Blue Spur eatery up for awards trifecta

“Passion and flair” is the secret recipe to successful dining, according two Hokitika chefs nominated for a national hospitality award.
It is the fifth time in a row that a food dish from the Stations Inn restaurant, on Blue Spur, owned and operated by husband and wife team Hugh and Glenda Little, has been nominated for the Hospitality Association of New Zealand Awards for Excellence.
Mr Little said he was proud that the restaurant had again been nominated as a finalist, this time for the nation’s best beef dish. The Hokitika restaurant won the award in both 2006 and 2008.
“We will have been operating for six years in December, and we are pretty proud of that consistency. To make the final each year has been very special.”
Mrs Little said they had some “amazing” comments from diners about the Wakanui beef dish.
“When a customer tells you that that’s the best they have tasted in the world, it is very special.
“You start with good staff, who begin with a good product, and just go from there.”
Chefs Lou MacPherson and Drew Boyling put the success down to the fact that they both “enjoyed being creative in the kitchen”.
Hospitality Association of NZ chief executive officer Bruce Robertson said the common theme all finalists shared was the outstanding levels of service and professionalism they each displayed — along with the passion and enthusiasm embodied by their respective owners and operators.
“These finalists epitomise the crème-de-la-crème of New Zealand’s hospitality industry across all its guises — and were selected after a comprehensive and thorough judging process in which every venue was visited personally by members of the judging panel,” Mr Robertson said.
“The standard and quality among these finalists sets them apart from their competitors in the marketplace, and any of the finalists would make worthy winners. They are a proud reflection of where the cutting edge of New Zealand’s hospitality industry is moving — delivering consumers with service standards which are the equal of anywhere in the world.”
Winners in each of the 15 categories will be announced at a gala awards dinner, in Auckland on September 30.