Royalburn Station co-owner Carlos Bagrie said Outrega Anderson, better known as Tre, was originally from Southland, moving to Queenstown about 13 years ago.
It is understood he was 48.
Initially employed at the Amisfield restaurant, Mr Anderson worked under internationally-renowned executive chef Vaughan Mabee for almost 11 years, working his way up into leadership roles.
He joined the Royalburn organisation in January, where he was the farm’s head butcher and "master charcutier".
Mr Bagrie was the last to spend time with him, enjoying a catch-up on Friday night.
"Tre was one of those incredibly rare and special people who have an effect on how you appreciate life," he said.
"He was incredibly talented, having trained as an industrial designer, an artist, a chef and a butcher.
"Beyond work, Tre was an incredible friend, an amazing leader and a humble, beautiful soul.
"Our entire team is numb with pain and grief."
In a tribute on social media, Royalburn described Mr Anderson as an "old, wise soul, kind, humble and always the calm in the eye of any storm".
"It pains us so much to think we will never hear your hearty laugh, or see your infectious smile in person again.
"We will miss you so much, mate, until we meet again."
A tribute from Mr Mabee on social media described Mr Anderson as "a man of so many talents, an artist, a chef, a master of charcuterie".
"We learned and grew older together in the kitchen of Amisfield for over a decade and what fun we had.
"You were just with us today and now you are gone and it hurts so much."
Mr Anderson was killed in a two-car collision on State Highway 6, near Arrow Junction, about 7.40am on Saturday.
The driver of the other vehicle involved was taken to hospital in a serious condition — a police spokesman was unable to provide an update on their condition yesterday.
The road was closed between Cromwell’s Pearson Rd and the Crown Range Rd, near Arrowtown, for almost six hours on Saturday, reopening just before 2pm.
The police spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.
