ASHER BOOTE, DAISY’S, WELLINGTON CHICKEN

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE giving the good old humble chook a bit of a run-around to bring out the very best in flavour, says Asher Boote. The chef and owner of Hillside Kitchen and Daisy’s – both in Thorndon – knows what he’s talking about. He grew up on a King Country farm where what they ate was what they raised and grew. So he knows all about the difference in flavour between a chicken that has enjoyed a life with its feet literally on the ground and one mass-produced indoors in a cage.

While Hillside is plant-based, Daisy’s does more classic, bistro-style food. But, flesh or vege, Asher says, “It’s about being conscious about what you’re eating. We try, wherever possible, for our suppliers to be the makers or growers of our products, so there’s a direct connection.”

That’s why he chooses Bostock Brothers’ organic free-range chicken. Every time. At their Hawke’s Bay family farm, Ben and George Bostock raise chickens with no nasty chemicals, no antibiotics, no hormones and no genetic modification.

“First and foremost, it tastes better. Bostock’s lets the birds run around in its apple orchards. That movement helps the flavour develop. And the cooling process it uses – an air cooler – means less leaching. It really does make a difference.”

One of the biggest skills a chef can have is procurement: understanding your ingredients from source and coaxing those flavours out, Asher says. “So full credit to Bostock’s.”

He wants to up the ante, to go mainstream. “I like the idea of the majority of our ingredients being high-quality and

FROM THE WILDEST OUTDOORS TO THE FARM GATE, LET OUR CHEFS CELEBRATE THEIR SUPPLIERS’ STORIES.

accessible. If we can keep growing demand for sustainable, ethical produce [the way we’re going with free-range eggs], that becomes the norm.”

For the purposes of this piece, he’s doing poached chicken. Try it and you may find yourself repeating the praises of diners at Daisy’s. “The amount of times we get comments saying, ‘This is the most flavourful chicken we’ve ever had,’” says Asher. That is, if you source your chicken from the same supplier. bostocksorganic.co.nz, eatatdaisys.co.nz