Resort food lauded

Queenstown has again shown it is the food enthusiast capital of the South after three of its restaurants received ''hats'' in the Cuisine Good Food Awards.

Amisfield Bistro led the way, its chef Vaughan Mabee winning the best dish award for his paua pie, as well as winning the innovation award for the second successive year at the awards ceremony in Auckland on Monday night.

The bistro was also the only Southern restaurant to receive two ''hats'' (Cuisine's rating system), while fellow Queenstown restaurants Rata and Botswana Butchery each received one hat.

Dunedin restaurant, Bracken, which became the first Dunedin restaurant to receive two hats last year, failed to win a hat this year.

Auckland's Cocoro won restaurant of the year and Guilio Sturla, the chef behind Roots restaurant in Canterbury, was named chef of the year.