Napier's Pacifica Restaurant has cooked up a major national honour - one of four Hawke's Bay restaurants to feature in the winner's circle at the Cuisine Good Food Awards staged in Auckland last night.
Accordingly, Pacifica chef Jeremy Rameka was both delighted and humbled by the honour and said it was great for all restaurants across the land.
"It shows that right around the country the levels are going up," he said.
Pacifica was named as Restaurant of the Year and was praised by the judges for developing a genuine New Zealand cuisine which drew strongly on fresh and local ingredients.
Mr Rameka said it all came down to attitude and approach to food.