Dish

DISH 33

ABOVE: Breakfast

at Stedsans will likely

include homemade

yoghurt, with milk

provided by Nava,

the neighbour’s cow.

together – a new one every week – and guests
don’t know what they’ll be getting before
they arrive. Mette describes it as “casual,
simple food”.
In keeping with their old-world methods,
they cook everything without electricity, using
only fire, dirt ovens and smokers. An example
of what could end up on your plate? Medicinal
plant salad with forest chanterelles; pea
francaise with horsebeans and lemon thyme;
season’s first potatoes with olive oil, parmesan
and pea sprouts; brisket with onion, kale
and redcurrant; blue cheese with walnuts in
rhubarb syrup; finishing with an almond cake
with berries, chocolate and cream.
What’s really exciting the chefs, too, is
creating alcohol-free drinks out of herbs from
the forest and gardens, and fermented drinks
like kombuchas and kefirs – plantain cold
brew; lemon thyme tea; spruce lemonade;
aronia (a type of berry) and rhubarb juice;
cacao infusion; and a woodruff shrub were all
matched to the aforementioned menu.
Customers are coming from all over the
world for the Stedsans experience and besides
from walking away sated, Mette says she hopes
their guests “will have a new understanding
of why we need to take better care of nature

• because it is precious and a part of us, and
  because it makes us feel very happy”.

Meet our very own Kiwi equivalents getting back to nature.

NEW ZEALANDERS ON A NATURAL PATH

HAPUKU LODGE + TREE HOUSES, KAIKOURA

This lodge is situated in the spectacular scenery of Kaikoura. Along

with luxury accomodation and fine New Zealand cuisine, guests can

be comfortable in the knowledge that

the lodge’s owners are committed to

restoring nature through planting

native trees and multiple sustainable

practices, including sourcing more

than 75 per cent of ingredients from

local farmers; aiming for zero-wastage

with their recycling and composting

efforts; plus, ethically sourced building

materials and top-notch insulation.

Double glazing and efficient fireplaces

also mean minimal environmental

impact. hapukulodge.co.nz

SHERWOOD, QUEENSTOWN

This multi-faceted accommodation is all about reflecting a sense of

place, whether that be its fresh seasonal, soul food, harvested from their

kitchen gardens, orchards and surrounding farms; their yoga, pilates

and meditation programmes

or their ever-changing line-up

of live music, film, writers and

artists-in-residence. Everything

is brought back to unwinding

and reconnecting with self and

nature. And it’s certainly beautiful

nature to relax in with its stunning

location, set on three acres of

alpine hillside in Queenstown

overlooking Lake Wakatipu

and the Remarkables range.

sherwoodqueenstown.nz

THE GRILLE BY EICHARDT’S

Sitting proudly alongside the glittering Lake Wakatipu, you’ll find Eichardt’s

Private Hotel – an establishment that holds pride of place in the heart of

Queenstown. It’s here that chef Will Eaglesfield creates contemporary

dishes built around the region’s most plentiful seasonal produce, foraging

wild redcurrants surrounding Moke

Lake, walnuts from the trees in Kelvin

Heights, pears and plums growing

around ruined gold sluicing settlements

in Bannockburn, raspberry canes

planted generations ago by miners in

Skippers Valley, fig trees in Arrowtown,

field mushrooms in Frankton, and

spectacularly fragrant wild thyme

growing “just about everywhere” from

Cromwell to Alexandra. eichardts.com

To learn more about these eco-friendly eateries and their

delicious initiatives, head to dish.co.nz.