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Meals by Jane Hunter Managing Director, Hunters Wines Born in South Australia, where her father was a contract grape grower, Jane gained a degree in Agricultural Science at the University of Adelaide. Jane has been described by the London Sunday Times as the First Lady of New Zealand wine and was awarded an OBE for services to the wine industry in 1993. Jane has an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Massey University, and received the inaugural Wine & Spirit Competition Women in Wine Award. In 2009 Jane was awarded the Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM). My Best Meal: In my job I am very fortunate to be able to travel the world hosting wine dinners in some extraordinary restaurants, so to choose my best meal is a hard task! One meal that so totally lived up to expectation was the dinner I had at Stefano's Restaurant in the Grand Hotel in Mildura, Victoria. Mildura is a town on the Murray River about 150 kilometres east of my hometown, Cobdogla, nestled on the Murray River in South Australia. Both towns are surrounded by grapevines, citrus and plantings of watermelons, tomatoes, etc. Stefano de Pieri had a television series called A Gondola on the Murray in which we saw him get on his bicycle and cycle his way around various producers of breads, chutney, prosciutto and other home-made Italian delicacies, which he then gathered together to produce the most mouth-watering dishes. I was hooked, and from then on I tried in vain to make a booking at his restaurant. Finally, planning a trip from Broken Hill back down to Cobdogla via Mildura I hit the jackpot and we were in. Stefano's Restaurant is in the old cellar of the hotel. Guests are greeted by very welcoming staff who explain the menu for the night – some dishes only settled on that day as fresh produce comes to hand. Wine matches are talked through but aren't obligatory and there is a great wine list (mine aren't on the list unfortunately!). As the night progresses from one fabulous dish to the next, six in total, I caught a glimpse of Stefano himself watching over everything in the kitchen. The Yabby (freshwater crustacean) was the highlight for me – served with crunch bread and a light aioli, it was heaven. The beef was pretty good too as was the pasta dish and the dessert. My Worst Meal This is a hard one. I have had parts of meals that have been just dreadful – for example the time a chef matched our delightful Gewurztraminer with pig's trotter ravioli – I can still hear the crunching sound as people tried valiantly to eat and be enthused by this match! The time I was waxing lyrical about our then 10-year-old Botrytised Chardonnay dessert wine whilst watching diners faces look somewhat bewildered as they battled to match this wine with a tomato stuffed with sweetened sticky rice with a mix of dried fruits through it! Or the numerous times when chef's get over enthusiastic and add so many flavours and sauces to a dish that it is just so impossible to be matched with any wine at all. I have been known to say that a light beer or a glass of water would work the best – not a good thing at a wine dinner! I won't get on to airline food or at least I will limit myself to a few words. Surely there is something other than a rubbery omelette, cold bread, hard butter and lukewarm coffee that can be served for breakfast. A light crepe with ricotta, honey and fresh fruit comes to mind! Bad meals go from my mind so quickly – good ones linger. memories wit h www.hermagazine.co.nz | 83