National News> Wild Game Bird Food Festival

Fish & Game NZ Wild Game Bird Food Festival 2007 - Sunday 7 May to Sunday 27 May

The inaugural Fish & Game NZ Wild Game Bird Food Festival last year brought phrases such as duck prosciutto, whole foie gras, pheasant confit and semiboneless quail into New Zealand’s cuisine vocabulary.

This year the festival will further extend New Zealanders’ taste buds with several new award-winning restaurants entering the festival’s exclusive regions lineup - continuing its celebration of wild game birds as a new element of the country’s expanding cuisine and wine reputation.

The 16 restaurants participating - one for each regional city throughout the country – will create a special game bird menu, based on several of the game birds on the hunting list, and select wine matches for the different dishes. To see the menus, click here

The restaurants participating from north to south this year are:

à Deco

70 Kamo Rd, Kensington, Whangarei

PH 09 459 4957

Chef/owner Brenton Low owns the restaurant with business partners Kate James & Dorothy McHattie

BACKGROUND

Brenton Low’s father is a duck hunter and Whangarei is his hometown but he has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Australia, working in a variety of top restaurants.

“In Austria I worked just down the road from a Michelin star restaurant that had fresh game butchery and cooking demonstrations as there was so much interest in local wild game. I established à Deco five years ago so we could create a restaurant that would provide a reasonably priced upper end restaurant in Whangarei, which could hold its own both nationally & locally.”

“We call it ‘Modern NZ’ because we use local ingredients as much as possible and showcase these in an exquisite cuisine complemented by impeccable service in stunning art deco surroundings with a unique ambiance.”

2002/2003 Cuisine Magazine 9/10 “setting a new standard for destination dinning”

2003 Eating Out Restaurant awards – Runner up New Zealand to the Hilton - Best restaurant Northland

2003 Silver medal, NZ Restaurant of the Year at the New Zealand Culinary Fair

2003 & 04 Lace Fine Wine Merchants Wine List of the Year Awards

2004 Eating Out Restaurant awards – Best restaurant Northland

2005 Finalist Cuisine Magazine’s Restaurant of the Year Award

Canvas

Waikato Art Museum

1 Grantham St, Hamilton

PH 07 839 2535

Chef/owner David Kerr with wife and business partner Lisa Kerr

After buying the Waikato Art Museum Café 12 years ago and running it for ten, David Kerr and his wife Lisa completely renovated it, opening a new restaurant CANVAS (lunches Monday to Fridays with dinners Friday and Saturdays) alongside a small Espresso bar.

“We describe our cuisine as ‘Modern NZ’ because it uses local produce as much as possible, infused with Asian and Pacific Rim influences.”

As participants in Monteiths’ Wild Foods Challenge for four years - winning it three times with wild boar, possum and wallaby dishes - Canvas has always been interested in wild game.

“Duck is probably my signature dish, people love it, come back just for it and I always confit it,” says Kerr.

In terms of wines matches, Kerr says their pinot noir range, which is very extensive, will give great matches as their full flavours perfectly accompany game meats. “We have a lot of choice here from moderate through to very expensive.”

Cazador

Dominion Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland

PH 09 620 8730

Owner/chef: Tony Lolaiy

Tony has been creating special dishes for game bird hunters every season for many years. He has owned Cazador for 19 years with several restaurants previously in London as well as working all over Europe.

“ I fell in love with NZ on a family visit, my wife is a New Zealander, and was particularly impressed with its trout fishing, so we went back to London and sold up everything, and I’ve now been here 28 years and have hunted and fished all over the country, as well as working as a hunting and fishing guide to tourists.”

“Our restaurant is especially set up for trout and deep-sea fishers as well as hunters, particularly game bird hunters, as our main cuisine is game with ten different dishes based on this at any time of the year.”

“My son, who is a trained chef, and a keen hunter, now works with me, giving me more time to pursue hunting and fishing. We are very busy, and would turn away about 100 people a week, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights when I tell my son. “

“ I take a lot of pride in game cuisine as it’s not easy to cook – there is a latitude of 2 to 3 minutes and a temperature of 10 degrees in any dish – so you need your wits about you when cooking it. We cannot afford to make a single mistake as we are very proud of what we do here.”

