CHEF OF THE MONTH
Chef of the Month
Toby Stuart From London to Marlborough.
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them in touch with Marlborough Lodge where Toby found he had a definite synergy. “I put a proposal to the owners about the style I’d like to portray in the restaurant and asked for more outside dining space,” he says. Formerly popular with the five-star, overseas luxury lodge market, with Toby’s help Marlborough Lodge transformed its offering to adapt to the now predominantly Kiwi market. “We got rid of the white tablecloths and the formality,” says Toby. “We have beautiful 6.4ha of grounds here and they’ve given me a great space to work
“This is the best produce you can get in New Zealand, cooked simply with care, love and passion.” – Toby Stuart
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18 FEBRUARY 2021 - HOSPITALITY BUSINESS
in and invested a lot of money, and for that I’m very grateful.” The 50 to 60-seater with its three distinctive dining areas is proving very popular, especially for drop-in, alfresco lunches. “I wanted it to be busy and open to the whole of Marlborough, to unlock the property a little bit so we worked on the offering to keep it reasonably priced and fun,” says Toby. He’s opted for a more relaxed feel of dining, where it’s not frowned upon to pick up the mussels or clams and eat with your fingers, to unlock all of the delicious juices and flavours. “Corn season is in full swing at the moment, so we simply grill that in the Mibrasa Charcoal oven and then serve it with homemade rosemary
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ucked away in sunny Marlborough at the newly rebranded ‘The Marlborough’, is a British chef with a very impressive pedigree who has relaunched Harvest Restaurant with a new direction and concept. Currently enjoying a new more peaceful lifestyle after years of making the big time in London, experienced British chef Toby Stuart hails from London’s best. For a number of years Toby was firstly a chef, then a consultant chef to the Roux family and its vast empire of first class restaurants. Toby helped the Roux family oversee its operations. This included assisting with the food and beverage operations at British tennis star Sir Andrew Murray’s luxury, grand Scottish manor hotel, Cromlix; hunting and fishing lodges across the Scottish Highlands and the Langham Hotel in London, to name just a few. Now head chef at Harvest, Toby brings a wealth of experience and culinary flair to the role after last year’s lockdown forced his previous Marlborough employers at Rock Ferry Wines, to close. Toby was to oversee ambitious redevelopment plans as executive chef and his wife, Sabina Bronika-Stuart, had also taken on a role as restaurant manager there. The London couple had taken a relaxing, wine tasting holiday around Marlborough and fell in love with the area. After 18-plus years working in London they moved across the world to settle there, bringing something new to the local restaurant scene. All was going well until the global Covid lockdown hit, says Toby. They’d just bought a house so a friend put