Blending travel, skill and passion
If you remember cafe´ s like Faces, In Vino Fides and Cafe´ Max, you will know exactly where the Hardy St Eatery is. Since opening in the early 1990s as Faces Cafe´ , the premises has been home to a number of food businesses, some more successful than others. Now the owners of Hardy St Eatery have brought fresh energy and a new vision to this perfect location.
James Rutherford and Louise Morten quietly opened the doors a couple of weeks ago, after a full interior refresh. James told me they wanted to open the business in a way they could manage it without huge staff overheads during winter, and so they could iron out the usual teething issues any new business has before opening for dinner in the summer months.
This measured approach comes from many years of experience in hospitality and management. Louise comes from a government head office background, while James has cooked all around the world.
‘‘I am the office lady doing the stuff behind the scenes so James can focus on his passion of cooking. We are just working to our strengths,’’ Louise says.
So why move from Wellington to Nelson? James says they wanted to move their young family away from the capital.
‘‘I grew up on a high country station in North Canterbury, so we wanted to get away from city life and be somewhere we can enjoy the outdoors and be a part of a smaller community. Both Louise and I have family close by, and having the top of the south on our doorstep, it was an easy decision to make.’’
James moved from North Canterbury to Christchurch in his teenage years and started cooking at All Bar One on Christchurch’s Oxford Terrace. After leaving school, he started a winemaking certificate at Christchurch Polytechnic.
‘‘Mum and Dad wanted to get me a job on a vineyard, but soil science was a bit much for a young kid who just wanted to cook, so I swapped to the chefs’ course at polytech.’’
After that, he headed overseas, working at McClay St Bistro in Potts Point, Sydney for a couple of years before spending 12 months in Tokyo on his way to London, where he worked at The Sugar Club of Peter Gordon fame.
‘‘The Sugar Club was fantastic for me, it introduced me to many new ingredients and I felt I really started to understand the relationship between growers, suppliers and the kitchen and how important these relationships are to be able to get the best possible product on the plate.’’
James spent 12 months there, then worked on super yachts for eight years, sailing through the Mediterranean and Caribbean and across the Pacific.
‘‘It was a wonderful experience. You are exposed you to so many different cuisines and the best produce in the world. You get pretty spoiled, but it does come with pressure to deliver.’’
Louise managed to lure James back to Wellington, where they lived for five years before moving to Nelson.
‘‘I worked at Capital in Wellington as the sous chef for about a year and then on to the iconic Nikau Cafe´ for a couple of years, before finishing up my stint in Wellington at Revive Espresso, a very busy cafe´ and roastery in Petone.’’
When the couple decided to move to Nelson, they decided that rather than working for someone, they wanted to have a crack at their own business, ‘‘so it was one of those situations of being in the right place at the right time when Cafe´ Max came up for sale’’.
‘‘A few weeks later, we had a contract, so packed up and moved, Madeline was born seven days later.’’
James and Louise have found some fantastic staff. Andrew Clancey, who runs the front of house, owned his own two-hat restaurant just out of Melbourne for many years. And I was delighted to see a very familiar face – Mylene, who used to own La Gourmandise with her husband. Miho, also from La Gourmandise, is alongside James in the kitchen.
James told me his approach to cooking is to have the utmost respect for the ingredients and using what is local where possible, as well as sticking to the seasons. ‘‘This is not only beneficial for optimum flavour but also great business practice.’’
They prepare everything in-house except the bread, and want the food to be simple and honest, tasty and without any pretension.
Hardy St Eatery uses Revive Coffee from Petone, where James used to work. He says while it is getting a reputation as a lunchtime dining establishment, it is open from 8am for people who want breakfast or just a coffee and scone or doughnut. ‘‘The doughnuts, made using a recipe from the two-Michelin Star St John’s in London, are beautifully light and delicious.’’
They have also created a small dining area at the back of the premises for private dining, work meetings, luncheons and private functions.
‘‘We wanted to get away from city life and be somewhere we can enjoy the outdoors and be a part of a smaller community.’’