Karl Martin-Boulton, owner and chef at Hamilton chef\u2019s table restaurant The Green, said the announcement was \u201chuge news\u201d and a \u201ccoming of culinary age\u201d for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super happy that Michelin are here, it\u2019s a real benchmark for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are incredible restaurants … in these places and I\u2019m rooting for them all.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, in his view, the inaugural guide would not be a representation of the country\u2019s food culture as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not [going to be] a representation of New Zealand, it\u2019s a four-city guide,\u201d Martin-Boulton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe focus is on the main touristy areas and there are absolutely phenomenal places further afield that [will] have been missed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question we\u2019ve got to ask ourselves is what message this sends to chefs across New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The eight-seat chef’s table restaurant The Green opened in Hamilton in 2023. Photo \/ Domi Gatley<\/p>\n
He feared people seeing the guide would unrightfully conclude places not featured in the listings were not worth visiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel for places like Blue Duck Station, which is one of the most magical places in New Zealand… and Embra just around the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHawke\u2019s Bay and Craggy Range are not far and they absolutely cleared up awards. They are all not going to have a chance to be included.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin-Boulton used to be the chef at the Old Downton Lodge Restaurant in England, which, while not receiving a star, was recommended in the 2017-2020 Michelin Guides under his leadership.<\/p>\n
Craggy Range in Hawke\u2019s Bay has won several awards.<\/p>\n
Martin-Boulton wouldn\u2019t be drawn on whether he believed The Green should be included in a New Zealand Michelin Guide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m never going to sit here and say we should be included.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Michelin Guide has their own system and restaurants are like shoes, not all shoes fit everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it would be nice to be able to shoot your shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all want to show the best version of ourselves [and] at the moment, we aren\u2019t able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the decision to focus on the four cities raised more questions than it answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole base [of the Michelin Guide] was to drive, to explore. Auckland and Waikato are not that far [from each other].\u201d<\/p>\n
Auckland and Wellington are about a 7.5-hour drive apart, with Martin-Boulton saying he believed a lot of people would opt to fly the distance.<\/p>\n
He said he loved the Waikato region and believed it should be loud and proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe [Waikato] are the larder of New Zealand, there is not much that doesn\u2019t grow here.<\/p>\n
\u201c[In Hamilton alone] we have an amazing food scene, amazing producers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope there is a plan [after the initial guide next year] to actually look at New Zealand as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phill Blackburne in the kitchen at his restaurant Embra. Photo \/ Olivia Moore<\/p>\n
The sentiment was echoed by Nora Blackburne, who owns the restaurant Embra in Taup\u014d with her husband and chef Phill.<\/p>\n
She said she had mixed emotions about the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting \u2013 we are all in the same industry, so we all know how hard we work, so we are excited for our colleagues [in the four cities].<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Michelin not doing anything outside the four regions is disappointing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like this move does not recognise the work we do outside of the four cities, and while we understand this is the first year … we hope [Michelin] extends this to the regions in future.<\/p>\n
Embra owners Nora and Phill Blackburne. Photo \/ Olivia Moore<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be wonderful to at least have the possibility of being included in the guide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackburne said Michelin, as a well-established, global brand, coming to New Zealand meant a lot, but the local Cuisine Good Food Guide had a \u201cmuch deeper\u201d understanding of the local restaurant industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is already a great New Zealand system in place with Cuisine… [which] does a good job at promoting the regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell said she, too, was excited about the Michelin announcement.<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Waikato Tourism chief executive Nicola Greenwell says the region has a number of great eateries.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, we are disappointed we will not be able to showcase the fantastic restaurants the mighty Waikato has to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Green, Palate, Alpino Cambridge, Zealong Tea Estate, Gothenburg, Sage \u2013 and the list of our great eateries goes on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be encouraging and advocating a visit to the mighty Waikato next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michelin hints at expansion<\/p>\n
The Herald understands the decision to focus on the four cities had been made by the Michelin Guide.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the guide in New Zealand said any new Michelin Guide launch was a \u201cgradual journey\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore expanding into new regions, Michelin builds its network of inspectors and develops a deep understanding of the local dining landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe four launch regions… were selected as the starting point to introduce the guide and establish its foundations in Aotearoa.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesperson wouldn\u2019t confirm why Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown were chosen, saying it would be \u201cuncovered\u201d in the launch next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Michelin inspectors continue to explore and uncover the richness of New Zealand\u2019s culinary identity, we look forward to seeing how the guide evolves in the years ahead, including the potential to expand into more regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
They wouldn\u2019t confirm how many inspectors were in New Zealand or how many restaurants were being assessed.<\/p>\n
While stars are the most coveted distinction in the Michelin Guide, there are no guarantees any will be awarded in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston said although four cities were chosen for the launch, all of New Zealand would benefit from the \u201cinternational exposure of Michelin\u2019s presence\u201d.<\/p>\n
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karl Martin-Boulton, owner and chef at Hamilton chef\u2019s table restaurant The Green, said the announcement was \u201chuge news\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45621,22509,1558,3071,3054,14134,52399,36426,1958,3011,71,228,438,305,8577,78,3331,54677,117,111,43,139,69,2847,5914,91396,23737,5436,1361,102,80],"class_list":["post-133262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-announcing","tag-areas","tag-been","tag-cities","tag-criticism","tag-decision","tag-disappoints","tag-drawn","tag-focus","tag-four","tag-from","tag-guide","tag-guides","tag-have","tag-horizon","tag-in","tag-launch","tag-michelin","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-only","tag-regional","tag-restaurateurs","tag-snubbed","tag-stars","tag-that","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}