Jazz Festival set to liven up city
Tauranga receives significant boost, writes Sandra Conchie
Bay retailers, and accommodation and hospitality businesses are gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the year, and a weekend of jazz is set to bring the business.
The 58th National Jazz Festival and 43rd National Youth Jazz Competition return on Easter weekend with an impressive and exciting programme of events across Tauranga.
The competition will showcase emerging jazz players’ talents with 300-plus secondary school students competing at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre on March 31 and April 1. On Good Friday, the Historic Village, which is the venue for the TECT Jazz Village, will come alive with Tauranga’s version of a New Orleans French Quarter. The Baycourt Community & Arts Centre is also the venue for a lineup of talent from April 1 to 4. Highlights include Kiwi crooner Steve Carlin teaming up with Roger Fox Big Band to showcase songs from Frank Sinatra’s songbook. Downtown Tauranga will also be the place to be this Easter, with the two-day carnival of music and entertainment, with multiple stages along the Strand and extending to the new Wharf Street Precinct and Red Square. Strolling musicians, an arts and craft market, a Vintage Car Parade and the Family Fun Zone will all add to the vibrancy, festival manager Marc Anderson said.
Anderson said it was exciting to be able to showcase such an awesome programme featuring the best jazz musicians in the country and more. “There is excitement building not just among the musicians but also among the restaurants, cafes and bar owners in downtown Tauranga.”
Anderson said the social and economic benefits to Tauranga were huge and he was sure there was something for everyone to enjoy, even those who were not jazz fans.
He expected at least 30,000 people to attend the festival and urged people to get in early to buy tickets for the paid concerts.
Downtown Tauranga chairman Brian Berry said it was important to show people Tauranga CBD was open for business with a united front over the festival weekend.
“The festival is one of our key activation events for the CBD and it’s really important that it is fully supported by the whole community.”
Sandra Johnson, the owner of Dry Dock Cafe in Wharf St, Tauranga, agreed.
She said it was very exciting the festival was going ahead as she and her staff were gearing up to have one of their busiest weekends of the year.
Gareth Wallis, Tauranga City Council’s community services general manager, said: “In addition to the economic benefits that come from hosting events of this scale, the iconic festival adds to the vibrancy of our city.
“It inspires social connectivity and builds community pride.”
Wallis said the festival currently received an annual $50,000 plus GST grant through the council’s Legacy Event Fund.
He said the most recent economic impact evaluation was in 2015, which revealed an increase in the region’s GDP of $359,000 due to the festival.
“It’s reasonable to expect the economic [and social] impact of the festival will have increased significantly since 2015.”
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne said the festival provided a fantastic incentive to travel to Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty over Easter — a time when the summer season had already cooled off for much of the region’s tourism industry.
“The city is an amazing backdrop for those who come from out of town and contribute to our local economy. There are huge flow-on effects on accommodation, hospitality, retail and tourism activities.”
Festival tickets can be bought at Baycourt Community & Arts Centre or at Ticketek.co.nz
WHO DOESN’T know Colin Fassnidge! He’s the guy on My Kitchen Rules with the cute Irish accent and the very cheeky grin.
Fassnidge knows good food. As a celebrated chef he has built his reputation on delicious food and his distinctive nononsense advice for home cooks.
When it comes to cooking at home Fassnidge believes it comes down to commonsense — thus the name of his latest cookbook The Commonsense Cook.
Master the basics, he says, — a simple omelette, a failsafe pizza base, a green sauce that goes with everything, the perfect roast — and you have the foundation for countless meals.
Fassnidge’s book is real family food made easy.
Following is one of his recipes:
SOY-POACHED CHICKEN
This is the most-cooked dish in our house! It’s my go-to meal when I want something that’s light, but still packed full of flavour. The end result is melt-in-the-mouth chicken that’s perfect served with steamed rice. Turn any leftover chicken into a salad the next day with home-made salad cream using the tip below. This recipe also works well with pork fillet. Add the pork as soon as the liquid comes to the boil, then remove from the heat (no need to simmer).
Ingredients
130g ginger, roughly chopped bunch of coriander, roots scraped clean, leaves picked
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp chilli oil, such as chiu chow 80g coconut oil
2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, smashed using the side of a knife 2 onions, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped 2 garlic bulbs, halved horizontally 2 bay leaves (fresh if possible) 4 makrut lime leaves
1 cinnamon stick
4 star anise
200ml white wine
200ml light soy sauce
21⁄2 Tbsp fish sauce
21⁄2 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar 50g dried shiitake mushrooms 3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 x 1.6kg free-range chicken 4-6 eggs steamed white rice, to serve crispy fried shallots, to serve
Method
Place the ginger, coriander root, sesame oil, chilli oil and half the coconut oil in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz to a rough paste.
Heat the remaining coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the paste and lemongrass, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaves, lime leaves, cinnamon and star anise and cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes or until the onion and carrot are soft but not turning brown.
Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan, then add the soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese black vinegar and dried shiitake mushrooms, along with 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and add the sugar, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan, making sure it is submerged under the liquid, and bring everything back to the boil. Reduce the heat to very low, add one egg for each guest and simmer for 9 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, then cover and allow the chicken to poach in the liquid for 1-1 1⁄2 hours, until the chicken is firm and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife.
To serve, remove the chicken from the liquid and cut into portions.
Peel the eggs and slice them in half. Divide steamed white rice among serving bowls and top with the chicken, egg, a handful of crispy shallots and a few coriander leaves.
Spoon over a little of the poaching liquid and serve immediately.
Leftovers
Turn leftover chicken into a salad for lunch the next day. Make a simple salad cream by combining 250g mayo, 25ml evaporated milk and 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar. Season with caster sugar and salt and set aside. Shred the leftover chicken into a bowl and add a handful of chopped tarragon, basil and rocket leaves, along with 3 tablespoons chopped capers. Squeeze over 1⁄2 lemon, season and lightly coat in salad cream. Serve on large lettuce leaves.