They offer a good selection of wines but also, unusually these days, encourage diners to bring in their favourite wines and only charging corkage.

Bistro 1284

1284 Eruera St, Rotorua

PH 07 346 1284

Chef/owner: Damon McGinniss

Bistro 1284 has won Rotorua’s Best Restaurant all five years it has been open. It has also won the Montana Food & Wine Challenge, & the Beef & Lamb “hallmark of excellence” since opening. Described as Modern NZ food & service, Bistro 1284 won’t disappoint. Their special game bird menu, offers great versatility as to how the bird can be prepared & cooked for the hunter. Bistro 1284 has also selected some fantastic award winning wines to match with the menu, for this special occasion.

Chef/owner Damon McGinniss creates many food and wine presentations, in which he often uses wild meats, both exotic and native, and including four or five courses at any one of these presentations. His training in Wellington’s best restaurants and extensive overseas experience has helped respected status for this chef.

Mortons Winery Restaurant

2389 State Highway 2, RD2 Katikati,

PH 07 552.0795

Morton Estate Wines Ltd 07 552 0620

07.552.0795 (Phone)

07.552.0651 (Fax)

www.mortonestatewines.co.nz

Chef: Carl Sutton

Carl Sutton worked with wild game in his apprenticeship at Huka Lodge in Taupo, and was Australasian Chef of the Year. Two years ago he went back school to train as a cheesemaker.

“Katikati is my home and it’s great to be able to use fresh, local produce like berryfruit, avocados, figs, olives, organic vegetables, venison salami and other game meats,” says Sutton.

Mortons is a winery restaurant owned by Morton Estate Wines. It has a ‘Provencal’ theme using “local foods and flavors as much as possible, but with a slight French twist. And all our dishes have the Heart Foundation’s heart beat tick ...though this is not so with our desserts.”

Game is always popular on the menu, particularly venison, quail, duck and pheasant. Carl has created a menu based on Canada Goose, Duck and Pheasant as they are very plentiful in the Hawkes Bay region.

DIVA Bar & Bistro
Hawkes Bay

Head Chef Michael Hannah

PH 06 8775149
1 Village Court Napier Road, Havelock North

BACKGROUND
Head Chef Michael Hannah
Michael Hannah is an unashamed promoter of Hawke’s Bay farmers, and the region’s amazing array of produce drives his cooking. This connection between chef and the source of his fare is not unknown around the country, but when you’re in the midst of the region that has led food and wine tourism, it’s particularly exciting to find such dedication.

An established watering hole for many years, smack bang in the heart of rather upmarket Havelock North, Diva has taken new directions over the past year with its style more that of a contemporary bistro, it features a tapas and wine bar and the separation of diners and drinkers is a little more emphasized.

Aubergine Restaurant

146 Devon St East, New Plymouth

PH 06 758 6843

Chef/Owner Dustin Horton

Dustin Horton grew up around the restaurants owned by many of his father’s friends, trained as a sommelier (his father has been collecting wine for more than 30 years) and Maitre D’ before he began gravitating towards the kitchen about eight years ago.

Established three years ago by Horton, Aubergine is fine dining - white table clothes and silver cutlery - in a relaxed atmosphere with attentive service. Horton describes its cuisine as “Modern NZ with a strong emphasis on game, including quail, pheasant, duck, venison and even ostrich and kangaroo.”

The game can be difficult to source so Horton goes to a range of suppliers including Easterbrook Farms and Grande Gourmet. “I keep my game dishes to a fairly classical, European style of cooking,” says Horton. “Why mask such great flavours, we can always add more decorative features to the dish with how we present it.”

Aubergine’s wine list is very extensive, ranging from the moderate to the steeply priced ($50 to $800 a bottle) with Horton able to bring from his own cellar that unique wine worth up to $10,000 if called upon to do so.

