Resistance to blogging

I've been a lousy, lazy blogger. My excuse has been that I am writing enough already.

Well, in fairness, I am.

Neysha Soodeen...best Caribbean buddy

I am a regular contributor to MACO Caribbean, an astounding magazine created by my gorgeous buddy, Neysha Soodeen of Trinidad ( and Barbados). I do a fun, short food piece that focuses on a single fruit ( don't chortle here!) with a couple of recipes and quick factoids, drawing on both Pacific and Caribbean know how. Please check  out MACO  on http://www.macocaribbean.com/ and you'll see why I LOVED living in the Caribbean and what a great contribution knowledge of Caribbean food uses is for the Pacific, and vice versa. Same ingredients, WILDLY different uses. Did I mention that Neysha is gorgeous?

I also write every month for the BEST Chinese food magazine- NEW WESTERN CUISINE out of Beijing. Created by the charismatic Ricky Xu, NWC, like MACO has in the Caribbean, has set a new standard for publishing in China. Not only addressing serious ( "meaty"?) food issues, NWC culinarily snuggles into the cultural nexus between East and West- and a lot on both ends of the globe too. My contributions are a part of my role in China with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Ok..that's not all. I also do a blog for NZTE - a kind of "intelligence" piece that helps feed info back to New Zealand food producers about trends and consumer expectations in China.

Add to that my dawdlings on facebook....and you see what I mean.

So what I'm going to do is combine efforts. I'm going to post global bite bytes, bits of MACO and snippets of New Western Cuisine, right here...and the facebook wanderings as well. Lazy and smart.

Votausi Mc Kenzie- Vanuatu chef and innovator

I am back in Shanghai for now, by the way, after an amazing time in Auckland and Fiji. We launched TRUE PACIFIC in Auckland ( www.truepacific.com) which  was EXHILARATING. Meg Potausi and the gang at PCF ( www.pcf.org.nz) have been working for two years on creating an entry device for some of the wonderful Pacific Island food producers into the New Zealand market. Really meaningful for me, many of the producers are in "Me'a Kai" and I hadn't seen them since the Gourmand Award win- so it was AMAZING to see everyone and celebrate our BEST IN THE WORLD status!  Had great catch ups with Adi Tafuna'i from WIBDI in Samoa and with Votausi and Geordie McKenzie of Lapita Cafe in Vanuatu. Adi and Votausi are two of the women that Me'a Kai is dedicated to, "angels of the Pacific", and both are heros of mine. And I love them. That too.

With Adi Tafuna'i, Votausi and Geordie in a cheap chinese joint in Auckland...I know..I come all the way to New Zealand and eat cheap chinese food!

The incredible Beatrice Faumuina at the Pacific Showcase in Auckland

My gorgeous sidekick in Auckland- Mary Edwina Stowers....so beautiful!

Brilliant leadership- Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa

The menu for the Pacific Island Leaders Forum

John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand

Moi

The last day in Auckland was the wrap up lunch for the Pacific Island Leaders Forum.
We nailed it!

So I'm back- I'll be posting again this week with a piece from MACO and an update on my quick visit to Fiji on the way back to China....more on that later!!

R