Touch of Bavaria at Brown Butter
Willkommen to Brown Butter Kitchen.
The popular Ohau eatery is bringing a touch of Bavarian cuisine to the menu thanks to new chefs Martin and Anja Wagner who took over in June.
Hailing from Germany the couple is introducing customers to some new taste sensations, as well as providing familiar favourites to satisfy their regular customers — mince and cheese pies, quiche, eggs benedict and filo wraps — as well as continuing Friday fish and chip nights.
They also do BYO wine for a small corkage fee.
“We are providing food people know and love but we still have something else, twists if people are adventurous,” said Martin.
Anja said they have built up a dedicated customer base, one that is steadily growing and includes fans of the couple’s Bavarian cooking from Wellington where they ran a cafe´ in Roseneath for two years.
“We use only quality ingredients and we are really picky with our sausages. We are German after all and we have tried quite a few to get that purity of just meat and spices and nothing else. That for us is a sausage, no other fillings or flavours,” said Anja who is French trained.
“I think people come for the food and the atmosphere. Our best sellers at the moment are the Man Cave breakfasts [grilled lambs fry, black pudding, bacon and mushrooms on garlic bread topped with two poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce] and the chips, which we have been told are the best, but we want to do more Bavarian and German food to hopefully get people eating that on a regular basis.”
Their first two Bavarian Dinner Evenings have both been fully booked and are set to become a regular monthly event at the cafe´ .
The night is complete with German beer, Bavarian music and ‘mein host’ Martin in traditional lederhosen (leather shorts).
“I think it is popular because the food is not so different, not too foreign and good value for money,” said Anja.
While Anja is the head chef, supported by a local chef, Martin (a trained chef) shares some of the food preparation and is a dab hand at scones.
“He does really good scones and I do the cakes,” said Anja.
The couple source as much of their food as locally as possible, in particular vegetables, and buy organic and free range where available, including Fair Trade organic coffee.
Anja said most of the food they prepare is naturally gluten free and it is simply a matter of swapping bread for something else.
She said they are so busy and due to the demand of people wanting to come for dinner they will be closing on Monday and Tuesday from October so they can stay open all day till late on Thursdays to accommodate diners.
“We just need that extra day off because we always want to do the cooking and look after our guests all the time, so it is important we have the energy to maintain our food quality and remain customer focused,” Anja said.
‘We are providing food people know and love but we still have something else, twists if people are adventurous.’