Fine-dining finance

Executive chef Sean Marshall, just arrived back in Auckland from Wellington's stylish Matterhorn, agrees to wheel out the "fish soup", part of his 10-course degustation menu ($140), but which, if it stood alone, would retail for a substantial $42. At those restaurants where the napkins are of finest linen, the waiters multilingual and the menus littered with foams, sea spray and snail porridge, the ticket price for a main course is now nudging that once-insurpassable $50 tag. So the Star-Times repaired to the distressed-brick surrounds of the Roxy, the most recent of a wave of new fine-dining establishments in downtown Auckland to tot up why restaurant meals cost so much. complex, time-consuming, demanding of expensive, difficult-to-source ingredients &ndash. It may seem unconscionable to some, but ah, say the restaurateurs, we really should be charging at least 10 bucks more.

Donauwellen ("Danube Waves")

Mix together the flour and baking powder, sift and add to margarine or butter mixture in two stages, briefly stirring with a mixer at the medium setting. Sift the cocoa powder and add with the milk to the rest of the batter, and spread it on top of the light batter. Gradually add the sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt, stir until mixture thickens. To make the cake mixture, stir the softened margarine or butter with a hand mixer with a whisk, until it becomes smooth and homogenous. Spread 2/3 of the mixture on the greased baking sheet. Dry the sour cherries quickly on kitchen paper, then arrange them on the dark colored cake mixture, pressing them lightly into place. Place a strip of aluminum foil along the open end of the baking sheet to form and edge (no need for this if you are using a pan).

Irish Apostolate Notes

1. IF, DESPITE my dire warnings, you are still determined to buy hens, let us see what they need. First is a draught-free, dry house. Investing in a poultry magazine such as Fancy Fowl or Practical Poultry and surfing the net (especially on eBay) will
2. Back in 1949, you could buy custard powder at 1/- per lb. and a dozen jelly crystals at 4/6 per packet. A pair of men's shoes from Todd's of Limerick cost 1 pound 16/6, and a men's hat cost 1 pound 11/6 pence. A men's raincoat cost 6 pounds 17/6 pence.
3. On any given day residents from Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhoods can be seen stopping in to buy a box of cookies or gather with friends for coffee and desserts. Already, customers are known on a first-name basis and are greeted with a hug.