'Queen of ice': Barwoman cuts each piece of ice served at top Wellington restaurant Hiakai

Amy Young carves large cubes to fit into the short glasses, then bigger, rectangular spears for the taller glasses. Photo / Hiakai

Each piece of ice in drinks served at Wellington restaurant Hiakai is handcrafted by New Zealand's own "queen of ice".

Amy Young, 24, joined the restaurant as a bartender only this year but quickly mastered its "ice programme" - which entails freezing huge blocks of ice before sawing them down into cubes to fit different glasses.

That kind of attention to detail embodies what Hiakai is about. Celebrated Kiwi chef Monique Fiso, who also features in Netflix show The Final Table, opened the restaurant at the end of last year to showcase Māori and Polynesian ingredients in a meticulous tasting menu.

While the idea to begin handcrafting ice was introduced by Hiakai's manager, Young is now spearheading the project.

"I remember him running downstairs and being like, 'oh my god, she's a natural'," Fiso said.

"And now she's just the queen of ice carving - chipping it away and stuff, it's quite funny."

Young now cuts all of the ice herself - spending a chunk of time at the back of the restaurant twice a week with a saw and an ice pick.

Amy chisels each ice cube individually at the back of the restaurant twice a week, armed with a saw and an ice pick. Photo / Hiakai

"Two times a week we freeze up a 25L chilly bin," Young said.

"We put it into the chest freezer and I'll come into work and I'll have to get my saw out and ice pick and saw into this huge ice block."

Each drink is chilled with a single ice cube; Young carves large cubes to fit shorter glasses, then bigger, rectangular spears for taller glasses.

Young said working with ice was no easy feat. It melts quickly once the block has been cut apart, and it's difficult to make the cubes identical.

But it creates a unique look that fits Hiakai's vibe.

Amy Young, one of Hiakai's bar staff, is now spearheading the restaurant's "ice programme". Photo / Hiakai

"It kind of has a rustic feel to it - especially as it's not all perfectly cut. Because I use that ice pick, there are some chip marks in there, or they're not exactly the same size."

The process might sound impressive, but Young said it was definitely a "behind-the-scenes" kind of thing.

"It can get quite messy, and quite wet."

The drinks are as elaborate as the ice-making process - Young said a lot of research went into the drinks list, focusing on native ingredients.

One beverage is concocted to go with Hiakai's pork dish, which features fermented corn.

"The drink that we pair with it, for the non-alcoholic drink, is a pinot noir, cooked down so that there's no alcohol in it.

Hiakai owner Monique Fiso. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"We have a sweet corn syrup that we make that complements the corn that's on the dish. Then we have a yogurt espuma on top of that - so it has a really creamy texture to it."

Young said it tastes "almost like a banana milkshake".

"Which is weird, because there's no banana in it and it's definitely not a milkshake."

Fiso said it was great to see Young's work shine.

"The kitchen always gets a lot of the credit around here and it's sometimes a shame," she said.

"The front of house team puts so much work into the alcoholics, the non-alcoholics … they get forgotten about."