Remote Ruapehu restaurant wins national award

Jack Cashmore says awards are a “nice snippet of recognition”.
Ruapehu restaurant The Chef’s Table has scooped a major prize at this year’s Cuisine Good Food Awards but chef Jack Cashmore is still striving for one more “hat”.
The 10-table establishment at Blue Duck Station, about 20km south of Taumarunui, was named specialist restaurant of the year.
Cashmore said awards were not what got him up in the morning but they were always a “nice snippet of recognition”.
“It’s great to have somewhat of a measure against the rest of the industry and it gives you an indication of where you’re at, and what you have to do to get where you want to be,” he said.
“Obviously, what we offer is very different and unique but that is dictated to by our location and the fact that people have to travel many hours to get to us.”
The Chef’s Table sits above the station, with three luxury cabins nearby.
Cashmore, who heads a team of three in day-to-day operations, said the dining experience was billed as 10 courses but it usually stretched to 12 or 13.
“We aren’t turning tables or anything like that – once you’ve got your seat, you‘re there for the night.
“That was all part of the thinking when we came up with the idea – how we could maintain a healthy business way out here and not have too much of a strain on our infrastructure, which is entirely off-grid.”
Ingredients were sourced locally as much as possible, whether it was venison, beef and lamb from the station, foraged native ingredients, or “a few luxuries we bring in”, he said.
“If we found any cheesemakers or something like that down in Whanganui, that would be wonderful.
“We’ve started using some white truffle from Whanganui and we use a gin maker – Papaiti Gin – from down there too.”
Cashmore is originally from the United Kingdom but has stayed and worked at Blue Duck on and off since 2010.
He pitched the idea for a restaurant to station owner Dan Steele in 2018 after looking for locations in Auckland.
“Dan, being a King Country farmer from just outside Taumarunui, said he knew bugger all about Auckland and bugger all about restaurants,” Cashmore said.
“He’s a pretty open-minded guy though, and always thought he wanted to build a guest lodge up at the restaurant site.
“We knew it was a fairly crazy project but we ended up putting two and two together.”
He said a fourth cabin would be built in spring to expand capacity for the station’s overnight experience – “the most popular one”.
About 95% of visitors were from New Zealand, with half from surrounding areas and half from larger centres such as Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and Wellington, Cashmore said.
The Chef’s Table was awarded “two hats” by Cuisine Magazine at this week’s awards, with three being the highest.
“Basically, the magazine sends in inspectors who assess you on various aspects of your experience – service, setting, the food,” he said.
“We go 18 out of 20, so I assume 19 or 20 will be three hats.
“There are 20-odd restaurants around the country with two and only a few with three. We want to push into that category.”
According to Cuisine, a three-hatted establishment is considered “extraordinary and approaching perfection”.
This year, The Grove, Ahi, Cocoro (Auckland), Amisfield (Queenstown) and Pacifica (Hawke’s Bay) received top marks.
Cashmore said there was a completely new menu for spring, which would evolve as the season progressed.
The Chef’s Table is open from September 13 and reservations are open through to Christmas.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.