A Spring Leek Focaccia at Walter Peak with Hercules Noble

On the surface, it’s a simple focaccia, bread, leeks, herbs. Look closer and it becomes a snapshot of Walter Peak High Country Farm, and the working relationship between farm, garden, and kitchen. 

This story follows that connection from soil to plate: how the kitchen garden shapes the menu, how the kitchen responds to the seasons, and how Hercules Noble and Walter Peak's Head Executive Chef Will Eaglesfield teamed up to create a spring leek focaccia that brings those elements together.

The garden, where it all begins

At Walter Peak, the kitchen garden adds a touch of seasonality to every meal. Harvests of seasonal produce including tomatoes, courgettes, and sugar snap peas find their way into fresh salads, fritters, and delicious pickles in the Walter Peak Garden to Table Experience. Local producers like Cherry Tree Orchards and Nevis Gardens supply the rest of the ingredients for the menu, helping shape dishes that reflect the flavours of the high country, fresh, local, and rooted in the season.

The Kitchen, flavours shaped by the season

Executive Chef Will Eaglesfield has crafted the menu around the season’s peak flavours. Walter Peak Gourmet BBQ Dining showcases Lake Ōhau Wagyu beef, Walter Peak lamb, Fiordland venison, Bluff monkfish, and Southland free-range chicken, alongside vibrant vegetables from the garden. Breads, sauces, dips, and desserts are all designed to highlight what’s freshest from the summer garden.

This spring leek focaccia captures the essence of Walter Peak’s garden-to-table approach. Slow-fermented dough, gently softened leeks, and fresh herbs come together in a dish that’s rustic, comforting, and deeply connected to place.

Spring Leek Focaccia

Gently mix until all the flour is hydrated. Do not knead.

Rest for 90 minutes, stretching and folding the dough every 30 minutes (3 times in total).

Cover with a damp towel and pop in the fridge until bedtime.

Before going to sleep, remove your dough and let it sit at room temperature overnight. 8-10 hours. The dough will slowly ferment.

The next morning your dough will be light and fluffy. You can use it right away or keep it in the fridge for 12 hours until you’re ready to use it.

Top and tail your leeks, split them down the middle, and coat in garlic, olive oil, and salt n pepper. Now gently fry on an oven safe pan or tray on medium heat for about 10 minutes to slowly soften.

Then add some herbs of your choice. We used thyme and rosemary. And gently, using wet or oiled hands to avoid sticking, lower your dough over the top of the leeks. Continue to cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes before flipping the dough out onto another oiled pan at least the same size or bigger. The leeks should detach nice and easily, having had 20 minutes to cook.

Now, cook for 10 minutes on medium heat before adding to an oven at 180c for 15 minutes to complete the cooking.

Remove the bread from the pan and allow to rest ideally on a wire rack to avoid sweating. Wait at least an hour to avoid stodgy dough.  Optionally, garnish with your favourite butter or crème fraîche and herbs. 

In spring and summer, the garden comes alive. Fresh herbs and vegetables, berries, and stone fruit are picked at their peak, bringing colour, freshness, and a sense of season to every meal. These ingredients form the heart of the Garden to Table experience, where food reflects not just flavour, but place.

This recipe was created in collaboration with Hercules Noble and RealNZ.