A Year at Awakino Station

A collection of family-friendly recipes and a slice of history from one of New Zealand's most spectacular working farms.

Set amongst the breathtaking landscape of North Otago, A Year At Awakino Station encourages you to slow down, live alongside the land and embrace the seasons. Join Jaz Mathisen, her partner Dan Devine and their three young daughters as they farm Awakino Station the third generation to do so.

As the station cook, Jaz knows that a warm meal at the kitchen table or opening a tin of baking makes all the difference to a busy day. From carving a roast mutton to serving a fruit tart bursting with summer produce, or stocking up the pantry shelves with homemade preserves, this book welcomes you into the heart of their historic Kurow homestead.

Home to generations of farmers, spanning from the back-breaking days of the early pioneers to now, the 18,500 acres of Awakino Station are also home to fine wool sheep, cattle and deer. Deeply passionate about running a sustainable farming business, Jaz and Dan share the belief that while they are the current managers of Awakino, they are only the custodians for the next generation.

A Year At Awakino Station invites you to pull up a chair to the kitchen table as Jaz shares more than 30 of her favourite recipes and cooks her way through the seasons on one of New Zealand's most spectacular working farms.

About the Author

Jaz Mathisen is the station cook for Awakino station, a historical homestead in North Otago's Kurow. Jaz is the mother of three young daughters and the partner to Dan Devine, who is the second generation of his family to run the Awakino farm (fun fact: Dan is the farmer that discovered Shrek the sheep all those years ago!). Jaz has built up a strong social media presence with her recipes and homesteading tips, designed for busy people and young mums. She's a big believer in seasonal growing, cooking and eating the book has plenty of practical tips for each of these topics.

Chlöe Lodge is the photographer, who is based in the UK but was settled in Kurow for a few years with her young children living next door to Jaz meant that the two were able to capture a full year at Awakino, allowing the book to be split into seasons and every type of weather to be captured on the historic homestead.