Honours to restaurants

Press, 15 September 1988, Page 4

Honours to restaurants

By

MAVIS AIREY

Floods and blocked

roads failed to prevent a Hokitika chef, Sandy Smith, from gaining a Taste New Zealand award for her restaurant yesterday. She was one of six Canterbury, Aorangi and Westland restaurateurs awarded plaques recognising the quality of their food and service. None the worse for her five-hour drive, but worried about the state of the whitebait fritters she had brought for other guests to sample, she arrived at the investiture ceremony at the Christchurch Civic Offices just as the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, was presenting the awards.

At one stage, after taking several detours which ended at a newly formed lake, she had turned back and was almost home when a radio report encouraged her to set off once more. Undeterred this time by slips and one-way traffic, she crossed the Alps, passing the steering wheel to her mother while she changed into more glamorous clothes along the West Coast Road towards Christchurch. The restaurants honoured were the Tasman View Restaurant at the Southland Hotel, Hokitika; the Waitangi Restaurant at Noahs Hotel, and Scarborough Fare, in Christchurch; La Rue, at Akaroa; the Rimuwhare Restaurant, at Fairlie; and

the Caroline Restaurant at the Grosvenor Hotel, Timaru. Fifty-five awards were made nationally from about 80 applicants. The presentations were made at simultaneous ceremonies in five regional centres. Although all the Canterbury award winners could be classified as formal restaurants, the campaign aims to recognise quality at all price levels. A roadside cafe in a small town, several motel restaurants, an art gallery restaurant, and family eating places were among those that received awards. The Taste New Zealand campaign was initiated by the Tourist and Publicity Department earlier this year to raise the image of

distinctively New Zealand food and to encourage restaurateurs to feature it more prominently. According to Sue McLeary, of the Food and Beverage Exporters’ Council, who serves on the Taste New Zealand Board, tourists who have had a “good food experience” in New Zealand are five times more likely to buy New Zealand products when .they get home. The awards go some way to meeting criticisms of the campaign’s restaurant directory, which merely lists establishments that have agreed to make a special feature of New Zealand fare. Restaurants applying for the awards were anonymously assessed for

the quality of their food, wine, and service; recipients will be highlighted in future editions of the directory. While some assessors commented on over-gen-erous helpings, many were impressed by the “caring, friendly and sharing” sort of service they received. Mr Jon Hellmrich, who began Tiffanys restaurant in Christchurch and now runs the Rimuwhare Restaurant at Fairlie, says he believes the award will create interest among diners and encourage them to try the featured New Zealand dishes. Sandy Smith also feels the award will attract customers to her Hokitika restaurant,