13
COROMANDEL LIFE
SPRING 2013
Loyal Lizzie Harsant
has worked with the Pettitts
for over 25 years – back in
the ‘juice’ days,
before it was a café.
Tovi followed
Ruth to the garden
where she gathered
aromatic herbs for the original
tea she then prepared for her:
borage, lemon verbana, and
rose geranium.
Award winning best cafe...
Ruth, Andy and
Minky the Cat gather
Colenso staff (from
left): Editha Levis,
Marie Dickie,
Cheryl Litherland
and Carol Whitford.
BETTER GROUNDS AND GARDENS
One thing you can count on from the Colenso kitchen: that is locally
grown and freshly cooked. It’s no surprise Colenso won runner-up for
best café in NZ in 2010.
Ruth shares that most of their cooking, potpourri, and tea blend herbs
are from their own grounds (“we never spray,” she ensures), and even
the edible flowers that compliment the dishes, such as marigolds and
nasturtiums, come from their garden. They harvest grapes from the
arbour, shared of course with the birds. Most salad veggies do come
from local farms. “We would need over an acre just to keep up with
lettuce use,” Ruth explains.
Herb lovers will relish a stroll through the garden – lavender, French
sorrel, lemon verbana, basil for pesto, parsley, rose geranium,
gomphrena flowers, rosemary, sage. Then there are the flower
gardens, with select roses and the ever popular sunflowers to end the
season with eye-popping brilliance.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
The Pettitts were married just ten years when they moved to the area.
Hmmm... that means there’s another jubilee on the horizon. They will
soon celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. How did they meet?
Ruth tells me her sister “fixed them up”. “She invited me to an annual
ball in Bay of Plenty.” It was ‘love at first sight’ – and the story begins.
I was impressed that the Colenso staff are long term and loyal,
“They are family,” says Ruth. And they would all agree – both Lizzie
Harsant and Carol Whitford have been with the Pettitts since the very
beginning.
“I met Ruth and Andy 38 years ago when our children attended
kindergarten together,” says Carol. “Not only are they my dear
friends, I have also had a great working relationship, hence 25 years
of enjoying my time at Colenso.” (Carol shares one of Ruth’s favourite
recipes, Caramel Slice, with our Holiday Recipes on p20.)
With both excitement and sadness, the Pettitts have decided to
close this long chapter of their lives – they are selling the café and
homestead. We wish them all the happiness they deserve and have
given to so many as they continue this memorable love story...
These bees provide
the organic honey
the café serves.
Paul & Angela Berry from
Sanctuary Honey
keep the hives
on the café property.
