Cuisine fit for the young Queen’s visit to the region
Lamb fresh off the lush fields of Whangamōmona, turkey bred from coastal Oakura, and rainbow trout caught in the crystal-clear waters near Tataraimaka.
It sounds like a feast fit for a queen. And it was.
Queen Elizabeth II’S first visit to Taranaki, more than two weeks after she arrived in New Zealand in the first year of her reign, was an opportunity to celebrate arguably the most famous person on the planet at that time.
The first of what would be three visits to the region over a 23-year period was a standout in the minds of the thousands of people who attended official visits or welcomed her to the main street of New Plymouth.
The best suite at the now-closed Criterion Hotel on Devon St was reserved for the Queen and Prince Phillip, and a record of the official royal dinner there has been kept preserved at Puke Ariki.
Criterion owner Charles Acheson had a sumptuous menu prepared, and presented on official gold letterhead.
During their stay in Taranaki, the royal couple also had some distinctive native flowers on their tables, as the menu reports – hand-picked rata, red and yellow kōwhai, and pohutukawa.
The silver tray the royals were served on has also been housed at Puke Ariki, where staff are busily making the display more prominent in front of the giant portrait of the Queen that adores the wall of the research centre.
The last of the Queen’s visits, in 1977, saw her stay at the Bell Block Hotel.
Chef ET Ruwhiu mixed his knowledge of regional products with international cuisine and delivered what must have been regarded as in vogue at the time. Among the hot entre´es, sweet and sour pork fillet would have surely tickled her majesty’s fancy, as well as the cold roast Muscovy duck with orange pure´e.