One Day Wonders 2024

Experience a taste of Creative Matakana with one of our single day or half-day workshops.

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713A: the art of bonsai / adrian bird / Tues 7 may / half-day morning / $100 + $50 materials / tues 7 may, 9.30am-1pm *SOLD OUT*

713B: the art of bonsai / adrian bird / Tues 7 may / half day afternoon / $100 + $50 materials / tues 7 may, 2pm-5.30pm *SOLD OUT*

713C: THE ART OF BONSAI / ADRIAN BIRD / HALF DAY MORNING, WED MAY 8 / $100 + $50 MATERIALS

Maximum number in each class: 10
Level: Any level, no experience necessary

You’ll learn the art and technique to design and care for your very own bonsai tree. Each student will shape and pot their own tree into a unique ceramic planter made by Vicky Fanning of Frolic Ceramics; they will be handmade and glazed for this workshop.

Adrian will guide each student through the steps of shaping and refining the trees while also discussing the history and principles behind the ancient art of bonsai. He uses highest quality bonsai trees from both native New Zealand and classic Japanese species.

Influenced by visiting famous bonsai gardens in Japan and throughout the world, Adrian has deep knowledge and years of experience working with and designing miniature living masterpieces.

The workshop will take place at Frolic headquarters, the ceramics, glass, paintings and design studio of Vicki Fanning and Mike Petre. The property has an original historic 1860’s cottage that has been loving renovated by Mike and Vicki, set in a beautiful garden.

Each session will begin with morning or afternoon tea.

ABOUT ADRIAN

After graduating from art school and working as a graphic designer for ten years (while pursuing bonsai as well), Adrian now works as a bonsai professional in New Zealand. He travelled the world to see the best bonsai gardens, and is currently building his own garden, named 'Hakaru-en'. Using elements and inspiration from his favourite international gardens, Hakaru-en will showcase both traditional Japanese bonsai trees and New Zealand native bonsai.

Alongside constructing and maintaining his own bonsai garden, Adrian maintains a growing number of bonsai collections throughout New Zealand. Through teaching and demonstrating, both privately and for bonsai clubs around the country,  Adrian is helping to further the art of bonsai in New Zealand, taking it through to the next generation.

Vicki Fanning, who will be supplying your bonsai pots, studied ceramics at Unitec in the early 90s and glass in Whanganui; her award-winning work very often combines both.

Adrian’s Instagram / Frolic Instagram

714A: judging a cheese by its cover / juliet harbutt / 1 day, wed 8 May / $160 incl a light lunch

Maximum number in class: 12
Level: Any level, no experience necessary

Each cheese is unique. Its taste, texture and even shape is influenced by the soil, seasons, geography and pasture, the whims of the cheesemaker and of course different breeds of animal. But if no two cheeses are alike, how do you know if it’s ripe or unripe? How do you identify a great classic from one of the many insipid imitations piled high in our supermarkets and served in even the best of restaurants?

Fortunately, unlike wine or a book, cheese can be judged by its rind or cover. In just a few hours you can learn to judge the age, condition and even character if a cheese by the type of rind it grows and the occasional squeeze. So join international judge and award-winning food writer Juliet Harbutt and discover the inside secrets of cheese, along with a glass or two of wine and locally grown, seasonal salads and artisan bread.

714B: myths & misconceptions: pairing cheese and wine / juliet harbutt / evening, wed 8 may from 6pm / $80

Maximum number in class: 20
Level: Any level, no experience necessary

Since 1983, when Juliet opened the first Jeroboams – the Wine & Cheese Shop in London, she has been obsessed with cheese and the art and science behind finding the perfect wine to bring out its unique character and hidden depths. Hardly an arduous journey, as she is the first to admit, but it has helped her in unravelling the myths and misconceptions behind the world of matching cheese and wine. 

