CUISINE GOOD FOOD AWARDS 2019
GOOD FOOD AWARDS 2019
Revealing the winners of our annual awards
THE CUISINE Good Food Guide continues to discover and celebrate all that is good about New Zealand restaurant dining. At the heart of our assessments is the food our chefs conceive, create and serve. After all, food is Cuisine’s core business and it is food stories that entice Cuisine readers to use the Guide as their go-to reference source. It’s the Guide that leads diners to the unique stories about restaurants throughout the country. It’s the Guide that places that food and the stories into the restaurant context and provides a rating on how well it meets the expectations of both a discerning reader and an equally discerning diner.
Compiling the 2019 Guide has been as challenging as in previous years, not least because the bar has been set higher this year to ensure exceptional excellence shines above the rest. We are delighted to have found in Sidart a dining experience that in the last twelve months has morphed from a loose concept into a beautifully crafted, holistic experience that walks diners down a path of high technical quality, creativity, taste and textural innovation and exceptional satisfaction. It is a wonderful example of not standing still but rather finding a point of difference and successfully translating that onto the plate.
We’ve had Vaughan Mabee in our sights for some years and his selection as Chef of the Year is our way of saying he has fine-tuned, remodelled and adjusted until he has the recipe just right. 2019 is his year.
Finally, to the team at Boulcott Street Bistro, we are delighted to recognise your special place in New Zealand’s dining provenance. An outstanding effort and contribution over the years made the accolade of Long-term Player easy to give.
Our congratulations go to all those who made into this year’s Guide. We have acknowledged the best of the year and now invite you to venture out and savour the rest.
KERRY TYACK, LEAD ASSESSOR
THE CONTENDERS FOR THE Cuisine Good Food Awards 2019 were assessed by our experts, all of whom have extensive experience in the food and wine industries. All restaurants were visited anonymously and Cuisine paid for the meals. We offer a huge thank you to all our assessors, particularly lead assessor, Kerry Tyack.
• Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the details given, and we include approximate opening hours and prices as well as contact details. However, we strongly recommend that you contact the restaurant as things can change without notice.
• To be eligible for the awards, restaurants had to have been open for at least two months before assessment, so as to ensure consistency. Note that a significant change of direction during that period ruled a restaurant out of the running. • Within the Cuisine Good Food Guide, our list of New Zealand’s top dining experiences has been split into those restaurants awarded our coveted hats and an additional list of Ones to Watch, restaurants that demonstrate a high standard and are definitely worth a visit. • We have made some adjustments to our scoring and rating for the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2019. Please see our new rating system below. Points are given for food (flavour, technique, innovation, balance), for service (knowledge, care, professionalism), for beverage and beverage service (staff knowledge, pricing, choice) and for ambience (décor, lighting, vibe).