Napier eatery named as country's best

Jeremy Rameka, chef at award-winning Napier restaurant Pacifica. PHOTO/FILE.

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.

"We don't need to copy anybody," he said of the Kiwi restaurant food scene.
"It is about identity and it shows right around the country."

The Cuisine Good Food Awards is the country's premier event for the hospitality scene, and was also a great night for two other Bay restaurants.

The Neat Meat Best Regional Restaurant Award went to Bistronomy in Napier and the Neighbourly Best New Restaurant went to Malo.

Elephant Hill also made the winner's list taking a One Hat Award.

With Pacifica, Malo and Bistronomy also featuring in the hat list, from three hats to one hat, the region staked four "hats" and three national category titles - the top region outside the main centres.

Pacifica had been named as the Top Regional Restaurant in 2015 and 2016 and has now taken the big one.

While Mr Rameka was pleased with the win he said he was more driven to get the whole "food scene to come up" across the whole country.