The Chef's Table at Blue Duck Station
Restaurant · Retaruke ·
Intimate 10-seat dining with tasting menu of local ingredients
Intimate 10-seat dining with tasting menu of local ingredients
"I recommend wandering through the orchards and gardens at The Chef's Table at Blue Duck Station, where chefs handpick ingredients." - Jonathan Alder
"I rode or hiked five miles uphill to reach this 10-seat, wood‑paneled jewel box where the tables face floor‑to‑ceiling windows and dramatic views of Whanganui National Park; there is a single seating each night and Jack Cashmore’s tasting menu runs at least 10 courses (it was 13 on our visit), with 50–60 percent of ingredients sourced from the station. I loved the inventive, foraged elements — a mushroom “biscuit” with cèpe cream, tender mamaku stems disguised as melon balls in an onion broth finished with kawakawa oil, and a savory baked custard topped with diced green pumpkin and jelly spheres made from invasive pheasant and rabbit — and felt the cooking aimed not just to delight but to provoke curiosity about conservation and place." - Jeff Chu Jeff Chu Jeff Chu is an editor-at-large at Travel + Leisure. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
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