The Great GoBake Cake Expo

GoBake are proud to present New Zealand’s first ever The Great GoBake Cake Expo!

The cake expo is part of the New Zealand Scrapbooking, Craft & Cake Expo (SENZ) for 2014.  SENZ  has been part of the crafting calendar in NZ since 2003 and it brings together Cardmakers, Scrapbookers, Stampers, Mixed Media Artists, Knitters, Beaders, Quilters and now Cake Decorators... of all ages, for a weekend of shopping, competitions, demos, classes, displays and socialising.  This year the event will be running from July 4th – 6th at the Ellerslie Event Centre in Auckland, 9.30am to 5pm daily.

If you love Baking and Cake Decorating, The Great GoBake Cake Expo is perfect for you!  GoBake and Satin Ice along with leading retailers, cake artists and brands have collaborated to bring you exhibitors, cake decorating competitions, classes and work shops, demonstrations and a “Live Cake Off” to the 2014 SENZ Craft Expo.  It should be a fun, exciting and enjoyable event suitable for the beginner to the expert Baker and Cake Decorator! 

Cake Decorating Competition sponsored by GoBake:This exciting competition offers categories across all Cake Decorating skill levels including Junior, Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced.  All the cakes will be on display at the expo and there’s over $5,000 in prizes to give away (including cake supplies, vouchers and more).  Entries for the competition are open until June 30th – so pop on over to the GoBake site and register if you are interested.

Classes and Workshops:Cake decorating classes are available for you to participate and learn 'hands on' from some of New Zealand's best instructors including Trish Woodward, Petra New and Paul Mills.  All the equipment and ingredients required to complete the class are included in the class price.

Tickets to the expo are available online (through eventfinder – search ‘SENZ 2014 The NZ Scrapbooking Craft and Cake Expo’) and from GoBake, SENZ, Exhibitors and leading resellers across New Zealand.  To secure your ticket we recommend you purchase prior to the event as door sales will be more expensive.

Prepaid Tickets:
1 Day Pass $14.50ea
2 Day Pass $28.00ea
3 Day Pass $40.00ea

We have three prizes of 2 x one day passes to giveaway! 
These passes are valid for any day of the expo.  As the expo is in Auckland you need to either be in Auckland, be willing to travel, or have someone in Auckland in mind that you will gift the tickets to.  To be in to win, leave us a comment below telling us why you want to go, who you would take and why, or who you would gift the tickets to.  Entries close Friday 27th June at 5pm.  Winners will be chosen by a random draw and announced here on the blog and on our Facebook page.  Prizes will be redrawn if we have been unable to make contact with the winners by 5pm on Monday 30th June.

Charlie and George Cafe

Charlie and George is a very cool new cafe in the Auckland suburb of Stonefields. The cafe is owned and run by the very lovely Rebecca McRobie and is named after her sons. The cafe manages to strike the balance of being trendy while still being a child friendly place to eat. I loved the terrariums on the tables, I’m inspired and thinking of making my own for our dining table at home.




Shane, Max and I popped along on their first Sunday open a week and a half ago and word of mouth about this place had quickly spread – we were lucky to get a table and that is saying something as seating options are ample. Charlie and George have both indoor and outdoor seating, there’s tables for couples/small groups, communal seating on large outdoor concrete tables with a variety of herbs potted in terracotta pots through the middle as well as some larger tables inside - great if you want to meet a group or have a big family.




Charlie and George have a great selection of wholesome and filling meals on their menu as well as a selection of cabinet foods – the cabinet baking was so popular on the day we were there that it was almost sold out. But, I was told by another patron that the baked goods she selected were to die for. They also serve Kokako coffee in the cutest moustache mugs, the bagels are supplied by Best Ugly Bagels, and the bacon and eggs come from Freedom Farms.  They also stock Nice Blocks and have an excellent selection of preserves for sale at the counter!



If you are in Auckland and want to check out this great new cake you can find them here:
Charlie and George
Stonefields Ave
Mt Wellington, 1050
You can also check them out on Facebook

Remember that you can follow us on Facebook too and if you’d like sneak peeks of what Mel and I are up to in the kitchen (or what cafes we are visiting) you can follow us on Instagram as well!

Amy’s Secret Kitchen

On Saturday morning Simon and I headed along to check out ‘Amy’s Secret Kitchen’, a cakery that has recently opened in Ponsonby.  We reckon word about this place is going to spread quickly; something as good as this can’t stay a ‘secret’ for long.

Located on Brown Street, the store is a short walk from Ponsonby Road.  So, it’s close to all the shopping action but makes for a nice quiet break from the hustle and bustle, and you’ll be able to find a car park nearby!

