Pork Underbelly

Prawn Underbelly Burger

How do you beat all comers in the burger section of Wellington On A Plate?  There’s plenty of competition.  Burgers have become such a popular part of the event that they’ve been given their own separate category.  

Café Medici has been honing its skills in the competition for the last 8 years and was a finalist in 2018.    But it’s a big challenge to come up with something that’s not only new but better than all the others.  There’s always a WOAP theme too, and this year it was “Challenging the Senses”.

With the deadline looming, Nick found himself suffering from the chef’s equivalent of writer’s block.   “It’s hard when you have to have to crank up the creative juices right in the middle of the busy summer season and the competition is still six months away.”

A visit to friends Baptise and Caroline – who set up Colombo and now live in Adelaide – gave him the breakthrough he needed.  “What’s Medici best known for?” Baptiste asked.  “Why don’t you work with that?”    No surprise to Medici fans that the answer was pork belly and prawn toast.   Lightbulb moment!    Right then and there Nick and Baptise raced into the kitchen and began experimenting. By the time Nick got back to NZ the basic concept was in place.  Prawn Underbelly was born. … Continue Reading

Country Dog City Dog

Waihinga Centre

It’s time to get crazy with colour!

Our final push to fundraise for the water element in the park is fast approaching.

Martinborough’s first Colour Run will be held on 2 November at Considine park.

The run is all about fun and you can run walk or dance your way around the course where you will be paint bombed a rainbow of colour! The nontoxic powder paint will be thrown by an army of Colour Crew (which we are recruiting for!) Its super safe for the whole family, although goggles or sunglasses advised for littlies and   please leave four legged friends at home.

Once the run is over the fun continues with colourful activities. Ventana Creative collective are organising a colour splat, The Martinborough Lolly Shop will have the kids lolly scrambling, plus we have bubble fun and giant twister to enjoy. The aim of the day is colourful fun! 

What could be a more colourful end to this than fireworks, so we are also hosting the community fireworks on the same day too (weather dependant but all fingers crossed!) it really would mean this fundraising push goes out with a bang! … Continue Reading

Council News

Permanent chlorination for safe water

Council has formally approved permanent chlorination of Martinborough’s water supply. The decision was made on 18 September, with Council concluding that chlorination was the only option to ensure safe, secure, clean and clear water for the town for the long-term. Chief Executive Harry Wilson led community engagement, meeting with a number of community groups, individuals and businesses, before the decision was made.

 A manganese removal plant will be installed later this year. Manganese removal will address the water discolouration issue caused by chlorination. Further information will be released to the community regarding the water conservation measures that may be required during summer prior to manganese removal plant being operational. More information – www.swdc.govt.nz/martinborough-water-supply.October 2019

Update on Pain Farm Estate

The Martinborough Community Board held an extraordinary meeting about the Pain Farm Estate on 19 September. The board recommended that Council officers prepare a maintenance schedule for the homestead, cottage and surrounding land in time for the next full community board meeting. The board requested maintenance progress updates every six weeks until the work is complete, and after this, officers report on the condition of the property every six months. 

Bringing the homestead and cottage up to an acceptable standard for rental purposes has been set as the priority, followed by the painting of the homestead. The board also recommended that Council carry out a review of the overhead administrative costs allocated to the estate, for property management, governance, and financial services. The Board deferred making any longer term recommendations about the homestead, gardens and surrounding land to the new community board. … Continue Reading