Tales from Food and Wine Country Meet the heart of Hawke’s Bay hospo

The people at the heart of Hawke’s Bay’s food and wine have a few interesting stories of their own!

Hawke’s Bay is a vast culinary region. Yet, while it stretches from Morere in the north to Porangahau in the south, one thing is certain, you’ll never be far from a tasty bite.

The region’s Mediterranean-like climate, with high sunshine hours throughout the year is partly responsible for this delicious destination, however more than anything, Hawke’s Bay is a foodie heaven because of its people. The talented chefs, winemakers, craft brewers that take the local grapes, hops and produce and turn them into something magic.

Chris Ormond from Giant Brewery and Public House

Chris hasn't always brewed beer. But during a stint as a freelance journo in Wellington, he started brewing in his spare time just because he loved it:

“It started taking up more and more of my time. I had a real passion for it. And eventually when I came home I thought - why not turn this into a business and do it full time?”

Chris roped his brother and a mate into it and created Giant Brewery. Today, they've got their very own pub in Havelock North with a full-scale commercial brewery out back. Beer doesn't get much fresher than this:

“We try to make our beers approachable. Our core range is drinkable above all else. The locals keep coming back so we must be doing something right.”

Tony Bish from Tony Bish Wines & Urban Winery

Decades ago, a young Tony Bish was living on the beach in Gizzy and surfing every day when his endless summer suddenly ran into a roadblock:

“I ran out of money after four months, so I asked the local boys what work was around. They said freezing works or wine.”

The choice was easy and since then Tony Bish has had a successful career in winemaking, founding Sacred Hill and travelling the world. Today, he's back home in Hawke's Bay, running Australasia's only winery specialising in Chardonnay, complete with a bar: The Urban Winery. Chances are if you drop in, you'll meet him - Tony is hands-on and he wouldn't have it any other way:

“I do everything with the business, from selecting grapes, to hand harvesting, to marketing, topping barrels and pouring tasters. I love all of it, it's not just ‘a job' for me.”

Prue Barton from Mister D

Prue Barton ran one of Auckland's most acclaimed fine dining restaurants, Vinnies, for 16 years. But after all that time, and a stint in Sydney, she needed a change:

“I love the Bay and hankered after the lifestyle we could have here.”

Eight years after the move, Prue's all day bistro Mister D has become one of Napier's favourite foodie destinations, serving delicious European-inspired dishes, made with the freshest local produce. And most importantly after all that moving around, it sounds like Prue's finally found her place:

“I was hankering after quieter, small city living and Hawke's Bay gave us that. I love the produce, the food, the wine, the uniqueness of the area.”