I hate it when I find the perfect thing… one day too late. Last night’s peanut, barley and pumpkin stew – a dish I’ve cooked many times and love (though not one of Olivia’s) – wasn’t quite right, lacking something I just don’t know what; but I reckon Olivia’s recipe for spiced peanut, date and fenugreek flatbreads could have lifted it, if only I’d spotted it yesterday. I see a lot of cookbooks (and I mean a lot) so it’s refreshing when something snags my attention and makes me look twice. Keen not to miss anything else I’m already sticking Post-Its. With my citrus trees going crazy this year, I’m considering myself a bit of a connoisseur of lemon and orange cakes, but I’ve never before seen a sticky mandarin cake with a fiery gochujang glaze. A creamy slab of feta, baked with tamarillo and blackberries then whipped under the grill to get a caramelised brown-sugar crust, might just make me love a fruit I’ve, up till now, had little time for. Dashes of surprise nestle in among Kiwi favourites: croquettes with a combo of chewy pearl barley and crunchy macadamias; a sausage and kūmara tray bake that gets the treatment with a maple, jalapeño and chia sauce; a touch of miso lifting a good old beer, steak and cheese pie. Although just 21 years old, Olivia already has many years experience in the food industry, having started her first food business when she was only 15. I’m going to make sure I keep watch so I can keep up with what comes next and don’t miss a thing. TRACY WHITMEY