Waipawa’s Conor Mertens joins Elephant Hill Winery as head chef

From Tokyo and New York to Napier’s Vinci’s Pizza and the Waipawa Butchery, Elephant Hill’s new head chef Conor Mertens has turned his culinary hand to most things on the menu.

Mertens is set to start at the winery restaurant on Friday and has taken the opportunity at the Te Awanga site to further explore his creative culinary ways after previously enjoying a break to raise his family.

The chef of 18 years, who lives in Waipawa, said he was “getting the itch to be creative again and get back in the kitchen”.

Conor Mertens (inset) is set to start as the new head chef at Elephant Hill Winery in Hawke's Bay on June 6.

Mertens will head the new restaurant experience and introduce a contemporary culinary experience that integrates the winery’s signature “Sea, Earth, and Stone” vineyard and winemaking philosophy.

The sea would be represented by the fish on the menu, the earth encompasses garden and meat products, while Mertens’ approach to stone was based on his interpretation.

“I took a more philosophical approach in terms of creating depth and minerality, so making sure dishes have got a nice richness to them, and a good umami that grounds and creates depth.”

Mertens has previously worked as head chef at Hillside in Wellington and Auckland’s two-hatted Orphans Kitchen.

He has also cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo, founded his own Chimera restaurant, helped to open a wine bar on Auckland’s North Shore and did a stint at Wallingford Homestead.

Mertens’ passion for food stems from his early teenage years when he was given a night or two at home to cook for the family.

“I had a handle on the kitchen from kids’ cookbooks all the way up and that sort of kept going.”

Conor Mertens says his love of cooking was formed in his teen years.

He decided, when working in a record store in his late teens, to follow a friend to chef school and “fell in love with it”.

“The reason I fell in love with cooking was cooking for people you care about.”

Mertens said he was heavily inspired by high-end restaurants and the food culture in Japan, which he applied to his own methods of cooking.

“The backbone of my cooking is in dashi broths, light fermentation and really letting the ingredients shine.”

He said he chose to shy away from heavier sauces used in French and Italian cuisine.

His love for vegetables and fish would be present in a menu he described as balanced and flowing.

“I will use meat, but when I use meat, it will be the best quality I can get and it will be the star of the show.”

He planned to work seasonally, so there would be certain dishes that he would change in and out of the menu.

“The menu will be constantly evolving, there will be stuff that will become staples over time, but generally stuff will move through... there will always be something new.”

Elephant Hill Winery’s general manager for sales and marketing Simon Swa said the new food concept will offer a hyper-seasonal, modern, inventive menu, with trust-the-chef and fixed options.

“We are thrilled to finally welcome Conor to Elephant Hill, having first approached him back in May 2024. But this year, the timing was right for both of us.”

He said the business was excited about Mertens bringing his experience and inventive, culinary flair to offer a contemporary, stylish menu that complements Elephant Hill’s modern brand and winemaking.

Future plans included collaborative chef and supplier events, special themed Saturday dinners and additional opening days for the summer season.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.