Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Chef Regnar Christensen happy to be home in the Bay

Linda Hall
By Linda Hall
LDR reporter - Hawke's Bay·Hawkes Bay Today·
4 Mar, 2021 12:53 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Black Barn Bistro's new chef Regnar Christensen is happy to be back in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

Black Barn Bistro's new chef Regnar Christensen is happy to be back in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

He's home and he's loving it.

Black Barn Bistro's new chef Regnar Christensen has been away from Hawke's Bay for 15 years "but now I'm home with my family and feel so lucky to be back in Hawke's Bay".

Regnar has been cooking for 16 years and was head chef at Wellington's Ortega Fish Shack. He was the youngest chef to receive a 'Hat' in the Cuisine Good Food Awards and went on to achieve two 'Hats' in the same position at Ortega Fish Shack.

"They are difficult to get so I was really happy."

Since starting at Black Barn Bistro in November, Regnar has completely revamped the menu.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Owner Henry Gordon said they have had an incredible response to the new menu from both locals and domestic diners.

"Regnar managed to revamp the menu in a week — a huge task while at the same time taking the reins of a restaurant of this size," Henry said.

Two things are high on the list for Regnar when it comes to his food.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It has to be delicious and it has to be full of flavour. In fact the key focus for me is flavour first.

"I'm loving the fact that I can get so much fresh produce right here on our doorstep. It's a big change from Wellington. The local supply is incredible here, everything is at your fingertips. For instance we have world-class cheese a kilometre down the road, we get our beef from Matangi Station just down the road.

"In fact I would argue that Hawke's Bay has the best produce in New Zealand and as a chef it's exciting to be able to use it.

"I'm also getting a real kick out of cooking for people I know. Since I've been here I have run into people I went to school with and haven't seen for years. It definitely feels as if I am home."

Black Barn Bristo's new menu is described as modern New Zealand cuisine with a focus on seasonal, local produce.

Regnar says his favourite seasonal produce is winter.

"I love cooking with Jerusalem artichokes. They are simple to cook and are packed full of earthy flavour."

The bistro is set to launch some new and exciting options for diners.

Henry said they were always looking at ways to ensure they kept things fresh and moving forward.

"It's our duty as a well-known restaurant in the region to ensure we keep things exciting for our team and our locals," Henry said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Every Wednesday there will be a children's after school dinner from 5pm. Three pasta dishes to select from at $15 each, the full menu will also be available.

Wednesday to Saturday from 4pm-6pm is Happy Hour with $2 oysters, and Sunday is Charcoal Day when Regnar will cook two dishes on the Kamado Joe Barbecue.

For more information go to www.blackbarn.com.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Hawkes Bay Today

Top drop: Hawke's Bay Merlot crowned best in world at global awards

Lifestyle

Volunteering goes digital: Hawke’s Bay charities embrace remote roles

Watch
Lifestyle

How John Scott’s design philosophy shapes a new generation of architects


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Top drop: Hawke's Bay Merlot crowned best in world at global awards
Hawkes Bay Today

Top drop: Hawke's Bay Merlot crowned best in world at global awards

NZ wineries won three out of nine international trophies at an annual wine contest.

05 Jun 03:34 AM
Volunteering goes digital: Hawke’s Bay charities embrace remote roles
Lifestyle

Volunteering goes digital: Hawke’s Bay charities embrace remote roles

Watch
11 Apr 05:00 PM
How John Scott’s design philosophy shapes a new generation of architects
Lifestyle

How John Scott’s design philosophy shapes a new generation of architects

05 Apr 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP