Tourism New Zealand recently hosted international tastemakers at ‘the restaurant with the most stars’ designed to put New Zealand’s night skies and world class cuisine on the map.
Following years of having its world-class restaurants snubbed by the Michelin Guide on account of its remote geography, New Zealand delivered a restaurant it claims has “more stars” than any other and invited 50 international tastemakers to judge the local cuisine for themselves.
In a stunning one-of-a-kind restaurant experience under the star-embellished skies of Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill) at the foothills of the Southern Alps in New Zealand’s South Island, media representatives, tastemakers and social media advocates experienced the best of Kiwi cuisine in one of the most stunning locations on the planet.
Designing and preparing the dinner was New Zealand executive chef Ben Bayly who said:
“Why be satisfied with a Michelin Star when you can cook under 2.5 billion of them?”
The six-course degustation menu was meticulously constructed using the finest winter produce and native ingredients including truffle, pāua (abalone), wagyu beef, and crayfish.
Chief executive of Tourism New Zealand, René de Monchy, said the sky really is the limit for an imaginative event organiser in New Zealand all year round.
“This was a spectacular example of combining two of New Zealand’s world-class offerings in a bespoke event,” he said.
“New Zealand’s night skies offer incredible stargazing experiences and they’re even more impressive during the longer nights of autumn, winter, and spring when the majority of business events come to the country. Amazing food is an essential part of any good event, and this was a fantastic taste of what’s on offer in New Zealand.”
The definition of a three-star restaurant in the Michelin Guide means “exceptional cuisine, worthy of a special journey,” explained chef Ben Bayly.
“We think that New Zealand cuisine is in a category of its own – we call it superior cuisine, worth a journey to the edge of the earth.”
Deeply rooted in kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (hospitality), Aotearoa New Zealand’s food identity honours both people and place, resulting in a distinct agricultural richness and vibrant, culinary culture.