"Ultimately this is Jeremy's restaurant, it's his baby, everything is run out of the kitchen and it sets the pace and tone for everything. I'm just in the background trying to support people and keep the balls in play," Rebecca says and laughs.
Off the back of their most recent wins at the Hospitality Awards, I thought it was timely to pay them another visit. I also wanted to try the exciting new four-course degustation menu on offer in June to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, the result of a partnership between Pacifica and Matariki Wines. More on the menu later.
Jeremy grew up in a tiny King Country town and found his way into cooking after washing dishes in an Auckland hotel.
"I had always been into music and art and initially it was the visual aspect that really excited me, the immediate gratification of seeing the results of your work," Jeremy says.
The chef saw some promise in him and took him on as an apprentice. Jeremy went on to work in restaurants around New Zealand and Australia and has been cooking for more than 20 years.
Rebecca grew up in Southern California and travelled to Australia to pursue a career in the wine industry. She met Jeremy on Hamilton Island and they married three months later, nine years ago.
After working around Australia, Rebecca convinced Jeremy to follow her to Hawke's Bay, where she could take up a role with Esk Valley wines.
Jeremy had always wanted to start his own restaurant and was drawn to the region because of its top produce.
He took over Pacifica restaurant initially on his own, but figured out pretty quickly that to make it work he needed Rebecca on board.
Pacifica already existed as a basic but incredibly fresh seafood restaurant and Jeremy had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with it.
"I felt no one was really doing 'Kiwi' food. We were always taking inspiration from somewhere else, French, Chinese. I wanted to take things from my childhood, such as paua, kina, muttonbird and try to introduce them to people using classical French techniques."
But the new-look Pacifica was anything but an overnight success.
"For the first year, basically nobody came. We thought, 'what is going on?' In fact, we still think about closing up around five times a year when it all seems too hard," Jeremy laughingly says.
Thank goodness they didn't, and after a couple of years of hard slog they had managed to convert virtually all who stepped through their doors.
"Jeremy's vision is at least a 10-year vision or more. He's been in the industry for long enough to know it takes time to build that up, for people to trust him as a chef and me as a front of house to provide a certain level of service," Rebecca says.
She wants to send the message that you can have world-class food in the Bay and the pair are still stunned when overseas visitors turn up, guidebook in hand, wanting to eat at Pacifica.
"We want to show people a little bit of the New Zealand attitude.
"We want to be casual and friendly and it is okay to come in, in your shorts and jandals, it doesn't have to be formal and stuffy to be great food," says Jeremy.
After some initial resistance to these new "outsiders", Pacifica now has huge support and respect from the locals and even during the winter months, it is a 50/50 split of locals and overseas guests.
They have relied entirely on word of mouth and reputation.
"If people like it, we want them to talk about is," Rebecca says.
Their partnership with Matariki Wines is definitely going to become a talking point. Jeremy has designed a four-course menu showcasing the best of local, seasonal produce, his abilities matched with wines from Matariki's impressive portfolio.
Rebecca was given full access to Matariki's library of wines.
I was lucky enough to try the four dishes and their matching wines last weekend and at $90 it was an absolute bargain.
My two favourites were Braised Oxtail served with sautéed mushrooms and silken tofu. Oxtail is something that can be incredibly rich and overpowering, but the flavours here are delicate and delicious and it is the ultimate winter comfort food dish. It was matched with a 2009 Matariki Pinot Noir, which complemented perfectly the earthiness of the dish.
My other favourite course was, inevitably, dessert - a white chocolate and green apple vacherin with honey and vanilla foam. It was light and fresh, with the green apple cutting through the richness of the chocolate. It was paired with a luscious 2009 Matariki Late Harvest Riesling.
Pacifica is one of a number of Hawke's Bay eateries offering special degustation dinners during the winter months. Take some time to explore what's on offer and support our hospitality industry during the quiet winter months. And what better time of year to put on a few extra "comfort kilos" too? Enjoy!
