GREAT ESCAPE
New Zealand’s Wairarapa region may well be its best-kept secret.
It’s a late mid-week afternoon and tables outside the timber pub in Martinborough are full and across the road, the pretty Cool Change café is still serving coffees. Located in the heart of the Wairarapa region, the village is just over an hour’s drive from Wellington. This part of New Zealand is beautiful, think rolling green hills dotted with sheep, pristine creeks and outstanding vineyards.
Further south, and a little over 40 minutes’ drive from Martinborough, is the extraordinary Wharekauhau Country Estate. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and set on 1200 hectares, this is not your usual country lodge. Paying homage to the area’s rich agriculture, it relies on its own produce and local suppliers for its unique menus created by executive chef Marc Soper. “Cooking on a working farm surrounded by native bush and the ocean gives me so much creativity,” says Soper. “It’s a really succinct way to reflect on the incredible environment we are in.”
Local lamb, beef, creek-caught eel, duck eggs from the nearby market, abalone from the foreshore and produce from the kitchen gardens could all be featured on any given day.
For Soper, who has cooked in kitchens around the world, the opportunity to work in the Wairarapa region resonates with his passion for quality, local produce and a desire for his four children to have a country upbringing.
“I love a place where the locals open their doors to you when you meet them,” he says.“this region is very much a food basket. It’s fantastic seeing visitors enjoying great wine, and hearing amazing stories from our producers.”
“Better still, there’s world-class restaurants here with meals created by chefs like me who are passionate about interpreting the land through food.”