Hope Bros & Restaurant & Bar

Cnr Dixon & Eva Streets, Wellington

PH 04 801 7126

Owners: Simon van Praag and Jason Pearce (head chef)

Opened two years ago van Praag describes Hope Bros as a Bar/Restaurant with a focus on beer and New Zealand wines and a cuisine which is NZ (old world cuisine) with a contemporary spin. It won the Monteiths Wild Food Challenge for Wellington in 2005. “ We take wild food seriously, my business partner Jason embraced it after being involved with the challenge at the Occidental Bar.”

‘Although we are not a wild foods restaurant we do enjoy using them to a degree, and our chefs enjoy sourcing such unique items as Pikipiko, a miniature punga fern, or Kura, our freshwater crayfish.”

“ We get a diverse range of customers depending on the time of day or evening, and our bar which has live music on Wednesday nights which draws a loyal crowd. We recently recorded singer Deva Mahal (Taj Mahal’s daughter) here.”

Bacchus

3 Main St, Blenheim

PH 03 578 8099

Chef/owner Marcel Rood

Award winning Bacchus was established in 1991 as Corral before being revamped seven years ago in the ‘Provencal-style’ with an intimate atmosphere and rich décor. “It is like an alley-way restaurant in any provincial French town,” says owner/chef Marcel who trained in the Netherlands before working extensively in the Amsterdam region.

“We have always used local ingredients, at the moment we are using fresh figs, and we try to have game most times of the year, which we buy from Premium Game Meats.

“Wild game certainly requires different cooking techniques than farm-raised, which has a lot more fat. I tend to bring a little fat into its cooking, but each game bird requires a different treatment.”

“For example, goose is drier, pheasant is softer and duck a redder, fuller meat. For wines to go with these, I will be suggesting a pinot noir with pheasant as I’ll probably cook it with a fruity sauce; and a deep Cabernet Sauvignon with duck.”

The restaurant’s wine list includes Corban’s ‘Cottage Block’ varieties (now owned by Montana).

Saltwater Café & Bar

272 Wakefield Quay, Nelson

PH 03 548 3361

Chef Manfred Dax

Saltwaters is set on the harbour overlooking the Tasman Bay with mountains clearly visible 30 miles distant. Chef Manfred Dax says this gives it an inevitable nautical atmosphere, however its cuisine is contemporary international.

“We use local fresh produce whenever possible, which means our menu changes frequently as it’s very much based on what we can create from the best freshest ingredients available at the time.

“Of course, we also always serve a good range of seafood, which we complement with beef and lamb dishes as well as such exotic fare as ostrich and emu steaks.”

The restaurant uses one main wine supplier to put together a very extensive wine list, with an emphasis on the superb wines produced by local wineries.

Le Bon Bolli

Opposite Art Gallery, Central City Christchurch

PH 03 374 9444

Chef & co-owner Phillip Kraal with Helen Kraal

The most awarded restaurant in Christchurch, Le Bon Bolli Restaurant is themed to turn of the century Paris and features an exciting, cozy brasserie down stairs with an elegant fine dining restaurant up stairs. The multi award-winning Le Bon Bolli Restaurant is open daily from 6pm. Simply translated, Le Bon Bolli means ‘A love of fine food and wine’.

1996 Pride In Print Gold Medal

1997 / 98 South Island Restaurant Of The Year Winner

1997 / 98 New Zealand Restaurant Of The Year Nation Winner

1998 Corbans Wine And Food Challenge Best Brasserie

1998 Corbans Wine And Food Challenge Best Speciality Restaurant

1998 Corbans Wine And Food Challenge Overal Winner

1999 / 00 South Island Restaurant Of THe Year Winner

2000 / 01 South Island Barista Of The Year Winner

2001 / 02 South Island Restaurant Of The Year Runner Up

2003 South Of The South New Zealand Seafood Chef Of The Year

2003 / 04 Regional Winner Montana Wine And Food Challenge

2003 / 04 National Montana Wine And Food Challenge

Le Monde Restaurant

64 The Bay Hill, Timaru

PH 03 6888 550

Chef Lindsay Bennett

Lindsay Bennett, who has cooked at the Park Royal in Queenstown, was awarded NZ Chef in 2004-2005 - a three year event competition - and is also the recipient of several NZ Beef & Lamb Hallmark of Excellence awards

The restaurant’s Bay Hill location gives it wonderful, panoramic views of the sea.

