Photo: Vanessa Wu
It's hard to imagine for fans of popular Auckland restaurant Fatima's - but it could just have easily been Freida's - a Mexican restaurant.
But hospitality mentors at the time nudged Kirsty Senior and her co-founder Krista Dudson toward flavours from the Middle East - and 30 years later, Fatima's is still going strong.
Kirsty still owns Fatima's, along with Sophie Gilmour and the pair of them have just released a new cookbook, infused with their love of Mideast cuisine.
Simply titled 'Fatima's' it's stocked with recipes for home-cooking: Things like, Fatima's falafel, harissa halloumi, lamb shoulder pita and spiced pork belly.
There's sauces to start, like garlic or harissa... and the book doesn't skimp on the sweet stuff either, with pistachio and rose meringues, roast nectarines and almond, apricot and pistachio baklava.
No wonder it became a regular spot for Foo Fighter's lead singer Dave Grohl to eat at when in town.
Kirsty and Sophie join Kathryn to discuss how they keep the menu fresh and bold.
Photo: Vanessa Wu
