ACCOMMODATION
WINE CELLAR.
OWNER’S COTTAGE INFINITY POOL.
SOUTHLAND LAMB.
Dining at the Lodge is a sophisticated experience. Executive chef Paul Frogott’s hallmark seems to be the personal refinements he brings from his years at top notch hotels and restaurants around the globe. It’s from here and his time at Gidleigh Park Hotel and numerous two and three Michelin– Star restaurants in the UK and France that he adopted the idea of traditional French cuisine with a light New Zealand touch.
Dinner is about not choosing what to eat but where to eat it. With ever casual air and graciousness our hosts have subtlety inquired to where our preference to dine, the library, trophy room, drawing room, wine cellar, the terrace overlooking the river or alongside one of the outdoor fireplaces - all truly romantic settings. The table d’hôte menu changes daily and more than lives up to expectations. A typical bill of
fare could include chicken soup with tarragon tortellini followed by crayfish with verjuice foam, citrus salt and sautéed cos. Then a delicate goat cheese with beetroot balsamic vinaigrette and herb salad was served before our principal dish of lamb loin with jus of cabernet, potato and mushroom chips and silver beet. At dessert time we succumb to the chocolate truffle, ice cream and jaffa mousse - magnificently rich but delicately flavoured. The perfect ending is a glass of port and petit fours by the open fire in the drawing room. There’s is no overt chauvinism shown towards imported wines. The wine list is heavy on local vintages and covers practically every winegrowing region of New Zealand. Our only criticism the unavailability issue 30 • autumn 2021
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