Last Tuesday, a group of Washington, D.C. middle school students took a trip to New Zealand, learning, cooking and eating.       The students were part of A Taste of New Zealand at the Blair House, the President's guesthouse. The event was hosted by USA Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Capricia Marshall, and featured the New Zealand Ambassador to the United States, the Right Honorable Michael Moore.     Ambassador Moore was also previously the Prime Minister of New Zealand. New Zealand is an island in the South Pacific near Australia. It's composed of, as Ambassador Moore joked, around 4.5 million people and 40 million sheep. It also has nice multi-cultural food and traditions, which the students experienced firsthand.     The local students were joined by kids from the New Zealand embassy and they all got their hands messy cooking some of the favorite dishes in New Zealand. The menu included lamb chops, fish and chips, and a Kiwi-style vegetarian mini-pie.      The food was delicious and beautifully crafted with some help from the Blair House chief cooks and a special guest cooks from a New Zealand-style restaurant in Washington.      For dessert, there were several delicious things to choose from. But what stood out from the rest was the Pavlova, a treat made with fruit and others. Not only was the Pavlova nice to look at, but it's also a dish with some controversy. Peter Macaulay, an adviser to the Embassy of New Zealand who attended with his two children, Brianna and Fraser, cheerfully explained why the Pavlova was so controversial. Named after a Russian ballet dancer who visited the country in 1927, the Pavlova was created by the New Zealanders in honor of their special guest. The hullabaloo started when the dancer was honored with the same exact dish when she visited Australia. Ever since, a friendly competition has carried on over which country should take credit for originating the dessert.  "We say that we did. And I would stick with our story!" said Ambassador Moore, when asked about the dish. A Taste of New Zealand was the fourth place in a series designed to highlight the unique cultures of select nations around the world. Like previous events, it was fun, enlightening, and delicious! From the passage, we can infer that  _  .
raising sheep is a big business in New Zealand New Zealanders each have more than 10 sheep sheep are what New Zealanders live on Pavlova was a special guest to Australia for a ballet performance