Since 1989, New Zealand�s most passionate cooks and food lovers have found refuge in the products supplied by Auckland�s Epicurean Workshop. After 17 years, owner Catherine Bell is taking her retail business exclusively online and, thankfully for her dedicated fans, plans to find a new home for the popular Epicurean Cooking School in conjunction with her magazine Dish.

The decision to reconfigure the business is described by Catherine as a �lifestyle decision�, one that allows her to continue to share her passion for and knowledge of cooking and cookware while taking her skills in increasingly new & innovative directions.

�Above all else I am a dedicated cook and the Epicurean Cooking School will be back mid-year with exciting new concepts and openings for both corporate and private events. We have loved our loyal followers over the years and couldn�t bear the thought of not having this facility available to them in the future,� she says.

Catherine and her colleagues have radically altered the cooking landscape in this country. But as the market has changed so has the focus of the industry. Taking Epicurean exclusively online allows her to continue to provide only the best for her customers.

�In 1989 New Zealand was a desert on the face of the cookware world and we (Epicurean Workshop) had to import 75% of our stock from as far away as France and beyond,� she says.

�In those early days we led a revolution of sorts, being first to offer French bake-ware and other products such as large white serving platters, one-piece stainless steel utensils and silicone spatulas.

�We scoured the world for the finest kitchenware and also introduced the country to many new ingredients such as Arborio rice and Polenta. Today they�re as common in our cooking as mint sauce on roast lamb. Now we need to re-invigorate the industry once more.�

As one of our true culinary icons, Catherine�s development of the cook- and kitchenware sectors in New Zealand has been without parallel. That innovative style and extensive knowledge she has become famous for will now also be available through her professional consulting service, specialising in food and cookware industries.

On top of this, as editor of popular food magazine Dish, Catherine guarantees us she won�t be straying too far from the cutting edge of cooking. She is also pleased to say that the very successful team at Magazzino has taken up the Morrow Street premises as their new headquarters and will continue to offer the same fine coffee and food in their new store, along with their unique range of magazines and an expanded cards and specialist stationery offering.

So, it�s online for the Epicurean Workshop but business as usual for one of New Zealand�s true food pioneers. We look forward to re-discovering the Epicurean Cooking School once details are announced and in the meantime Catherine is ready and available for all those important consulting projects.

Epicurean will close its Newmarket, Auckland retail store on 31 January. The caf� will remain open throughout the relocation of Magazzino from the Farmers building.

Check out www.epicurean.co.nz for more.

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For further information please contact:

Catherine Bell The Epicurean Workshop T: +64 (0)9 524 0906 M: +64 (0)21 471 973 E: catherine@epicurean.co.nz