The Farmers' Market in Kerikeri provides Colin Ashton with locally sourced fresh produce. Photo / Helen Twose

The Farmers' Market in Kerikeri provides Colin Ashton with locally sourced fresh produce. Photo / Helen Twose

Taking his cue from the lush subtropical growth of the award-winning Wharepuke garden, chef Colin Ashton is working fusion magic with the fresh and fragrant flavours of Thai cuisine.

Ashton's culinary journey to Wharepuke in Kerikeri has seen him cook for Shania Twain and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

More recently he was head chef at Waiheke Island's Passage Rock Winery.

It was there he won best dessert in the 2008 Metro Magazine restaurant awards for his kaffir lime and lemongrass panna cotta.

In the Metro judge's words: "We made ourselves eat it slowly, savouring the thing to the last wet morsel. We loved it."

I can vouch for their review. It's on the menu at Food and I loved it.

Ashton said he developed his love of Thai flavours during travels in Thailand plus time spent in Queensland, Australia.

A menu heavy on tamarind, coriander, lime and sweet chilli marry perfectly with the green growth on show.

Verdant palms and bamboo arch over the large restaurant veranda. A mass of bromeliads, ferns and orchids form a luxuriant carpet of undergrowth.

It is 15 years since nurseryman and plant enthusiast Robin Booth first planted the garden on a block of family land just up the road from the Stone Store.

The original plan was to feature sculptures fashioned by his brother Chris - his well known works include the memorial to the Rainbow Warrior overlooking Matauri Bay and the gateway arch in Albert Park in Auckland - but Chris' work commitments have put that on hold.

Booth relocated an old American Army barrack from Whangarei, originally to serve as a place for his plant sales but more recently as a venue for hire.

A false ceiling was removed to create a light and airy space and the corked Tawa floor restored to its former glory.

The return of Booth's daughter Tania from her 10 year OE with her British partner and printmaker Mark Graver saw the establishment of cottage accommodation around the garden.

A little more than two years old, the one-bedroom cottages were built offsite in large panels by a local boat builder.

It was while staying at the cottages last year that Ashton approached the family with the idea of turning the barrack building into a restaurant.