Forever fresh
Deanne and Chris Sara may not have started their Stewart Island adventure together, but since 2012 they’ve been cooking up a storm from their restaurant, Church Hill, on top of the bay. Chef Deanne bought the early-1900s holiday home in 1999 but it took more than a decade (and meeting Chris) before her dream of running a restaurant became a possibility. “We’d been going back and forward between the island and Christchurch before deciding to take it on together. We bought an old van, packed our lives up and moved down. Nothing else mattered – we were together, starting an adventure and we would make it work.”
And they have. Honouring home-grown and homemade ingredients is the key. Blue cod, muttonbird (tītī), whitebait, green-lipped mussels, salmon and pāua – if it’s in season, it’s probably on the menu. “The produce here is fantastic,” says Chris, “and buying local means we can make the most of it.”
Church Hill Boutique Lodge & Restaurant reopens on 22 September this season and now offers accommodation. The restaurant is open for dinner only and bookings are essential, 36 Kamahi Road, Oban, (03) 219 1123, churchhill.co.nz