North Canterbury News: January 11, 2024

4 The
NEWS
North Canterbury News, January 11, 2024
BlackBeechwins again
ByROBYN BRISTOW
Black Beech Wine and Pizza Bar in
Oxford took out the top spot in The
North Course competitionfor the
second year running.
Black Beech received the most
ratings for its North Course dish
throughout November 2023.
Their popular dish View Hill
Pizza featured North Canterbury
smoked lamb, local olives,
caramelised onions, mozzarella
cheese and sundried tomatoes. It
was paired with abeverage choice
of either ChinChiller Brewings
Touch my Wenis or aTempranillo
from Mount Brown Estates.
Owners Peter and Dani Reilly
say they were surprised by the
announcement.
‘‘We were surprised and very
humbled to find out our pizza was
the most­rated for the second time
running,’’ says Dani.
‘‘We also felt very proud of our
team who were fantastic in
promoting the dish, and thankful to
everyone who rated it.’’
Dani thinks their dish’s
popularity was due to the quality of
the ingredients.
‘‘We couldnot havedone this
without our North Canterbury copartners
—Oxford Butchery,
Terrace Edge Winery and Olive
Grove, ChinChiller Brewing and
Mount Brown Estates.
Brew Moon in Amberleyplaced
second this year with their
Hallfield Wagyu Hot Dog, followed
by No. 31 Restaurant in Hanmer
Springs with its Thermal Trail
Lamb Rump, and The Office Café
in Waikuku who entered Grilled
Asparagus &Chèvre on
Sourdough.
Dani and Peter Reilly ... Owners of Black Beech Wine and Pizza Bar,
Oxford.
PHOTO: MADE NORTH CANTERBURY
The North Course is amonthlongcelebration
of North
Canterbury food and beverage,
where hospitality outlets in
Waimakariri and Hurunuiare
invited to create adish using at
leastone locally sourced
ingredient, andwhere possible,
pair the dish with alocal beverage.
Diners are then encouraged to
purchase, taste and rate the dishes
for achance to winaluxury prize
package.
Organised by Enterprise North
Canterbury (ENC), under its MADE
NORTH CANTERBURY food and
beverage provenance brand, The
North Course started in 2022 and
has proven significantly more
popular in its second year.
In 2023 we received 547 ratings
from diners, which blew last years
rating figures out of the water, says
Kelly Lynch, ENCsDigital
Marketing Specialist.
‘‘We had 21 establishments
participating,and between them,
they used ingredients from 41
North Canterbury producers. A
number of our participating
establishments are choosing to
keep their North Course dish on
their menu, due to its popularity.
‘‘We also had three
supermarkets get on board,
promoting North Canterbury
products within their stores
alongside specially created North
Course recipes from The Modern
Mess.
‘‘We love how this event brings
together producers, growers,
hospitality establishments,
retailers and the public in ahuge
celebration and appreciation of
the amazing food and beverage
that is made and served here in
North Canterbury.
Making asplash ... Hurunui Mayor Marie Black and Compass FM
manager Kerry Treymane jump off the MainPower Amberley Pool
manu (bombing) platform at the opening of the refurbished pool in
2022. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Bombs away at pool
The Hurunui Manu Champs
are making asplash at the
MainPower Amberley Pool this
summer.
Hurunui District Council’s
customer services manager
Naomi Woodham says sound
and splash will determine
which manu pops win at the
competition, which takes place
on Saturday, January 27, at
10am at the MainPower
Amberley Pool.
There are plenty of prizes on
offer and the winners of the
Hurunui Manu Champs will get
free entry to the ZManu World
Championships tautahi
Christchurch heat at Jellie
Park in February. Centre stage
will be the pools manu
(bombing) platform, which was
built and donated by Hurunui
Engineering for the opening of
the refurbished pool in 2022.
Once you are registered you
can practice your pops during
open sessions at the pool.
There will also be some special
free poppers only practice
sessions on Mondays and
Thursdays from 5.30pm to 7pm
and Saturday mornings from
10am to 11am, Ms Woodham
says.
‘‘We’re excited to be
partnering with Compass FM,
which will be broadcasting live
from the pool on the day of the
competition, and we are very
grateful to Amberley Tool Shed
for their sponsorship.’’
To enter register at www.
hurunui.govt.nz/
hurunuimanuchamps. There
are three age group categories:
10­12 years, 13­17 years and 18
years and over.
BAYLEYS
HANMER
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experienced in achieving excellent results across all
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If you’re thinking about making your next move or you
are just curious about the current market, contact one of
our Bayleys team for aconfidential, no obligation talk.
Kathryn Duncan
021 107 5719
Harley Manion
021 149 8050
June Manion
021 823 824
Robyn Powell
027 259 1569
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021 034 6925
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