Michelin’s first guide in Oceania, which came out last month, highlights 110 must-visit restaurants in Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch, New Zealand.Christchurch NZ/Supplied
Drive the backroads in Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand, and you’ll soon understand why the food tastes so good. Rural roads pass paddock after paddock of grass-grazing sheep, cattle and deer, or maybe it’s row after row of orchards and vineyards. Roadside markets lure locals and visitors year round. Supermarkets are full of fruits and vegetables that are almost all grown on the North or South islands. Is it any wonder that New Zealand has become a culinary playground for ambitious chefs – and that Michelin found 110 restaurants to highlight in its new guide.
All aboard New Zealand’s scenic South Island trains
On June 30, Michelin launched its first guide in Oceania. The French culinary kingmaker was lured down under by New Zealand tourism for a reported NZ$6.3-million ($5.1-million) to help boost tourism. (Australia is not far behind. South Australia paid for a Michelin team to rank the state’s restaurants, that guide is expected next month.)
Acclaimed New Zealand chef Peter Gordon admits he’s not a big fan of the Michelin guides and no longer runs a restaurant but he understands the stakes. Michelin rankings announce to the world that a restaurant scene has “matured” simply because it’s being judged, he says.
“We spend so much money on sports promotions and tourism promotions and so to actually finally have some money being spent on our hospitality sector in this way is great,” Gordon said.
Michelin awarded one two-star ranking (to Essence in Queenstown, South Island), 14 restaurants received one-star and 35 others grabbed Bib Gourmand awards (considered good food at good value). Sixty other notable places to dine were also included but not ranked.
“There are people I know, many people I know, who just travel the world to go to a Michelin star restaurant,” Gordon added.
Part of the appeal for fine diners he says, is the “lovely casualness” of New Zealand restaurant service. “We don’t do pompous very well here,” he said.
The biggest problem Gordon has is that the guide only focused on four cities – Auckland and Wellington on the North Island and Queenstown and Christchurch on the South Island.
“The Michelin Guide New Zealand is not the best restaurants in New Zealand … Some of the best restaurants in the country are not in those regions.”
Everything on Inati’s menu shows off New Zealand’s finest.Inati/Supplied
Not that local foodies really needed the legendary guide to tell them where to eat well. “I have my favourite places around the country, which is something that’ll probably never change whether they’re Michelin rated or not,” said Sahra Grinham, a guide with Fine Art Tours in Christchurch. “Local knowledge, as we all know, is always the best recommendation!”
I met Grinham on a food tour in Christchurch a few weeks before the Michelin guide was announced. On our way to the market, we walked past Inati, much loved by local gourmands for upping the culinary game when it opened in 2017. (Michelin just awarded it one star.)
I mentioned how much I enjoyed dinner there the night before. We let the chefs choose our six-plate tasting menu, and since everything on it – even the wine list (Champagne excluded) – shows off New Zealand’s finest, I figured we couldn’t go wrong. We sat at the bar and chatted with the chefs as they worked about the food, about the city, about feijoa, a favourite local fruit. Delicate creations appeared before us: crispy and creamy duck confit cones, savoury beef tartare with egg yolk jam and smoked wagyu fat, each course highlighting the earth, land or sea. We laughed. We ate, someone got us feijoa to try. Pompous it was not.
Grinham explained that Christchurch chefs make good use of nearby North Canterbury farms, vineyards, gardens and coastlines – the area is often called the country’s food basket – even its truffle farms are getting noticed outside Oceania.
Driving through rural roads on the South Island, you will likely spot grass-grazing sheep, cattle and deer.Christchurch NZ/Supplied
On the drive into Christchurch, and throughout the South Island, I passed so many sheep and cattle and deer grazing on plains, escarpments and mountain ranges. The large farms, called stations here, and grass-only diet make the meat much tastier and result in valuable exports. When Grinham heard I’d not yet had a Pacific oyster, we wandered over to the downtown Riverside Market to buy a couple as big as my palm. I slurped these briny, chewy delights before starting in on hefty slabs of King Pacific salmon she also picked up. When I made a face upon hearing it was farmed, Grinham laughed, “Oh, this is not your farmed Atlantic fish.” Nearby salmon farms operate in some of the world’s cleanest alpine waters, she said as she handed over chopsticks, which is one reason the marbled, orangey pink slices taste so, so good.
Seafood naturally plays into Oceanic cuisines and one of the big winners of the New Zealand guide was chef Henry Onesemo, who channels his Samoan heritage through fine dining in Auckland. Tala is the first Samoan restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star.
Chef Henry Onesemo channels his Samoan heritage through his restaurant, Tala.Catherine Dawson March/Supplied
Earlier this year, Time magazine named Tala one of the world’s 100 greatest places to visit. So I made a point of heading over, wandering through Auckland’s neighbourhoods as I walked off jet lag. Tala, which means story in Samoan, is a 20-seat eatery tucked into an alley off tony Parnell Road. Each dish is based on the chef’s childhood memories. Staff present starters such as chili-coated pineapple, cold smoked green apple juice and panikeke, a Samoan pancake coated in yeasted butter and filled with local mushrooms and cheeses, while spinning its Onesemo origin story. It’s fancy but it’s also fun and I was encouraged to eat with my hands like Onesemo would have done as a child.
“The best meal I had last year was at Tala,” chef Gordon told me later. “It was a really fascinating restaurant. It’s his story and it was just incredible. He deserves everything that’s come his way.”
One of the most satisfying local foods I ate in New Zealand, however, was also the cheapest. The cheese roll is an only-on-the-South-Island snack. “We call it southern sushi,” Grinham grinned when she ordered it for me in Christchurch. What arrived was a slice of white bread covered with cheese and savoury herbs that had been rolled and toasted till the cheese melted. It was a far cry from the fine dining I’d been enjoying but it was tasty – and no less fun.
While the guide highlights notable eateries, local foodies will always tell you where exactly to eat well.Christchurch NZ/Supplied
If you go
The best way to get a handle on how yummy New Zealand and Pacifica cuisine can be is by booking a food tour.
Fine Art Tours offer private, bespoke exploring for couples and small groups with savvy local and mature guides in four cities: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Half-day tours from NZ$439 a person. finearttours.nz
The Big Foody Food Tours run small group tours in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. In Auckland, eat your way through the chic neighbourhood of Ponsonby with stops at brewpubs, Asian eateries and fantastic cafes. Three hour tours from NZ$225 a person. thebigfoody.com
The writer received support from Tourism New Zealand for transportation, dining and hotels. It did not review or approve this article. Stories are based on merit; The Globe does not guarantee coverage.