The Chronicle Q&A: Barrack’s bartender Zoe Henry on why the their restaurant’s steak would woo Gordon Ramsay

Barrack's bartender Zoe Henry. Photo / Te Kakenga Kawiti-Bishara

Chronicle reporter Te Kakenga Kawiti-Bishara headed down to Whanganui’s Barracks Sports Bar to talk to bartender Zoe Henry.

Speaking of famed chefs, if I told you Gordon Ramsay is pulling up in his Ferrari F355 GTS right now, what is the signature Barracks dish you’d recommend and serve him so he wouldn’t go around smashing plates?

Honestly, the Barracks Big Boy would keep him happy and us still employed. It’d have to be that 300gm rump with all the trimmings, I’m talking grilled tomatoes, onions, eggs, chips, the lot. We’d be playing it safe with our quality steak. Surely he won’t lose it.

So we’ve Ramsay but Whanganui just voted you the local MP. What needs changing here in the township, what needs to be improved?

I want to see Whanganui more sustainably green, where we are recycling more as a community. Also, our younger generation needs tending to, giving them things to do is also on my priority list.

You’re a qualified bartender, so I reckon you’ve got tricks up your sleeve. Care to share?

Yeah, you could say I can make a good drink here and there. One solely unique drink to me that I can scrub up is called The Green Hornet (which also has special relevance to Barracks). It’s a standout drink. I’m not going to disclose the secret recipe, but the backstory of this drink comes from my late uncle who lived over in Australia. One time we were at his house and he was attempting to make drinks for us. He didn’t have all the ingredients so he improvised. Somehow The Green Hornet was born from that experience and I inherited that recipe to serve my customers.

What do you do to wind down after a long day?

I pretty much detox, hang out with my siblings and just sit and chill to wind down after 5 and see the sundown.

What is your favourite thing to do here in Whanganui?

I like to go to the Saturday markets when I’m free and attend any cool events happening in town over the weekends, whatever’s on the calendar.

Now Barracks has bands, local musos and entertainers pop in regularly. Sell me, a non-customer, the Barracks music pitch, what could I expect genre and vibe-wise when I turn up for a quiet bevvy?

Well let’s start with this: Sophie Toyne is performing this Saturday night, as well as Renée Therése, Keinan Ngapo and Whiskey Mama.

I guess the vibe we have in here is laid back, old-school quiet rock, we don’t do screamo in here. But it’s mainly slow rock here, we tend to not go overboard. There’s also open mic nights and a provided PA system should a patron choose to solo.

What would you like to see happening in town 50 years from now?

As I said previously, I’d like to see more for our younger ones in retaining them here in town. They’d probably have aspirations in the cities, but why not bring the aspirations to them, at home. They’d go away and come back seeing changes everywhere, when they could be the change themselves.

Also personally, I’d like to own a carnival within 50 years’ time.

• This report was produced under the Public Interest Journalism initiative, funded by NZ on Air