Last week it was revealed that the government had part-funded an assessment of New Zealand’s leading restaurants by the internationally respected Michelin Guide, and that its anonymous inspectors had already been dining incognito around the country.
Hyped as a win for the embattled hospitality industry, the deal proved more polarising than the government would have hoped.
For those from the plate half full camp, the $6.5 million tie-in with Michelin offered the chance to showcase New Zealand food and wine to an international audience.
The Guide’s ratings are followed world-wide and achieving a star is regarded as a pinnacle achievement for a chef and a restaurateur. The expectation is that a flock of wealthy gourmets will flock to New Zealand and their dining here will boost economic growth.
That is as may be but the plate half empty brigade question whether the likes of acclaimed Lake Hayes chef Vaughan Mabee and the Amisfield restaurant he leads — already a deserved recipient of a hatful of local and international culinary plaudits — need yet another gong on their groaning trophy shelf.
There are also fears that an emerging and distinctive style of New Zealand cookery may be swamped by chefs opting to eschew native ingredients and local presentation in favour of what might be perceived as "Michelin-style" cuisine.
There are also legitimate questions about how much of a purported hand-up to the hospitality industry tucking in with Michelin will actually be.
The essence of the Michelin system is its exclusivity: only a small number of restaurants are likely to be rewarded with its imprimatur. In an already cut-throat industry, other hospitality venues will have another obstacle in the battle to attract diners from their competition.
Many hospitality workers grind away for long hours on low wages; how many of these, predominantly young, employees will share a trickle-down effect from Michelin recognition is questionable.
Like an extravagant piece of molecular gastronomy, Michelin’s presence here may look spectacular but ultimately prove insubstantial.
Last Friday Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced a suite of initiatives to support the local screen industry. These included lowering the minimum qualifying spend for feature films for government support from $15m to $4m, and reducing the threshold for the so-called "5% uplift" in funding from $30m to $20m, in a bid to attract more mid-budget productions.
Call them subsidies or call them incentives, there will always be objections to the government offering taxpayer dollars to potentially highly lucrative enterprise.
In this case, however, the money had already been set aside in this year’s Budget, and there is a known financial reward from hosting film and television production.
From the self-made industry hub of Sir Peter Jackson on down, screen productions have made billions, employed thousands, and offered a intangible reward in terms of national pride.
There is no guarantee that the rebate will attract more productions to these shores, let alone help retain productions which are already here.
But it is comparable to similar funding schemes offered by governments worldwide, and should it fail in its objectives it equates to taxpayer money not spent as opposed to taxpayer money lost.
More than a few commentators observed that last week the plight of counselling service Lifeline Aotearoa, which on Thursday made public a $2 million shortfall which may mean it needs to curtail its operations.
The timing of the announcement, just before Gumboot Friday — which has attracted generous government support — was somewhat ironic.
Lifeline helplines responded to 40,000 calls in the year ending June 2025, but it has yet to receive a call from the Minister for Mental Health, who has deferred such an operation decision to Health NZ.
Government funding is on a portfolio by portfolio basis, so funding for high-end dining and low-end action thrillers does not automatically mean that some deserving health or welfare cause misses out.
But from a PR perspective this was not a good look, and one which merits swift attention.
