Craggy Range restaurant wins supreme award and best restaurant at hospitality awards

Craggy Range won Best Restaurant and the Supreme Award at the 2024 Hospitality New Zealand Business Awards this week. Photo / Supplied

A pair of prestigious hospitality awards have been bestowed on Craggy Range restaurant at the 2024 Hospitality New Zealand Business Awards.

The Hawke’s Bay business was honoured with the Best Restaurant and Supreme Award accolades at the 25th edition of the event this week.

The achievement follows Craggy Range executive chef Casey McDonald’s Chef of the Year win at the 2023 awards.

A Craggy Range statement said this year’s awards affirmed the entire team’s dedication to delivering the ultimate culinary experience from the moment guests step inside the restaurant.

“It’s an incredible honour to win these awards, recognising the hard work of our restaurant team, the wider team across the business, our dedicated suppliers and our amazing customers, who support us every day.

“We strive to deliver memorable hospitality, and these awards are a fantastic acknowledgement of everyone at Craggy Range and the passion we put into what we do,” McDonald said.

Kristine Kilpatrick, head of people and hospitality, accepted the awards on behalf of Craggy Range.

“We are incredibly honoured to receive these awards from Hospitality New Zealand, particularly the Supreme Award, which would not be possible without the incredible vision, support, and investment of our owners, the Peabody family.

“These awards are a testament to our entire team’s unwavering dedication to delivering world-class experiences,” Kilpatrick said.

“We are grateful to all our guests for their continued support and to the Craggy Range team for their hard work. It is a privilege to shine a light on Hawke’s Bay once again and all that our region has to offer in terms of exceptional hospitality experiences.”

Kristine Kilpatrick, head of people and hospitality, accepted the awards on behalf of Craggy Range. Photo / Craggy Range

Hospitality NZ said the Supreme Award goes to the award winner who stood out the most from all finalists and exemplified what it was to provide excellent hospitality in New Zealand.

Market St Bar and Eatery in Napier’s CBD was named ‘Best Bar’ at the awards.

It was the third year in a row that the business had been named a finalist in the category.

A Market St Facebook post said owners Steve and Sarah Kelly were “beyond happy and so incredibly proud” of the achievement and their team.

“We work so hard at what we do and we pour everything into it and be recognised like this means so much to us!” the post said.