Jan and Stephen run Breakers Boutique Accommodation at Nine Mile Creek, north of Greymouth.
In collaboration with their faithful fur team, Ansel who is Head of Security and Food Waste Management and Emma who is their head of Entertainment and Mental Well-being, they came up with their choice of pie for the West Coast Pie Company Pie Challenge.
Black mussels steamed in Monteiths Golden Apple Cider with Blackball Black Garlic and Wild Game Smokey Bacon with fresh tarragon and flat leaf parsley with a touch of Westgold Butter and a dash of fresh cream and you have your Strongman Mine Black Gold – Mussel, Cider & Smokey Bacon Pie.
Ansel and Emma are an integral part of the Breakers team, always on their mat in the kitchen overseeing the cooking process, ensuring quality control is kept to a high standard and sampling ingredients (fit for fur team members), to ensure freshness and quality. Jan is aways eager to try new recipes and Stephen is the taste tester, having a good understanding of what flavours work and not being afraid to think a little outside the norm.
Everyone helps in the vegetable garden, the furry ones sometimes a little too eagerly, helping themselves to the broccoli and cauliflower, digging up the potatoes and stealing the strawberries. Part of Stephen’s role as Property Technician is sorting netting for the vege garden boxes and a gate across the greenhouse to keep the fruit and veges safe from our 4-legged team members – as much as we value their quality control.
Ansel and Emma are also keen to get out on the mussel beds at Nine Mile and check on stocks and quality. They often do some sampling of the mussels, fresh off the rocks.
The West Coast was founded on gold and coal and the Strongman Mine is a stalwart of coal mining on the West Coast. The mine has been in operation since 1938, originally state owned and more recently owned by local company Birchfield Coal Mines. Coal from Strongman has always been known as black gold due to its monetary value as high-quality coking coal.
Black mussels litter the West Coast coastline. Monteiths Country and Westgold signage dot the highways of the West Coast and their products are well known both locally and internationally. Blackball produces some stunning Black Garlic and using smokey wild game bacon keeps the West Coast Pie Company wild game pie theme in check, as well as complimenting the flavor of the mussels.
The inspiration for Breakers Boutique Accommodation pie challenge entry is its location. Breakers is ideally situated opposite the Strongman Mine entrance and at the bottom of the hill from the Strongman Mine Memorial and Lookout – overlooking the black sand of Nine Mile Beach, out to Mussel Point and its abundance of black mussels adorning the rockpools and affording some fabulous West Coast golden sunsets – thus Strongman Mine Black Gold Pie.
West Coast Pie Company Pie Challenge – Strongman Mine Black Gold – Mussel, Cider & Smokey Bacon Pie.
