French connection helps craft paˆte´ perfection
Wine pick
For the vast majority of people buying paˆte´ means picking up a pack of something at the supermarket, and to be fair many of these products aren’t too bad, but if you want a beautiful paˆte´ then you need to try freshly made products.
If you see paˆte´ or terrine on a restaurant menu then you can almost guarantee it has been made freshly, either in-house or by a premium local producer.
Exceptional hand-crafted paˆte´s are just so different in flavour and texture to the pre-packaged, made-in-bulk product you will wonder why you bothered with the inferior stuff.
To find some of the beautiful, fresh paˆte´s you need to check out the Craft French Pate stall at the Saturday market in Montgomery Square, where Benoit Gourgues makes some of the finest paˆte´s, chicken liver parfait and rillettes you will find anywhere in New Zealand.
Last week I sat down and had a chat with the man behind the products and his partner, Anne Karschunke, to find out the differences between the products, what makes them so special and why they chose Nelson as their new home.
Let’s start with the different products; Benoit says paˆte´ is a mixture of ground meat that together with some spices, herbs, wine and cognac becomes a wonderful appetiser. Chicken liver parfait is similar to a paˆte´, but lighter and smoother, almost like a mousse, and he says ‘‘chicken livers are very flavoursome and give the dish an extra taste. Leave it in the fridge for a day or two and the full taste develops.’’
Rillette is a rustic paˆte´ commonly made from slow cooked and shredded pork that has been confit in its own fat. It is a classic French charcuterie spread that has more of a stringy texture and is deliciously old fashioned, similar to paˆte´ and makes a great appetiser on fresh bread, crackers alongside gherkins and pickled onions.
I asked Benoit why he decided to make these delicious products here for you and me to enjoy.
‘‘Like any true Frenchman I am passionate about food, I grew up in the Bordeaux region that is famous for its excellent wine and food.
‘‘I left France in 2014 and settled in Nelson and was missing some of the authentic flavours I grew up with, especially the high-quality paˆte´, terrines and confits Bordeaux is famous for.
‘‘So I decided to make the products here using authentic French techniques but using New Zealand ingredients of course.
‘‘New Zealand has amazing products, very good quality as long as you work with the right suppliers. I try to be picky and always give priority to free range organic because I believe if the animal has a good life they taste good.’’
Benoit has a background as a pastry chef, a trade he learned after he left school when was 17.
‘‘I started learning about pastry then worked for 15 years as a pastry chef in catering and restaurants including the Michelin starred Tetedoie in Lyon and when I was working in these places I also learned the more commercial ways of making paˆte´s.
‘‘I grew up watching mymumand grandmother making them at home but making them in larger commercial quantities is quite different.’’
When Benoit left France he came to Nelson because of its caving.
‘‘Nelson has some amazing caves, they are famous around the world. I enjoyed them for about three years, working parttime at the Sweet As Cafe´ on Trafalgar St and caving whenever I could.
‘‘At the same time I realised New Zealand has amazing products.’’
After about two years he went to Mexico but ‘‘came back to Nelson because Anne was here, we actually met in Nelson so it has been easy to make our home here.’’
Anne is Swiss-German, after school she travelled and ended up working for Xerox in Ireland for four years.
‘‘I went back home and worked for the same company while I saved money to travel and came to New Zealand in 2013 and got stuck here, after two years I ran out of money but managed to get a working visa so I amstill here.’’
Anne has worked in the tourism industry since she has been here, firstly at R&R Sport and now for Gravity Nelson, a mountain biking business.
‘‘We both love the outdoors and using lovely produce to make food, I have even started making cheese at home.’’
One thing that really impressed me is the way Benoit has gone about setting up his business. He knew it takes a lot more than just being able to cook to have a successful business so he completed a business course at Barbican Training and has recently started working with a business mentor from the Nelson Tasman Business Trust.
‘‘I had been thinking about making pate for about two years and I have had a lot of support from people.
‘‘Barbican have amazing teachers who had lots of tips and they made sure I set up a business not just a hobby,’’ says Benoit.
He has been working at Morri St Cafe´ for the last year and uses their kitchen to make his products.
‘‘Kay has been supporting me a lot by renting me the kitchen for a very good price and a lot of people have helped around us, lending equipment, friends to test the product.
‘‘My flatmate at the time was an engineer and he designed the whole market display to keep the product chilled at the market where I don’t have power, friends have helped with the logo design work and other stallholders have given us lots of advice and have been very helpful once we got to the point of setting it up.
‘‘The council also helped a lot, I asked what we needed to do to set up a food business and they were fantastic and very supportive, they helped a lot setting it up from a food safety point of view.’’
While Benoit uses traditional techniques to make his delicious products he also makes sure he has new flavours for his customers to try.
‘‘I try and have a different product each month, I love flavour spices, not just chilli heat but flavour and try to make products to excite people.
‘‘There are no boundaries to paˆte´, you can go really crazy if you want to and I just love to try things. Kranky Goat gave me some fresh smoked cheese so I made a pate with it, I try and have different textures and strength of flavour so there is something to suit everyone.’’
The couple say they love Nelson and the people. ‘‘It is an amazing adventure that started about a year ago and the market gives people a great opportunity to start a business, it is a great to be part of it.’’
Benoit is working on other French products, let’s hope they come to fruition because the products they currently have are very special indeed.