Recognition from Michelin for seven Wānaka restaurants — including a coveted star — is set to both diversify and improve the town’s tourism offerings.
Kika is the newly crowned jewel in the Wānaka culinary scene, with one Michelin star putting the Dunmore St establishment on the map as one of just 21 restaurants in New Zealand to receive hospitality’s sought-after honour.
Bombay Palace, Francesca’s, Treehouse, Muttonbird and Paloma received Michelin’s ‘‘Bib Gourmand’’ — an award which recognises high quality food for good value — with Arc also named as one of 110 restaurants in the first edition of Michelin Guide for New Zealand.
At the heart of Wānaka’s gastronomical recognition is British chef James Stapley, the owner and creative force behind Kika, the owner of Paloma and Arc, and the founder — though no longer owner — of Francesca’s.
Stapley describes a Michelin star as the pinnacle for a chef, a reward for excellence in the quality and the consistency of a restaurant’s food.
‘‘Coming from Europe, and having worked in restaurants in London that have one or two Michelin stars you feel the weight of it when you walk in, and you understand what you have to do to get one,’’ he says.
Stapley says that while Michelin stars have traditionally been associated with the finest of fine dining and extensive front of house service, he believes that the guide has diversified to embrace really tasty, high quality food.
And this makes Kika — with what Stapley describes as ‘‘not fussy food, but the food I want to eat’’ — well-placed in New Zealand’s modern culinary landscape.
‘‘The fact that we’re on that list with big hitters like Paris, Butter and Amisfield ... it seems like they just appreciate good food in slightly different forms as well,’’ Stapley says.
Stapley says the Michelin star had made a drastic impact on Kika’s bookings, with the restaurant nearly full every night in what has traditionally been a quiet time of year.
But beyond his own restaurants, Stapley believes recognition for Wānaka’s food scene is good news for the town and for its tourist offering.
‘‘If I take myself out of the equation, I think it’s really awesome for Wānaka because it’s just another thing to help bring people in, and everyone can benefit from that,’’ Stapley says.
Tourism is at the heart of the Michelin Guide, which was established by the Michelin tyre company in the hopes that readers would travel for quality food, driving more and increasing tyre wear.
The question of whether Wānaka can handle — let alone benefit — from more tourism has grown in recent years, but for Destination Queenstown & Lake Wānaka Tourism chief executive Mat Woods, recognition for Wānaka’s thriving food scene is likely to see tourists stay longer, rather than drive a significant increase in numbers — while diversifying the town’s tourism offer.
‘‘We know people come here for our lakes and our mountains, but I think the Michelin awards will actually lead to people staying longer,’’ Woods says.
‘‘It’s not an isolated one-off.
‘‘We’ve got one Michelin star restaurant, but the other restaurants recognised shows that that there’s actually real depth in there and we’ll see people coming and actually staying longer in the region because they want to try the variety of food and wine that we have to offer.
And while growing tensions around tourism highlight the downsides of Wanaka’s tourist economy, tourist-driven demand for high quality hospitality in Wānaka has a significant benefit for those that live in the town year-round.
‘‘To think about actually having Kika winning the one star, to have Bombay Palace, Francesca’s, Muttonbird, Paloma and the Treehouse all winning Bib Gourmands, and to have Arc being listed as well ...
‘‘It’s astounding in a town of only 16,000 people to have that many Michelin-rated restaurants,’’ Woods says.