Join Juliet and discover why red wine is definitely not the wine of choice for soft cheeses; dispel the myth that goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc are a match made in heaven and find out what to drink with salty cheese.

First you’ll learn the to identify the seven types of cheese, then taste them with a few wines to see how the taste and texture of both are changed by the experience. Some combinations are ok, others leave your taste buds diving for cover. You don’t need a degree in science, just curiosity and a desire to learn.

714C: walk on the wild side / juliet harbutt / 1 day, THUR 9 may / $185

Maximum number in class: 15

Artisan charcuterie is the ‘new black’ of the food world, with new producers appearing across the nation. But how authentic are they?  And what is charcuterie?  And how do they compare with the great classics of Europe? Can we really make a Parma ham or compete with a Spanish chorizo?

Having hosted tastings and Masterclasses on behalf of the Parma Ham consortium in Britain for five years, Juliet can answer these and other questions about the great salamis and cured hams of Europe. She’ll then look to charcuterie offerings in Aotearoa – since arriving back in NZ in 2016, she has been seeking out the new kids on the block from Wanaka to Warkworth and beyond. 

Greeted with a glass of local wine, your group will taste a variety of salamis and cured hams then enjoy a lunch which will feature local wild foods.

about juliet

In 1985 Juliet sold her deli-cafe and moved from NZ to London to set up Jeroboams, the Wine and Cheese Shop, which offered over 250 mainly raw milk French and British artisan cheeses. In the early nineties, she sold the business to focus on promoting artisan cheese through her writing, training and consultancy.

Juliet created the British Cheese Awards in 1994 and the Great British Cheese Festival in 2000. In 2014, over 1000 British and Irish cheeses from nearly 200 cheesemakers were judged by 60 judges from around the world.

Her first book (April 1998), was The World Encyclopaedia of Cheese. Her World Cheese Book sold over 90,000 copies in nine languages and won Best Food Book at the 2010 Guild of Food Writers awards. Juliet has created cheeses with Alex James (bass guitarist of Blur), helped King Charles decided what to do with raw milk from his herd of Ayrshire cows and tutored at the University of Gastronomy and Science in Piedmont, Italy for over 10 years.

She has made numerous appearances on television including The Hairy Bikers and Come Dine with Me. She has also been on British radio including the Radio 4 Food Programme Saturday Kitchen. Juliet now runs bespoke food and wine experiences for wine and food lovers from around the world.

Juliet’s website

715: current trends in food with Mike Shatura of Ahi Restaurant / lunch & demonstration / mon 6 may / $200

Maximum number in class: 15

In 2024 we are privileged to present a special One Day Wonder for the serious foodies among you: one of the best chefs in the country will present a masterclass in global food trends, showcasing the best of Aotearoa’s produce in an exceptional local home.

Mikhail (Mike) Shatura is the executive chef at Ben Bayly’s Ahi restaurant in Auckland’s Commercial Bay. In 2023, Ahi was the Supreme Winner for Viva’s Top 50 Auckland Restaurants. It has made La Liste, the prestigious listing of the world’s top 1,000 restaurants, and in 2021/2022, despite all the COVID-19 setbacks, Ahi won Best Metropolitan Restaurant, Best Drinks List and two Chefs Hats from Good Food Guide.

Mike’s vision for Ahi’s menu is dictated by what’s perfect in their organic garden south of Auckland. Vegetables will be matched with the very best of proteins and prepared using a wide range of techniques from hāngi to hot stone cooking at the table and hot smoking (Ahi means ‘fire’ in te reo Māori). The restaurant also creates their own miso, fish sauce and fermented vegetables, and make cheese and charcuterie. A typical dish at Ahi will have multiple seasonal components – and will always be spectacular.

Over the course of the day, Mike will demonstrate some of his favourite dishes, techniques and presentations, and the group will sit down together over a delicious lunch. You’ll be notified of timings closer to the day but the workshop will run from approximately 11am to around 3.30pm.

Ahi’s website