Le Monde loosely translated means the world and the restaurant’s cuisine reflects this by using NZ produce - such as farm-raised quail and duck from Canter Valley Farms, sea farmed salmon from Ankara, and wild pork and wild smoked eel - combined with flavors from around the world.

Its wine list is a carefully sourced cellar selection put together by a local boutique supplier and changed every six weeks with varieties not always readily available to the public. A dinner is priced at around $150.00 per couple.

Bennett expects they will be looking at “Big Reds’” to go with the duck and goose dishes.

Café de Paris

19 Tancred St, Hokitika

PH 03-755 8933

Co-owner Frenchman Pierre Esquilat with his Kiwi wife Joy

“French Cuisine with a Kiwi Accent”.

2004 Regional Winner – Huhtamaki Best Café Awards.

Pierre Esquilat was born in Paris and immigrated to Australia where he met his wife Joy. They returned to the West Coast, Joy’s home, and have been here for 20 years bringing a touch of Paris to Hokitika, with Cafe de Paris the most notable eating institution in the city for more than 12 years. Described as “French Cuisine with a Kiwi Accent” it was 2004 Regional Winner in the Hutamaki Best Café Awards.

The restaurant serves lighter meals with some sinfully scrumptious desserts during the day, while evening brings candlelight and richer dishes such as wild pig baked with mushroom, onion and red wine.

Millhouse Restaurant

Arrowtown

PH 03 441 7000 ext 7110

The Millhouse Restaurant offers fine cuisine in a spectacular location. Its menu features a divine blend of classic European concepts and modern New Zealand fare. This is complemented by an extensive wine list, including some of Central Otago’s best as well as selected wines from around the world. Whether dining alfresco by the Millpond in summer or by the roaring open fire in winter, the Millhouse is the perfect location for an intimate meal with friendly service to match.

Head chef Mark recently arrived in New Zealand from the 5 star deluxe Landmark Hotel in London. “We are very excited to have this talented young chef at Millbrook”, says Pam Forster, Food and Beverage Services Manager. “He has created menu items for the festival that sit very comfortably alongside his new winter restaurant menu.”

“Mark is also very happy to meet with the hunter and discuss specific requests and ideas. He has incorporated a selected of game products into his winter menu and is inspired by the rich flavours of our local produce.”

High Tide Restaurant

29 Kitchener St, Dunedin

PH 03 477 9784

Chef/Owner Mark Lane

High Tide has a stunning setting on the harbour’s edge with magnificent views. It specializes in an innovative cuisine using fresh local ingredients with a balance of beef, lamb, seafood, whitebait, muttonbird and game dishes. Head chef and owner Mark Lane is also interested in exploring classic French cooking methods such as braising, confit (preserving in fat) and pastry dishes such as pithiviers & raised game pies.

The restaurant has won the Beef & Lamb Hallmark of Excellence Award every year since 1999, and was voted most popular B.Y.O restaurant by the NZ Wine Society in 2003-2004. Its wine list is comprehensive, including Central Otago wines and a good range of beers, including Emersons and Monteiths. Mark has also won the Monteiths Wild Food Challenge regionals for the best individual food & beer match three years running, the overall regional award in 2003 and 2005 and the national award in 2005. The challenge combines his twin passions - hunting and cooking game birds and deer.

Louie's Cafe & Bar

142 Dee St, Invercargill

PH 03 214 2913

Owners Justin & Jillian Clayton

Opened eight years ago, with new owners Justin Clayton and Jillian Clayton buying it two years ago, Louie’s Café & Bar caters for locals and visitors, offering a relaxed and memorable atmosphere. Its European style recycled wood interior, complimented by its large open fireplace and courtyard creates a stylish and intimate setting. It offers an extensive range of cafe style cuisine, including farmed game.

It matches its meals with an impressive range of wines from Central Otago and beyond as well as a range of popular brews including local Invercargill beers.