Club’s new restaurant

The husband and wife team behind Polish restaurant Topor, Steve and Valerie Askew, have opened The Yachtsman restaurant at the Mana Cruising Club in Porirua.

The couple have been in the industry more than 20 years. Valerie is a Red Seal executive chef and an alumna of George Brown Culinary School. Steve, a Titahi Bay native, studied hospitality and catering at Whitireia directly after college.

‘‘Almost five years ago, we decided to dip our feet into a restaurant of our own,’’ explains Valerie, who is originally from Ontario, Canada.

‘‘Topor was already a Polish restaurant and was right up my alley as my family are Eastern European.’’

However, their second venture is completely different, with no East- ern Bloc offerings at all. Instead, to allow for more creativity in the kitchen, the menu will be a mix of dishes and not pinned down to one cuisine.

However, Valerie can say among the new plates there will be hints of Western Europe, plenty of seafood and room for some healthier options.

‘‘As a chef, I’m well versed in all kinds of genres and am looking forward to jazzing up a menu that reflects a little of this and a little of that.

‘‘To make some really beautiful dishes you have to add a little bit of Italian, or French or Mediterranean, some kind of influences like that.’’

Examples of dishes include fresh mussels with pasta primavera and a twist on the classic chicken parma, made with a whole breast and oven baked instead of pounded thin and deep fried.