we were under level 3 conditions and I hope you supported your local restaurants and takeaway businesses, they worked hard to ensure we were able to enjoy their food in a safe manner.

We also know how much the hospitality sector hurts during Covid lockdowns so when Level 3 restrictions kicked in we decided to do what we would do at home, buy at least two or three click & collect meals each week from a restaurant, café or takeaway place in Christchurch to support the sector. I hope you’re doing the same in Nelson.

Harry’s Fish Shop has become one of our favourite places to buy lunch, we love the hand-crafted nature of the takeaway food, everything is cooked fresh by a couple of chefs rather than being pre-made and put into a self-service cabinet.

Carrying on with my theme of asking some of my favourite local chefs to give me a tasty yet simple recipe you can cook at home this week’s recipe is supplied by Aaron Ballantyne, Head Chef at Hopgood’s & Co.

chef Ben Smith and his wife Bridget have since taken over the old store in Washington Valley and set about turning it into a real community food spot; Street Food on Washington is a lot more than just a place for quick takeaways at lunchtime, but you can do that too if you want to.

Last week I told you about the Nelson Market on-line store, a store that means you can shop for your favourite local hand-crafted products from the comfort of your armchair, but I also mentioned I was going to tell you about some of the people making exceptional ethnic foods, food styles they have brought with them from their homelands and this week it’s all Indian – Indian Curry Wraps in fact.