HASTINGS REVISITED

The provincial city of Hastings is growing hurriedly, with plenty of fresh faces taking leases on CBD property for their food or retail start-up. Stop in at French bakery Ya Bon, which shares space with coffee shop Cupple, and watch master Moise at work crafting his chewy chia seed sourdough

– it’s a treat. Or nip across the road to the Common Room to relax in the shaded beer garden with a perfect afternoon IPA.

Out Havelock North way, Black Barn Kitchen is like a mini farmers’ market, stocking a tightly curated selection of preserves and pickles, pottery, and picnic rugs! Simply do not let yourself leave without some Pintxo charcuterie – handmade by Basque import Eneritz Etxeberria and her Kiwi husband Francis de Jager, it’s hands down the best we’ve tasted.

If you don’t know someone who worked at Rush Munro’s Ice Cream Garden in their youth, are you even from Hawke’s Bay? The sweetest wee store in the land now serves a fresh range of organic ice creams – when I take my small person in for a treat, he can’t work out whether the Scorched Almond or the Strawberry and Coconut are the best on the menu. “It’s a tie,” he decides.

The final course is always cheese. Right? Juliet Harbutt is an internationally regarded cheese expert, author and the founder of Hunter Gatherer tours. Give her a bell and she crafts a bespoke tour for you and your group, based on availability, seasonality and any particular interests. Just give her 24 hours and she’ll whip something special up – including lunch at her lovely Andy Coltart designed home afterwards. And yes, there’s always cheese.