# Left my home town of Huntly... Jools and I are a country-singing cowgirls from Huntly and spent our childhood helping Dad on the farm and eating Mum's amazing home cooking. The Topp Twins have been around the world making people laugh, but it's always good to get home to NZ and a good old cheese and Marmite sandwich or one of Mum's gingernuts. This country is overflowing with incredible produce and amazing home cooks. We're hungry for a new adventure, so we're hitting the road in search for the true food heroes of NZ. Yeehah! # I'm just a local farmhand # working the land. # This week we have a sizzling Spanish singalong and learn the art of spicy chorizo sausage making. And then we savour the salty delights of succulent pancetta and appreciate some good old Banks Peninsula hospitality. But first we get up close and cuddly with the Havoc Farm's free-range piggies. From a long line of English pig farmers, it was always Ian Jackson's dream to grow free-range pigs. Havoc Pig Farm, deep in the heart of rural Canterbury, is his dream come true. He's the most beautiful pig farmer you've ever met. Isn't he lovely? And he just adores these animals. And Linda, his lovely wife ` a bit of a different story. She's a city girl. Get out! Get away from my washing! I had never ever come across a pig in my life until I found Ian. Have you ever been charged by a pig? Oh, yes. I got bitten on the bum once. Oh, yes. I got bitten on the bum once. ALL LAUGH Not moving fast enough. Not moving fast enough. Just went.... Got me on the bum. Oh, it was so sore. If you taste good, they'll come back for a second bite. There's some you like and some that you dislike. They've all got personalities. (LAUGHS) But pigs are fascinating. They're intelligent, quick to learn. They show a lot of things which human beings have got. Just feels to be my destiny. It's more like a calling, you know. A calling? A calling? Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Ian, it's kind of` we're getting the impression here that you're a bit of a pig lover. (LAUGHS) Are you in love with pigs? Are you in love with pigs? No, no, I'm not. The other 150 women I share my husband with. The other 150 women I share my husband with. ALL LAUGH He grew up with it, though. He grew up with it, though. Yeah, I grew up with pigs and poultry. I thought the chickens were pretty boring compared to pigs. (CHUCKLES) I used to work on big indoor pig farms where a lot of stuff goes on which isn't right. You become desensitised, and you start to lose your empathy for the pigs. Not treating it like an animal. Not treating it like an animal. No. Yeah, it's just a job. Becomes` Just a job. Just a job. Yeah. Being in one of those sheds just a couple of minutes and the smell will remain with you the rest of the day. The more room you give a pig, the better it's going to be. The more room you give a pig, the better it's going to be. For sure. People reckon they can taste the difference in the meat. People reckon they can taste the difference in the meat. Come here, baby. Everything a pig needs, eh? Everything a pig needs, eh? Yeah. Lots of protein to grow those piglets as fast as they can. Oh, she's beautiful, isn't she? Oh, she's beautiful, isn't she? Yeah. She's happy now she's eating. Shutting them up and not allowing pigs to display their natural behaviour causes more problems than it solves, cos they need to be able to dig in the ground and wallow in mud and socialise in their own groups. I've heard that in a pig's lifetime, he can make up to 30 friends. I've heard that in a pig's lifetime, he can make up to 30 friends. Yes, I agree with that, yeah. And to be able to build a nest. They need to separate into their own group by themselves and have babies. Ohhh, if I was a pig, I'd love to live here. Everybody gets fed well here, eh, buddy? You've got Linda cooking inside, and you're sorting the pigs out. You've got Linda cooking inside, and you're sorting the pigs out. (LAUGHS) Did Nana pride herself on the bacon balls? Yes. They were her party trick. When you said to Nana, 'Can I have the recipe?' she'd turn up with them so she didn't have to give the recipe. And after she died, we found the old Truth newspaper. They produced a cookbook, and there it was. So` So, we've got a cuppa there of grated potato. How much cheese do we need? How much cheese do we need? A cup. How much cheese do we need? A cup. Here we go. And we'll measure this, shall we? And a cup of this. A cup of oats. And we have a packet of bacon mince, which is brilliant. When Nana used to make these, she used to have an old hand mincer. She used to have it attached to the table, and all the kids used to mince. But that's all you do ` mash it with your hands. A really really good thing to take along as ladies a plate, and Nana used to do that. Nana was a lady a plate girl, was she? Ooh, yeah. She'd belong to the odd thing. How did you find