A place I love: Food writer Lauraine Jacobs on her beloved Omaha hometown

A Place I Love: Food Writer Lauraine Jacobs on Her Beloved Omaha Hometown

Omaha offers food writer Lauraine Jacobs some of her favorite pleasures: top-quality local produce, her husband’s freshly caught kahawai, and swimming—even in chilly weather.

What’s your connection to this place?

We’ve owned a house in Omaha for 20 years now. I love the beach and swimming, and I try to swim from Labour Weekend to Queen’s Birthday. If you keep at it, you can do it! I love that I can swim for such a long period.

What do you love about it?

I enjoy walking along the beach, and I’m a member of the golf club, which is now one of the top 25 golf courses in New Zealand. That’s quite remarkable and is due to the wonderful community spirit, with many members volunteering to work on the course.

What are some of your food highlights?

I love the Omaha Flats and the amazing fresh food I can buy there, starting with strawberries very soon. There’s always something in season to buy, which is fantastic. The climate is so mild that vegetables grow all year round.

One of the best things is when my husband goes fishing and brings back kahawai, which you don’t see as often anymore, and I can freshly smoke them. I don’t think there’s anything better. Another love of mine in the wider area is definitely the oysters. At the market, there’s Lynette and Trevor from Orata Oysters, and Tom with his oyster shed offering freshly-shucked oysters. And then there’s Mahurangi Oysters. I feel a sense of pride when I see them on menus in restaurants around the country.

What impact has the Matakana farmers’ market had?

The market has been quite pivotal for many people. Some who had businesses there at the beginning have moved on and grown their businesses. For example, Shannon and Rob, who had Omaha Organic Blueberries, grew that into Oob, which is now an international organic food company. Many others have done similar things. It’s been an incubator and one of the few markets with a certified kitchen where people can develop products.

What would you recommend for a first-time visitor to the area?

I think it’s absolutely essential to be there on a Saturday so you can go to the market. Make sure you go for one of the recommended walks in the regional parks. Tāwharanui might be one of the best beaches in New Zealand. One of the things I love at Omaha is the walk along the path through the southern end where there are these wonderful pou whenua—they are all guardians of the land, but in many different ways. There’s Matariki, and Omaha himself stands at the entrance, and Tangaroa, of course. I think that’s something very special; not to be missed.

Lauraine Jacobs is a renowned food writer and the author of It Takes a Village: A guide to Matakana and its surrounding districts (Massey University Press, $45).