First Catch Your Weka

First Catch Your Weka - David Veart

Auckland University Press, ISBN 978-1-86940-410-9, $49.99 pbk

‘First catch your weka,’ Heaphy advised, ‘stuff it with sage and onion and roast on a stick’. Thus began a great tradition of New Zealand cooking – from Heaphy to the Edmonds Cookery Book, Alison Holst to Allyson Gofton, on to the meal on your plate today. First Catch Your Weka tells the story of what New Zealanders cooked through the recipes we used, illuminating our cuisine and our culture.

David Veart’s collection of recipes and cookbooks began in the early 1970’s after his mother gave him the essential Edmonds Cookery Book when he left home. Since then, he has accumulated a library of over 500 cook books and, along the way, has developed his passion for recipes and cooking.

Born in Auckland in 1950, David Veart is descended from an early fencible family and currently lives on Auckland’s North Shore. He can be found on many evenings trying recipes out in his kitchen and presenting the results on dishes from his collection of ’60s and ’70s Crown Lynn china.