THE ORIGINS OF NEW ZEALAND'S cuisine can be traced back to our nineteenth-centary immigrant ancestors. Bringing with them a tradition based on an annual agricultural cycle, they were confronted with not only reversed seasons but plentiful fertile land and a generally warmer climate. This abundance combined with the strong traditions of the immigrants produced a cuisine baed on a wide choice of meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, and characterised by plenty and hospitality.Drawing on wealth of published and unpublished material, Tony Simpson examines in deatil the development of our cuisine and domestic culture over the past two centuries.Illustrated throughout with traditional recipes and line drawings, A Distant Feast provides a fascinating overview of the place of food in the lives of New Zealanders.