Ian? How did you find Ian? We got introduced, and I got told I wouldn't like him but he'd do. BOTH LAUGH BOTH LAUGH And does he do? BOTH LAUGH And does he do? Yeah, a lot. (LAUGHS) He's lovely. I invited her up for a dance at the Hunter Hall up the road here. Oh, like one of them old-time dances they used to`? Oh, like one of them old-time dances they used to`? No, it was an Irish night. An Irish night? An Irish night? Pretty and frivolity and dancing. And did she look beautiful? And did she look beautiful? Sure did. And did she look beautiful? Sure did. Aw, that's beautiful, buddy. A farmer needs a wife, doesn't he? A farmer needs a wife, doesn't he? A farmer needs a wife. I think you might have lucked out with her. Well, it sounds like it, doesn't it? Well, it sounds like it, doesn't it? BOTH LAUGH He makes me laugh. He makes me laugh. He makes you laugh. When I first came here, he tended to neglect his pigs a little bit for me. We weren't married then. The first few months I moved here` The first few months I moved here` Living in sin at a pig farm. (CHUCKLES) The first few months I moved here` Living in sin at a pig farm. (CHUCKLES) At a pig farm. But then as he figured he had me trapped,... (LAUGHS), the emphasis changed. (LAUGHS) Looking after the other women in his life. Looking after the other women in his life. BOTH CHUCKLE I got more involved. I understand good animal husbandry, and that's important. Look after your animals first, and then they'll look after you later. It makes him a good husband, cos he's kind, even though he does tend to disappear for long periods of time. Ian works really really long and hard. Up at 6 o'clock in the morning out in the paddock, and he's in for his dinner at 6, and then he's out again till half past 10. I could groan about it, or I could be happy about it, and I'm happy about it. I'm proud of what we do here. SLOW GUITAR MUSIC This pork and this bacon is going to be the best in NZ, OK, because a happy pig means happy meat. This piggy here is probably only a couple of days old. He's in a free-range hut with his brothers and sisters. He had his mum with him for the whole time, and he's gonna have just the most beautiful life, because he'll run around in the grass. These guys are gonna have a great life, so good on us Kiwis. We've always been good at looking after our animals, and I hope we keep on doing it. There's nothing more exciting than a little fella fast asleep in your arms. It's a real magical moment for us. SLOW GUITAR MUSIC There you are. Lovely. There you are. Lovely. Ohhh, beautiful. Righty-oh. Righty-oh. They're crispy, aren't they? Righty-oh. They're crispy, aren't they? Yeah, they are. Health food. Health food? Mm. Got oats in them. Yep, that's up to standard. Yep, that's up to standard. Cheers, Nana. Yep, that's up to standard. Cheers, Nana. Cheers to Nana for the bacon balls. Look at the whoppers on that fella over there. Mm. Yeah, they're better than me having one of those, isn't it? Mm. Yeah, they're better than me having one of those, isn't it? ALL LAUGH LIGHT MUSIC Hello, NZ. This week I'm making a fancy apple sauce to go with my pork dish. Lovely. Thank you, Camp Leader. I've got some lovely roadside apples here. Camp Leader, if you'd like to chop some of them up, please. In my pot, I've got apple juice, some apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and I'm gonna add two extra-special ingredients. I've got my raisins. Ooh! Camp Leader! Ooh! Camp Leader! (CACKLES) I've got two raisins left there, but put about a cup of raisins in. And some ginger. It's gonna reduce down for about 10 minutes. (CHUCKLES) I bet you wish you could reduce down in 10 minutes, Camp Mother. (CHUCKLES) Right. I've got a little bit of apple sauce here that I've prepared earlier. I'm gonna pop that on my pork chop. Look at that, Camp Leader. Yum. Yum. And I've got a fancy garnish this week to go with the pork. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. And ` very exotic ` deep-fried sage. And there it is. Doesn't that look absolutely tantalising? Right. That's my lunch. You carry on there, please, Camp Leader. Righty-oh, Miss Piggy. I heard that, Camp Leader. Christchurch gal Mary fell in love with Spain first, and then she fell in love with Mariano. She stayed, got a ring on her finger and had two beautiful kids. And like all good Kiwis, she finally came back to NZ. Longing for the taste of home and with an old family recipe up his sleeve, us Kiwis can now enjoy the taste of Spain. I love you, darling. I love you, darling. Te quiero tambien. I love you, darling. Te quiero tambien. (CHUCKLES) We love our sausages in this country. This one has a fancy Spanish name. You've got chorizo in the front, Jools. You've got chorizo in the front, Jools. Chorizo. Choritho. Choritho. Choritho. Yep. And you've got butifarra at the back. Butifarra. I like that name. Butifarra. I like that name. And