5 June 2015

AN INVITATION TO THE WORLD'S BEST 50

The World’s Best 50 Restaurants have just been announced and surprise, surprise! There’s not a single New Zealand restaurant on the list, which is actually the top one hundred, despite the name of the awards.

It doesn’t even matter whether anyone here thinks this was predictable, or alternately is asking why, when we have some of the finest ingredients and the most flavoursome wine in the world today, did judges miss some likely contenders from around New Zealand?

The answer is simple. Nobody even considered New Zealand, and we probably do not have a single judge residing here, amongst the 1000 chefs, food writers, critics and gourmands who decide the results. And the laughable criteria, that nominating judges have to have been to the restaurants they choose in the past eighteen months, yet do not have to produce receipts, is very suspect given the size of the gourmet and culinary world. Sponsors go to great lengths to get contributing judges to special promotional events staged in the restaurants of top contenders for the list. In other words, freebie eating for the judges to ensure the restaurant gets on the list.

There’s lots of other criticism floating around at present, but I want to be positive and to suggest a few New Zealand contenders that I would put forward if I were a judge. (Disclosure; I was a judge five years ago but was dropped without even the courtesy of a thank you note from the judge who co-ordinated and chaired the Australasia and the Pacific region. And I have eaten in a mere 16 of the current Best 100.) So here goes. Judges around the world take note!

The French Café; Everyone involved in this restaurant strives to make everything perfect all the time, from the warmth of the dining room, the kitchen courtyard with its fabulous vegetable and herb garden and beehives, the exemplary service and of course Simon Wright’s fabulous food. It is food that does not challenge diners but is perfectly sculpted, totally seasonal and tastes of the finest fare our country has to offer. It sets the standard that everyone else aspires to. There’s no doubt this is our very best restaurant.

Meredith’s: A tiny place with the biggest heart. Michael Meredith has something unique – a deep understanding of our place in the South Pacific and there’s not another chef in the world who comes close to the standard, inventiveness and the sheer daring that he exhibits in incorporating the Pacific into his food. Service is immaculate to match the food experience and you have to admire his reaching out to less fortunate through his STEM nights and now the Eat My Lunch initiative.

Sidart; The unique juxtaposition between Sid Sahrawat’s understanding of Indian cuisine and the spices and flavours of fresh New Zealand ingredients make every dinner at his flagship restaurant Sidart an adventure of taste, texture and flavour. It is an exciting hidden gem, tucked away in an almost suspect arcade in Ponsonby, but once through the door, the views over the city, the comfort of the room and the superb friendly and professional service make this a unique choice.

Pacifica; I ate a meal there about three weeks ago and it is one of the high points of my eating adventures of recent times. Jeremy Rameka manages to distil the very essence of New Zealand onto every plate of food. At $50 for a five course degustation of seafood this has to be the very best value on the planet, bar none! A beautifully thought through meal and I enjoyed tastes of kina cream, spiced coconut creamed paua, squid, mussel, local black pudding, pickled tuatuas and more. It is worth a journey to Napier in Hawkes Bay from anywhere on the planet.

There are many others that I love; Al Brown’s Depot, Fleur’s at Moeraki on the North Otago coast, several fine winery restaurants, and of course the wonderfully casual Fishbone in Queenstown. The last mentioned is another not-to-be-missed experience for where else can you get crays or Bluffs in the shell, live from the tank, or the most perfect fish and chips? I hope the Best 50 judges climb down from their fancy-schmancy views and come and try real food in a country that produces some of the world’s best dairy, meat and seafood, and experience our innovation and passion.

(pic above; The French Cafe's Whitebait Sandwich - who knew about this speciality of New Zealand? A whitebait soufflé tucked between slices of the nation's favourite fried white bread.)