From Soil to Plate: Michael and Bee Van de Elzen’s Farm-to-Table Cooking School Adventure
From Soil to Plate: A Farm-to-Table Adventure
Nestled just a stone’s throw from Muriwai Beach, the Good From Scratch Cookery School is a culinary haven created by the dynamic duo, Michael and Belinda (Bee) Van De Elzen. This husband-and-wife team has cultivated a unique cooking experience on their six-hectare lifestyle property, a 40-minute drive from downtown Auckland. Their philosophy? Food is best when prepared from the ground up.
Arrival at the Cooking School
On a drizzly morning, I wound down a gravel driveway to be greeted by Hector, a German short-haired pointer, proudly carrying a sopping stick. After a warm welcome and a cup of tea with fresh milk, I joined the day’s 11 students for a half-day Taste of the Farm experience. This adventure was as much about breathing in the fresh air and getting our hands dirty in the garden as it was about picking up cooking tips from the charismatic chefs.
The Dream Realized
Mike and Bee spent five years creating their cooking school, a testament to their dedication and passion. From the vaulted ceilings to the cedar cladding, every detail reflects their vision. “This is something that we have dreamed about for years, and have been working towards for a long time,” says Mike. “We were involved in every step of development, and with the school sitting on the farm beside our house, it is very much a big part of our lives.”
A Tour of the Gardens
Our introduction took place around a macrocarpa table in the courtyard. Despite the rain moving across the rolling hills, the atmosphere was warm and inviting. We walked past Pop Pops the sheep’s paddock and up to the vegetable gardens, which are in a former horse arena. Adrianne Barrie, an expert gardener and chef, showed us around the large raised planting beds and tunnel house. From green and purple cauliflowers to sweetcorn perfect for popping, 95 percent of the plants here have been grown from seed by Adrianne and Bee.
As we harvested fresh ingredients, I learned about interplanting and crop rotation, and how to distract aphids with alyssum. Bee, a former city girl, and Mike, who grew up on a chicken farm in Henderson, moved here to give their children, Hazel and Ivy, the space to explore the outdoors.
Cooking with Seasonal Plants
Drawn back inside by the warmth of a wood-fired oven, we experienced the school’s focus on using as much of our seasonal plants as possible. My group made a chickpea salad with roasted pumpkin, while another duo worked on a miso emulsion with soft-boiled eggs from the chicken coop. Elsewhere, cucumbers were pickling for a side dish and figs were caramelizing for dessert.
Mike showed us how to smoke tomatoes for a salsa verde in his giant hot and cold outdoor smokers. The five dishes’ components were sliced up between us with a speed and intensity that felt like a commercial kitchen, but with a more relaxed vibe.
The Journey to the Cooking School
Mike and Bee have worked in hospitality for decades. They first met in the kitchen of a restaurant called Antiks on Auckland’s Dominion Road in their twenties. They worked in fast-paced London restaurants, but the seed for this cooking school was planted 20 years ago when they worked together at a remote boutique hotel, the Dunbrody, in Ireland, creating recipes based on its impressive garden produce.
The secret to working smoothly together in heated situations? “Good communication and clear division of labour,” says Bee. “Michael has done hundreds of cooking demonstrations, so is a great teacher, but there are certainly a lot of learning curves that come with bringing such a unique experience to life.”
The Good From Scratch Philosophy
The Good From Scratch brand launched in 2015 after Mike’s The Food Truck TV show. He opened a restaurant of the same name and started working with food companies to create healthier options from quality ingredients. You can buy some of their products from the school’s stacked shelves, including honey made from their hives and preserves from their 300 citrus trees.
Recently, Mike has been back in front of the camera as a host on Good Living and Eat Well for Less, but his focus is now clearly on the school. “We really want to impart our Good From Scratch philosophy with everyone who walks through our doors – that food is best when it’s prepared from scratch, and you know what you’re putting into it,” says Mike. “We want people to leave with a renewed passion for being in the kitchen.”
Cooking Tips and Techniques
Over the din, I learned that we want to cook our pumpkin at as high a temperature as possible, and you can add it to the pan for a quick sear at the end to add color, because “color is flavor.” When it comes to cooking meat and fish, you should skip the pan and oil your fillets instead, preferably with grapeseed oil, as it can handle all heats. Also, it looks cool if you tuck your tea towel into your apron – all the professionals do it.
For presentation, it’s trendy to show off every element of your dish with layering, and you shouldn’t hide the plate entirely as you want to show off your serving dishes too. “You eat with your eyes,” says Mike.
A Delicious and Wholesome Experience
There’s just enough commotion for a self-conscious cook like me to feel confident whizzing about the kitchen, knowing everyone’s too busy to be watching me. Happily, dirty dishes disappeared into a large concrete sink, and you didn’t see them again.
We sat down to enjoy our lunch with local wines and gave ourselves, and Hector, a pat on the back. Whether it’s the fresh-as-possible ingredients or the sense of accomplishment, the food tasted delicious and wholesome. It was a true farm-to-table adventure that left me with a renewed passion for cooking from scratch.
