5 minute read
FOOD AND ROOM WITH A VIEW
The sun twinkles on the wild Tasman Sea as staff and guests sample the latest menu at Salt, the showcase restaurant at the Millennium Hotel on New Plymouth’s waterfront. This tasty gathering happens every six months when the menu is refreshed, bringing staff and a couple of invited foodies together for feedback, while fostering a united workplace and community engagement.
Chef Senthil Jayaprakash and his kitchen team presented lunch and dinner offerings – entrees, mains, desserts and cocktails –for people to try, while looking out at a roaring sea and waving Wind Wand. Among the standout items were an entrée of freerange pork cheeks, cooked for eight hours; a vegetarian main featuring crispy spinach and onion bhajis on a rich spicy butter sauce; a crunchy mille-feuille with vanilla mascarpone, banana jam and salted caramel; and – ready for the garden festival season – a “flowerita” cocktail of mango, gin, sparkling wine and triple sec. And much more, all served by a staff of many smiles and cultures. The new menu was introduced on 4 June.
Salt is the shining star of the hotel, which opened as the Waterfront Hotel in 2003 and was sold and rebranded as the Millennium Hotel New Plymouth, Waterfront in 2018. It is one of 18 Millennium hotels around New Zealand. The well-seasoned hospitality hub also provides boutique conferences in its Pepper Room and has 42 spacious rooms for inner-city getaways.
Operations manager Honeyfa says it’s also about giving back. “It’s part of the community engagement to support the local radio station,” says Honeyfa, who has helped co-host the show.
The hotel and restaurant also connect with the community in other ways. To support the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce’s home-grown Monopoly game featuring regional businesses, including the Millennium Hotel, it’s created its own Mr Monopoly cocktail. Also on the bill of fare are themed dinners, monthly high teas and cultural celebrations.
The team hosted a North Indian-style Diwali buffet in 2024, and it was a roaring success. “Salt had never done anything different like Diwali,” says Honeyfa. “Guess what – most of them were actually locals, you know, Kiwis who came in to enjoy the food,” she says.
Salt is the shining star of the hotel, which opened as the Waterfront Hotel in 2003 and was sold and rebranded as the Millennium Hotel New Plymouth, Waterfront in 2018. It is one of 18 Millennium hotels around New Zealand. The well-seasoned hospitality hub also provides boutique conferences in its Pepper Room and has 42 spacious rooms for inner-city getaways.
Supporting the community is an important aspect of the business, says general manager Vivek Vadevelu. “The first thing we did this year was sign up as the main sponsor for Taranaki Foodies on the Most.”
This sponsorship supports a local radio show on 100.4 The Most FM celebrating regional food, foodies and hospitality. It runs from 4-5pm each Saturday with hosts Olena Williams and Warwick Foy. “It’s basically to create awareness for Salt restaurant and the amazing food and service we have here,” he says.
In recent years, the hotel has been through a quiet transformation. The team has focused on lifting both the standard and visibility of the hotel and restaurant, improving food presentation and guest experiences, plus adding energy and events.
But none of that happens without the team of about 30. “We have amazing staff,” says Vivek. “We try to always recognise what they do – we give out Employee of the Quarter, celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, special occasions, have staff meals. We look after them”.
The team hosted a North Indian-style Diwali buffet in 2024, and it was a roaring success. “Salt had never done anything different like Diwali,” says Honeyfa. “Guess what – most of them were actually locals, you know, Kiwis who came in to enjoy the food,” she says.
“It was really nice for us too because all our chefs have that culture, which they can showcase.” Vivek adds: “It was a full house –we actually had about 60 people.” This year, the Salt team is planning a South Indianstyle Diwali celebration on Monday, 20 October.
Salt has also partnered with the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce to host a popular business networking evening. These events give the chefs and front-of-house team, led by restaurant manager Manish Arora, a chance to shine. “There’s so much you can do here – we want people to see Salt as more than a restaurant,” Honeyfa says.
In the hotel itself, the Pepper Room is a boutique conference and function space with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony overlooking the sea. It’s been used for intimate weddings, corporate meetings, and special occasions like milestone birthdays and family events. “We’ve done internal meetings, high teas, whisky tastings, and all kinds of functions in Pepper,” says Vivek.
The hotel is also a magnet for guests – from far and near – especially during the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival (31 Oct –9 Nov, 2025), the busiest time of year for visitors.
That culture of caring filters through to the experience of guests, by providing hot towels and refreshing welcome drinks on arrival. “It’s about making people feel at home,” says Honeyfa. “We’re always looking for little ways to make it special.”
Guests can also support the Millennium Hotels and Resorts New Zealand - Save the Kiwi Partnership. Every time they choose the daily “no room servicing” option on a multi-night stay, the hotel chain donates a meal for one of the iconic birds at the Save the Kiwi crèche in Napier.