The cakery is run by Amy (surprise!) and her sister, Charlotte, who are super friendly and inviting.  They sell deliciously moist cupcakes, biscuits, slices and other moreish sweet treats.  There’s also a range of iced teas on offer and they make milkshakes.  Yum!  We tried a range of their cupcakes, all of which were beautiful, but I definitely recommend you try one of the Caramel ones; the caramel filling in the centre won me over to become my fave.

Around the shop are some awesome gift ideas.  They stock a range of 100% soy organic skull candles, kids apron sets, chefs hats and take home baking premixes in big jars.  And, mans best friend need not miss out on the excitement either, also on offer are some pretty impressive looking doggy treats.  What dog could resist some special biscuits or a gorgeous little pupcake?  Cute huh?

Amy’s Secret Kitchen also do catering and take orders.  So, make sure you go check them out in their new store.  And, while you are waiting for a moment when you can pop along, you can find them on facebook, instagram, pinterest, or have a nosey around their website.

Amy’s Secret Kitchen
3a / 49 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland
Ph: 09 360 0018
E: charlotte@amyssecretkitchen.com
www.amyssecretkitchen.com

Bread & Butter Bakery and Cafe

I was scrolling through instagram the other weekend and spotted a friend of Mel and mine had been at Bread & Butter in Grey Lynn. The food looked delicious and the place looked funky so I had to check it out! I was not disappointed, we were lucky enough to get a seat in ‘the plate room’ (I am so in love with the wallpaper it is verging on obsession, Shane isn’t convinced but I am certain it would make a fab feature wall in our kitchen area), the food was fantastic, there were five of us so we got a selection of brunch and lunch and Max (2) was catered for on the kids menu and entertained by the selection of kids books and colouring activities offered to patrons with kids.

Bread & Butter specialise traditional European and naturally leavened sourdough breads. All breads are made from certified organic ingredients – as you can see in the wall art that is right outside the door of the bakery. At Bread & Butter shops you will find a selection of traditional German sourdoughs, French crusty baguettes, wheat free sourdoughs, and seeded loaves. The selection is huge and the quality is top notch.

Their breads are baked directly on stone tiles, which gives them a robust and tasty crust that seals in flavour and keeps them fresh for longer. The cakes and pastries are displayed beautifully in the cabinets and made according to traditional recipes that place utmost importance on taste and original style. Bread & Butter don’t use any premixes, additives or off-the-shelf-filling and they strive to use as much local New Zealand produce as is feasible. Practically all the cabinet items are made on site - this is one cool cafe!

If you are in Auckland I would definitely check them out in person or on Faecbook:
Bread & Butter Bakery and Cafe
34 Westmoreland St. West
Grey Lynn
Ph. (09) 378 9111
Website: http://www.breadandbutterbakery.co.nz

City Works Depot

Yesterday for lunch Simon and I headed into town to try out some of the offerings at Auckland’s newest hot spot, the City Works Depot. 

It was a grey rainy day (so the photos on this post aren’t the best – that, and I was using my phone) but that didn’t put people off coming here; when we turned up people were queuing outside the Food Truck Garage waiting for it to open its doors. 

The City Works Depot is located on the corner of Wellesley and Nelson Streets in Auckland city.  Here you will find Best Ugly Bagels by Al Brown, the Food Truck Garage by Michael Van De Elzen, and a motorbike shop and cafe called Shed Five.  The vicinity is also home to Dry & Tea, a gorgeous salon that also serves a large range of delicious teas, and Brothers Brewery, who have set up their brewery, retail store and tasting lounge here.  The place looks set for further development and I am excited to see what else will join the already awesome places on offer. 

Simon and I grabbed a tasty bagel and coffee to share from Best Ugly Bagels.  Their bagels are delicious; we had their ‘Yodi’ bagel which was a sesame bagel toasted and topped with pastrami, swiss cheese and pickle.  Best Ugly pairs their bagels up with other artisan products to create something really special.  It was great to see the bagels being made fresh, right in front of you.  Also, once you’ve tried one and become addicted you can also buy packs of bagels to takeaway. 

After our bagel we headed over to the Food Truck Garage where we tried out a pork and apple dog and a chicken and leek dog.  Both were really tasty but I think we need to head back and try out a burger; they looked amazing coming out of the kitchen!  Despite the large numbers of people they had to cater for, the food was quick and the service was friendly.  I loved the enamel plates the food was served on and the big pictures of their food hanging on the walls – it made me want to select my fave pictures off the blog and do something similar at home, but we don’t really have the kitchen for it.  Anyways, if you are looking for a quick bite to eat I recommend you head along to the City Works Depot and check it out!

City Works Depot
Corner of Wellesley and Nelson Street
Auckland City