Savour St Heliers | Turua Gallery

A huge part of Savour St Heliers is highlighting and celebrating the flavours, stories, and local connections that make our village feel so special. While food is often found around the table, it also lives in memories, family traditions, and the moments we return to year after year.

We spoke with Melissa at Turua Gallery, as part of our Savour St Heliers series, and asked her to share one of her favourite recipes. For Melissa, a much-loved recipe is her grandmother's steamed pudding. A dish passed down through generations, evoking meaningful memories.

Christmas Steam Pudding  -  yummy all year round ;)

 

Ingredients

• 4oz Breadcrumbs (from fresh bread)
• 2 oz cakecrumbs (from fresh sponge cake)
• 4oz flour
• 4oz Sugar
• 5 ox chopped dates
• Pinch of sale
• 1IB fruit cake mix

Method

1. Mix all together in a bowl, you can add chopped peel and finely chopped nuts if you like.
2. Once mixed add a generous sprinkling of cloves (powdered), ginger, cinnamon, mixed spice, nutmeg, and1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence.
3. Separately, bring 2 cups of milk to the boil, then add 4oz butter and mix, then add 2 teaspoons of baking powder, combine, then add to the dry ingredients.
4. Grease the steam pudding bowl and pour in mix, secure lid.
5. Steam for 2 hours.

Tip, this is super yummy when you pour brandy over just before serving and flame the pudding, serve with vanilla cream & home made brandy butter. Can be frozen and then heated at a later date.

“It is my grandmother’s steamed pudding recipe that my mum made every year. I now make it every year for our family Christmas gathering and then for special family events. I serve it hot, with lashings of brandy, homemade brandy butter, and ice cream, of course. It has been a much-loved dish since before I was born.”

This reminds us that food is so much more than a few ingredients. It's a dish made year after year, passed down through families, and shared together on occasions that matter most. Warm, nostalgic, and full of history, this dish is a reminder that some of the most meaningful flavours are the ones connected to its people and places. 

At Turua Gallery, that same sense of memory and feeling can be found through art. For Savour St Heliers, Melissa has also highlighted a few works that connect beautifully with the theme of food, community, and everyday moments.

Dean Wallace's, Homemade II, immediately speaks to the comfort of something made by hand and close to home. Whereas Georgina Hoby Scutt’s Barcelona Five brings a bold sense of colour and energy, and the work of Sarah Barton-Hills, Archive III, brings a joyful connection to pattern and texture.

Together, these pieces remind us that savouring is not only about what we eat. It is about the atmosphere we create, the memories we hold onto, the art we live with, and the small rituals that make everyday life feel richer.

This August, as Savour St Heliers celebrates local dining and hospitality across the village, Turua Gallery offers another way to savour the season: through art, stories, family, and the beauty of pieces chosen with meaning.

You can explore more from Turua Gallery on their website, https://turuagallery.co.nz/, or visit them in person at 10a Turua Street, St Heliers 1071.