the butifarra is, you know, from his part of Spain in Malaguena. I'm not going to even try that one. I'm not going to even try that one. BOTH LAUGH I might have a taste, but I won't say it. I might have a taste, but I won't say it. It's the spicy one. (LAUGHS) This is a real old traditional recipe. This is a real old traditional recipe. Yep. You've got the meat here. It's a beautiful cut of the shoulder. It's a little bit redder. And we're going to add just three more ingredients ` garlic, paprika and salt. OK, that's it? OK, that's it? This is an original recipe coming from my family. You can travel around Spain, and every village is going to add something different, a different combination of paprika. Here we've got sweet paprika and a little bit of smoky and hot paprika. A little bit of water. A little bit of water. I just start mushing it around? Break it with your fingers to make the paprika get in the whole thing. Come on, Lynda. I'm going as fast as I can, buddy. I probably haven't had as much sausage handling as you have. (CHUCKLES) This is my first chorizo. This is my first chorizo. Yum. You put in much love there. You've gotta put love into your sausage. You've gotta put love into your sausage. Absolutely. Is that important? Very important, yeah. There's nothing more important than love with your sausage. There's nothing more important than love with your sausage. (LAUGHS) Good idea. Good idea. There you go. Good idea. There you go. It's very good for your skin. Look at that. The colour is amazing. Now I've got sausage fingers. (CHUCKLES) What we're going to do is to fill the sausages now. I'm trying to make it look like that one? Yeah. And with your hand, just clockwise. That way? That way? Yes. The thing is, we've got 50 to fill, Lynda. (HUMS) OPERATIC MUSIC (SIGHS) It's nerve-racking. (SIGHS) It's nerve-racking. < (LAUGHS) Here it comes. Here it comes. Go for it, Lynda! We've got the flow now. It's going well. Looking good. Look at that. It's going well. Looking good. Look at that. It's got lumps in it. Oi! (CHUCKLES) Oi! (CHUCKLES) (CHUCKLES) OK, it's getting hard now. I can feel the tension here. I can feel. A little bit cheeky, the first one. A little bit cheeky, the first one. OK, I'm relaxing into it now. < Oh, that's looking much better. Look at that. < Oh, that's looking much better. Look at that. I feel` I feel good now. I think I'm getting close to the end. I think I'm getting close to the end. Yes. Done. Just twist a little bit. < Little curl, and here we go. Oh, Lynda. I can't believe this is your first chorizo. Come on! There you go. Look. That's yours and that's mine. There you go. Look. That's yours and that's mine. I think it's very good, yes. Yours is bigger than mine. Yours is bigger than mine. It` Well, you know, what can I say? Yours is bigger than mine. It` Well, you know, what can I say? (LAUGHS) This is called pan com tomate. You can see what I'm doing here ` just rubbing tomato on the bread. Little bit of salt sprinkled on and a wee bit of oil. You put this right on there? You put this right on there? On that. Bit of garlic mayonnaise. That's got paprika in it, which is why it's pretty pink. Look at that beautiful thing. That's a sausage sizzle with a difference. Look at that beautiful thing. That's a sausage sizzle with a difference. Rico, rico. Ohhh, beautiful. When did you make your first chorizo? Oh, I can't remember that. I was a little boy` Little boy. Little boy. Yes. We used to go on holidays to my father's village in northern Spain. They used to do the traditional killing of the pig, and all the family was involved, and we were doing sausages there and black pudding and other different sausages, you know? Very nice. It must have been hard to leave there, come to NZ? It was hard on one side and exciting on the other. I was thinking, 'Not everyone has the opportunity to start a new life on the other side of the world.' So I said, 'Yes, give it a go. Why not?' Here we are, Lynda. How did you meet Mary? How did you meet Mary? Oh, I met Mary in Barcelona. I was working for the local club, and then Mary came through the door. You know, and it was the beginning of the, you know... It's now been 20 years. 20 years? What? You fell in love with her as soon as she walked through the door? What? You fell in love with her as soon as she walked through the door? More or less, you know? But, technically, that's true. But, technically, that's true. Is that the Spanish way? I don't know. That's how love works, you know? Sometimes love continues... (LAUGHS) Beautiful. I'm just going to turn that around, a bit tighter. How's that? Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Beautiful. Yeah, look at that. You have another story to tell here. Pretty close to our hearts, because I know when you were in Spain, we heard you got lots of people in Spain to sing Nga Iwi E in perfect Maori pronunciation. Absolutely. And I have to say, Jools, the first time I heard it was you and Lyn singing on the campus at Otago. I can just see you. It's very inspiring. It's all about uprising. I sang it with an a capella group that I sang with. We were seven girls, and we arranged it for our seven voices. We were seven girls, and we arranged it for our seven voices. You took our song to Spain, you brought back your spunky boy from Spain, and you're making sausages in Christchurch. That's the one. That's the one. Life couldn't get any better, eh? That's the one. Life couldn't get any better, eh? Nope. (LAUGHS) # Nga iwi e. Nga iwi e. # Kia kotahi ra te Moana-nui-a-kiwa. # Nga iwi e. Nga iwi e. # Kia kotahi ra te Moana-nui-a-kiwa. # E-I-A-I-E. Whoo! Spanish! Whoo! Spanish! (HUMS) BOTH SING IN SPANISH Sing it with us! Sing it with us! # E-I-A-I-E. (CHEERS) > (CHEERS) > (HUMS) # E-I-A-I-E. # Whoo-hoo! Whoo-hoo! Ole! Whoo-hoo! Ole! ALL CHEER ALL CHUCKLE John and Anna Mahy are modern-day pioneer family. Originally from the Guernsey Islands, they live on Banks Peninsula, where Anna has turned her hand to running her famous Pig in a Day workshops. We were getting bored living on the islands, and one night while drinking a bottle of wine, we just pulled out an atlas and drew circles round countries that we liked, and NZ had the most positives. We sold everything we owned, and we moved with a 1-, 2- and 3-year-old, a double buggy and a suitcase, and that was it. a double buggy and a suitcase, and that was it. (LAUGHS) And you're collecting a bit of kaimoana? We've got some friends who we've met through Pig in a Day coming over tonight. Pig in a Day is one of the workshops that we run. We take people through the journey of how to make sausages and salamis and hams and all those things that you can make with a pig. and all those things that you can make with a pig. It's a good feed, that, isn't it? How did you get into that? I try to eat free-range meat, and you couldn't get any free-range bacon. So I did a little bit of research, found a recipe. It was so beautiful. The kids loved it, and we've never looked back, really. It's worked out well. We thought, 'Take the risk.' And if we didn't like it here, we'd move on, but we love it. I'm going to make a pancetta, which is a dry-cured Italian bacon. And we make it with some pork belly. I'm going to make a cure. So, we have a handful of juniper berries. If you could just give them a good old bash for me. You can chop up just a little bit of rosemary. Rough? Rough? Yeah, just rough. It'll be rough if I do it. It'll be rough if I do it. BOTH CHUCKLE We've got some coriander and pepper there. We're opening them up. We don't need them too fine. That looks good. That can go in. But to cure it, we need the salt, so we've just got some plain salt here. Then we just put some sugar, which offsets the saltiness and gives it a nice sweetness. Another little bit of flavouring here. We're gonna zest some of this orange just on to the fat side. That looks really good. That looks really good. Pretty, eh? Looks like a floral arrangement. Thank you. Thank you. ALL LAUGH And you're just gonna start rubbing it all over your meat. Righty-oh. I'll have a go at that. Righty-oh. I'll have a go at that. Look for all those nooks and crannies and creases. It will just draw out loads of moisture. And people can do this at home? And people can do this at home? It's the first thing I started with, and it's the simplest one. Lovely. Flip it over. Same again? Same again? Yes, just rub it in. You can start off with getting the cuts from the butcher, and then we soon moved on to John coming home from work to find me sawing a pig's head open on the picnic table outside. My friend and I had bought a whole pig and were doing the whole thing ourselves. That rosemary smells amazing. I can feel a dry white wine coming on. That rosemary smells amazing. I can feel a dry white wine coming on. ALL LAUGH It's satisfying making your own. It's satisfying making your own. Oh, definitely. You can put something on the table you've made from start to finish yourself. It's a good feeling. Every good NZ woman should know how to cut a pig's head off. Got one here that's been in the fridge for a few days, curing. So, that's the salt that's drawn all the liquid out? So, that's the salt that's drawn all the liquid out? It's drawn it all out, yes. See already the floppiness has gone, and it's just a matter of giving it a rinse. We've lost all these beautiful traditions. They would have been passed down from generation to generation, and it's something we don't do any more. Hey, I gotta go, you guys. I'll see you later. Can't keep her away from a horse. We'll stay with the pig, shall we? Can't keep her away from a horse. We'll stay with the pig, shall we? We will, yeah. Gonna pop it in its little stocking, cos we don't want anything getting at it. This is just some muslin. You could