Gourmet Guide by Jo Blennerhassett of The Good Food Trading Co.

Aromatics is a Hawke's Bay company that makes a range of handmade cooking sauces and condiments.

Noel Corbett launched Aromatics at the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market and from there grew his range of handmade products.

All of the condiments and sauces are batch brewed in small amounts with fresh seasonal ingredients. My favourite has been his smoked mushroom range, which has so many fabulous uses!

The wine barrel mushrooms in particular, which are found in our deli, are the perfect marriage of wine, mushrooms and the aromatic smoke of Manuka and wine barrel oak that create this unique and totally natural product.

Aromatics mushrooms are delicious alone, as antipasto, sliced through a salad, on pizza and panini or tossed through pasta with garlic and cream. They go well in a tomato sauce for pasta.

A great addition to a risotto, either in the rice or sliced thinly over the top, or try their Magical Mushroom Essence as a little counterpoint sauce around the outside to add a bit of pizzazz.

Use them as a subtle addition in a stuffing for chicken breasts or as an all-out assault on a good piece of beef. Simply heat and toss with a good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. These babies have enough presence to carry themselves without further embellishments. A little goes a long way!

Come and see us at The Good Food Trading Company, 35 MacDonald Street, Mount Maunganui, for the full range of Aromatics products and try the wine barrel mushrooms added to your favourite chicken pie recipe for a delicious Sunday family meal this weekend.