随着瓦卡蒂普湖延伸到远处的白雪皑皑的山峰的景色，The Grille’spicturesque outlook is one reason to visit Queenstown’s newest premium restaurant. Its British-born, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, ginger-haired executive chef Will Eaglesfield is another.
After making Queenstown his home in 2006, Will nabbed the top job at the Eichardt’s Hotel restaurant back in 2012. Eichardt’s has a proud history dating back to the early 1860s when gold was in the hills and the first pioneers moved into the region. The founder of Queenstown, William Rees, set up the hotel before Albert Eichardt took ownership at the end of the decade.
Imperium Group是Eichardt的私人酒店和酒吧的现代所有者，他们的投资组合中还设有Spire Hotel和No5 Church Lane（餐厅和酒吧）。Eichardt的Grille是他们的最新项目。
Imperium’s Kiwi-born owner, Andrew Cox, was inspired by Balthazar restaurant in New York and wanted to create a similar feel of “old-world opulence and modern design”, with a menu that catered both to traditional diners and those with more adventurous tastes.
“The idea is that there’s something for everyone,” says Will. “If you’re not into anything too crazy, you can still come for your steak and chips.” But of course, if you are visiting for steak, you can expect it to be exceptional. “We use a particularly nice sirloin,” Will explains. “Wakanui grass-fed cows are given only grains for the last 90 days, which gives the meat a lovely marbling and produces a nice, soft, juicy meat.”
威尔说，从头开始建立餐厅的食品理念的机会是一个真正的职业亮点。“已经在皇后镇已经有一段时间了，我已经认识了该地区的许多供应商。我知道一年中什么时候最好的东西。我尽量不要用好的食材做太多 - 足以使它们发光。我也喜欢做一些与众不同的事情，人们不会在家做些事情。”他说。
Will’s favourite “off the wall” dish is tahr tartare, made using wild tahr – a goat-like animal native to the Himalayan ranges which was introduced to the central Southern Alps by European settlers and is considered a pest by the Department of Conservation. Will’s team finely dice the tahr meat by hand and serve it with house-made saffron aioli, wholegrain mustard made Dijon-style with local white wine, rye meal crispbread and homemade pickles.
威尔在本地采购的食材上很大，并且对觅食充满热情。他承认：“如果我们从一个超过半小时的车程的任何地方获得食材，我会感到失望。”“我真的很喜欢我如何在艾卡德的阳台上脱颖而出，指向远处，然后说，‘那是我们从那里获得吉布斯顿葡萄酒的地方，或者'那是我为蘑菇觅食的地方。’”
Will has designed the menu so it’s flexible, depending on what “little treats” he can get his hands on. “There’s a local guy here called Tony who I get our rocket from year-round, but he has a range of other seasonal treats on offer. He came in the other day with heirloom cherry tomatoes, so we confited them in oil and garlic – more fat equals more flavour – and served them on bruschetta with baba ganoush, feta and torn basil.”
He says the team spends a lot of time working on the development stages of a dish, while service is relatively quick in contrast. Almost every condiment, sauce and accompaniment is made in-house. Even the chocolates, truffles and fudge that arrive on the pillows of hotel guests have been developed and made by Will and his team.
Whether you’re an international jet-setter with a penchant for something unusual, or a down-to-earth traditionalist who just wants a good old-fashioned plate of steak and chips, you’ll find a home at The Grille. The view’s not all that bad either.
威尔最喜欢的皇后镇吃
Local food trends according to Will Eaglesfield
- 当地农产品的采购大约是六，七年前的趋势，但现在几乎是强制性的，这很棒。
- Foraging for ingredients has also become common, much to my annoyance, as I’ve always done it and I always will – even when it goes out of fashion.
- Raw food is also a big trend and I’m a fan of it, although I wouldn’t want my entire diet to be raw. We do a lovely marinated courgette dish here, which is delicious.
- Dehydrating is also very in vogue at the moment and it’s a very useful tool for a chef because not only is it fashionable, it increases the shelf life of ingredients.
- Super grains come in and out of the limelight quite quickly, but quinoa has definitely become mainstream now.
This was first published in Taste magazine.
接下来阅读
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厨房技巧 必须访问：科罗曼德食品小径
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厨房技巧 必须访问：陶朗加的游牧民族
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厨房技巧 必须访问：仪式
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厨房技巧 必须访问：Saan餐馆