wrap it up in something as well. It needs to get a little bit of air through it, and then we just hang it up and leave it. And in 10 days, you're good to go. You can see how much more dry and firm it is. Yeah. Can you eat that raw? You can't eat it raw, no. It has to be cooked. You can't eat it raw, no. It has to be cooked. Righty-oh. Slice it thinly, and it will make the best bacon sandwich you've ever had. It's perfect for Italian pasta sauce, spaghetti bolognaise. Just` It adds that depth and that richness through the sauces. Beautiful for that. Righty-oh. Righty-oh. Doesn't need long. 30 seconds each side, and we should be there. Here we go. A little bit there. Get rid of the pan. There is quite a bit of fat in that. But that's where all the flavour comes from. But that's where all the flavour comes from. That's what we want. Not all fat is bad. Oh my God, that's incredible. It's salty and juicy. It's got a sweetness as well. Oh my God. The amazing pig has done it again. (CHUCKLES) > So, you're a true blue Guernsey Islander? I was. It's really small. It's probably 15km by 10km, but it's a triangle. Not even a full square. but it's a triangle. Not even a full square. You can't even do a circle on it. You can't even do a circle, no. You can't even do a circle, no. BOTH CHUCKLE The family's been there a long time? My grandfather, my great-grandfather, my great-great-grandfather, um, they've been there for generations, yeah. We decided that we'd try and go somewhere new. I think islanders have itchy feet. I'm glad you're here, buddy. I'm glad you're here, buddy. Thank you. Grab handfuls of the salt and the flavourings and just start rubbing it in. One of my favourites ` prosciutto, your air-dried ham. This is the one you can slice it off and eat it. This is the one you can slice it off and eat it. Yep. Yep. The bone inside has been taken out, so you need to make sure it's all been rubbed in there as well. That's it. That's it. Little intimate there with the pig. That's it. Little intimate there with the pig. (CHUCKLES) John doesn't feature in the making of this. John's my biggest supporter, and I couldn't do it without him. I come up with crazy schemes all the time, and John just cheers me on all the way. He's the perfect man, is he? He's the perfect man, is he? He is the perfect man, yeah. I'm quite lucky. She's got the energy, the passion. She's just full of love. I mean, how many people homeschool and want to be round their kids all the time, 24-7? Most mums want to shove them out the door in the morning. They wanna get 'em to school and have a break. Um, but it's Anna's energy and passion that's got us here. When do you have the time to make pigs and have a loving husband and school the kids? That's life, isn't it? We do everything together, so they learn a lot just through how they're living. Elizabeth can bring her Chinese wherever we go. She's got a real passion for languages. She just has a brain that picks it up. I can't do it. All into their horseriding, especially Evie. She's 10, and she's currently learning to break in a pony. And Hughie, he's quite into his survival, so after he's done his work, he goes off fishing or he's learning how to use knives and light fires and all weird things like that at the moment. But they do have to do their schoolwork in the mornings. JOHN: We homeschool because we love them and love to be around them. If you sat back, eight years ago and said we would be running this course every day here, we would have just laughed. We now live right next to the beach, and you kind of pinch yourself. You never know where you're going to end up in this world. You don't, do you? You don't, do you? No. From one islander to another. It takes a long time to get to be a local. Probably about a hundred years. (LAUGHS) You'll be one of the locals. My great-grandchildren. My great-grandchildren. Good thing you picked the bloody spot that said NZ, not Australia. I better finish this foot for you, buddy. What a champion. COUNTRY MUSIC ANNA: Where my passion for food really comes from is it's ability to bring people together. We didn't know anyone when we moved here, and through doing Pig in a Day, we've met all our friends. Doesn't matter what your background is. Everyone's gotta eat, and it brings people together. # I'm just a local farmhand # working the land. # Just a local farmhand # on Tainui land. # Cheers, John. BOTH CHEER BOTH CHEER Cheers, everybody! Here's to the pig! When I was boy, Ken, I had a wee pig. I fed him lots, and I taught him to dig. He dug up the garden, and he ate my best spud. And in the afternoon, he'd wallow in mud. (CHUCKLES) I loved that swine. I'm partial to pork. Jesus, Ken. You're a flaming dork. He was destined for the pot, Ken. I love a good stew. But he looked at me and said, 'Ken, I love you.' I just couldn't do it, Ken! I let him run free. And now all I eat, Ken, is veggies for tea.