A stone’s throw from Muriwai Beach (if the westerly wind is behind you) you’ll find the Good From Scratch Cookery School. It’s next to the farm cottage of husband and wife Michael and Belinda (Bee) Van de Elzen, on a six hectare lifestyle property they bought for the land and its soil. A 40-minute drive from downtown Auckland, my half-day Taste of the Farm experience is as much about breathing in the fresh air and getting in the garden as picking up cooking tips from the charismatic chefs.
I arrive on a drizzly morning, winding down a gravel driveway to be greeted by Hector, a German short-haired pointer, who sneaks in through the modern barn-style doors with me, proudly carrying a sopping stick. I’m given a warm tea with fresh milk, and he’s told, “Get out!”
It took five years for Mike and Bee to create their school, so you can understand why a wet dog is not always welcome to lie on the entrance rug as today’s
