Inspired by polenta fries
Travelling around Italy gave Francesca Voza and James Stapley all the inspiration they needed for their first recipe book. Rebecca Fox talks to them about their love of Italian food.
IT is all about the polenta fries. The repeated requests for the recipe of the polenta fries served at Francesca’s Kitchen in Wanaka is one of the reasons owners Francesca Voza and James Stapley decided to write a recipe book.
After looking into selfpublishing and trying a kickstarter campaign, the pair soon realised that was not going to cut it.
The busy restaurateurs — Voza owns 12, Stapley, a chef, four — decided they had to find the time. Then a book deal from Penguin came along.
‘‘We decided to dedicate a lot of time to it last year,’’ Voza says.
‘‘It was a labour of love,’’ Stapley says.
Research for the book included a trip to Italy with their respective partners to immerse themselves in Italian food for six weeks.
‘‘We picked up new recipes and cool ideas. We ate a lot.’’
The new recipes and ideas have been adapted to produce found in and around Wanaka and Christchurch and included in the book, which is named after the restaurant, Francesca’s Kitchen.
Recording the recipes they had developed over the restaurant’s six years was a highlight for Stapley.
‘‘These dishes have been made a thousand times by our chefs and have evolved over the years. There is a weight of knowledge behind each dish.’’
Voza’s favourite recipe in the book — prawn paccheri — was picked up from a fish market in Sicily.
‘‘It’s super simple and tasty.’’ While Voza, who was born in Italy, but grew up in England, endeavours to go home every few years, it was the first time Stapley, who is from England, had visited Italy for any length of time — even though he has a passion for Italian food.
‘‘If you are doing Italian food going to Italy is a must — everything makes sense when you are there,’’ Stapley says.
‘‘It’s about what you don’t put in. You learn to be light handed. It was an eyeopener — they make a pasta dish with just two ingredients and it’s delicious.’’
It was that passion for Italian food that brought Voza and Stapley together seven years ago.
The pair met while working at Whare Kea Lodge near Wanaka — she was front of house and he was executive chef.
‘‘We were always talking about opening an Italian restaurant and what we’d put on the menu.’’
Her husband encouraged them to stop talking about it and do it, so she found a site and they opened within a year.
‘‘It all fell into place. We were in the right place at the right time.’’
Voza, who grew up in her parent’s Italian restaurants, helped out and trained as a pizza chef in one.
‘‘It’s really hard work, but really rewarding. You kind of get out of it what you put in.’’
With the book out, Voza, who has more than 100 staff working for her in her various businesses, is ready for another season of operating the food truck pizza business she started after her arrival in Wanaka nine years ago.
It’s busy doing markets, festivals, events, birthday parties and even weddings from November to March.
She has nothing new on the go at the moment instead wanting to focus on the building up the businesses she has.
Stapley, on the other hand, is busy in the kitchen at his restaurant, Kika, in Wanaka, as well as the other Francesca’s in Christchurch and Dunedin.
‘‘I’m in the position now where I enjoy it a lot more. We’ve got a good team and it’s exciting to be part of.’’
He puts the success of the restaurants down to having the right staff, chefs and managers, all being excited about their work and bringing ideas to the table.
‘‘It’s a collaboration, and when it works, it works really well.’’