The ability to easily connect with the land in Central Otago is a huge attraction for top chef Ben Bayly and could see him opening a southern version of his new award-winning restaurant.
Bayly opened Ahi in Auckland, which was named the Cuisine Good Food Awards’ metropolitan restaurant of the year, just after the first Covid-19 lockdown. He is also a co-owner of Aosta in Arrowtown and its newly opened sibling, Little Aosta.
His time in Arrowtown and Queenstown as a result of overseeing Aosta, which got one hat in the food awards, has opened his eyes to the bounty of the region.
"I love coming down to Central. I always wanted to do something down there."
Waikato born and raised and a "massive ambassador" for Auckland, Bayly, a father of three and a former My Kitchen Rules New Zealand judge, says a time will come when he does not need the "hustle and bustle" of life in the big city and the South will beckon, probably within the next 10 years.
"We don’t realise as North Islanders how amazing the South Island is. It’s such an incredible place. It’s easier to connect with the land."
His family spends as much time as possible in the South, and has a week-long holiday in Fiordland coming up.
"I’ve got a love affair with the place. I lived overseas for 10 years, travelled France, Italy, United Kingdom, America, Australia. I got to know all these other countries except my own.
"Now I’m wondering, ‘What makes New Zealand food great? What is New Zealand food?’.
"What better way to do that than to connect with the deep South, especially; and then you’ve got the wine too. It’s world class."
The idea was Ahi in Auckland would concentrate on ingredients of the north while a possibly Queenstown-based Ahi would work with the produce of the South Island.
"The oceans are very different in both islands. We are such a long country and as you go further south the ocean changes a lot and so there is a real opportunity for the Ahi brand to explore that."
However, opening Ahi in Auckland in the middle of a Covid-pandemic and then facing continual lockdowns meant Bayly is having to concentrate on that restaurant in the short term.
"We’ve got quite a bit of work to do here. We’ve just won best metropolitan restaurant and are just starting our own organic garden and getting our systems right.
"If we are going to expand the Ahi offering I want to make sure we nail it."
Part had been the steep learning curve in having a restaurant garden. Bayly had the chance to take over the lease of a garden from a supplier and could not resist.
"It’s been a dream. In our second lockdown we spent all our time in the garden out there and got it cranked up."
It had required new ways of thinking about produce for the restaurant, especially since it was a 50-minute drive away. Thinking six months ahead for when and what to plant, ordering seeds and how to use the inevitable glut of vegetables had become the norm.
"If we have a massive glut of kohlrabi we juice it, make sauerkraut, preserve it — nothing is thrown away.
"It is a different mindset, not just around the creative process but truly cooking with the seasons, connected to the land and getting your hands dirty.
Being able to pull vegetables out of the ground, brush the dirt off and serve them that night outweighed any difficulties such as dealing with slugs, rats and rabbits attacking the plants, he said.
"We’re trying to make New Zealand food the best we can."
It had also proved to be a life-saver as vegetable prices have skyrocketed, even though there are wage and material costs associated with growing the vegetables.
Aosta and Little Aosta also had that connection with the land — by supporting local food growers and producers and also staff foraging for items such as pine mushrooms and watercress.
While the food is Italian — Bayly has spent a lot of time in northern Italy and Arrowtown is at the same latitude with the same climate and similar terroir — the ingredients are all local.
"It makes sense to do it there. The techniques are from the northern hemisphere but the food is 100% Kiwi. We’ve just borrowed the techniques and made it our own."
Having opened Ahi during the Covid pandemic, you might suppose Bayly would think twice about opening another while the country was still in its grip but the opportunity to expand the Aosta concept was too good to resist as existing business Fantan was not working.
He always liked the idea of a more casual version of Aosta using the same ingredients to provide easy food and wine like a family meal, something he would serve at home.
"We wanted a place people could bring their families, be loud. The wine is about drinking not thinking, simple and delicious food."
The food is cooked on a wood-fired grill and in a wood-fired oven.
While he has kept pushing on throughout Covid, he says it had devastated the hospitality industry.
Seeing restaurants close has been "heartbreaking".
He strongly believed a dedicated hospitality minister was needed. Having hospitality lumped in with tourism did not make sense as they were different industries, he said.
Given the revenue generated and people employed, hospitality was "a really important part of the economy".
The Government last week reassessing the latest wage subsidy criteria was a huge relief for the industry as it better reflected what businesses were experiencing.
"I’m glad they listened," he says.
He put getting through Covid so far down to a great landlord and a great team and culture, as well as supportive family and customers.
"I’ve just tried to get on with it and focus on how we can get better and look after our staff better. And without our customers we are nothing. I‘m trying to find silver linings in a financially difficult two years."
So despite all the challenges of recent years, Bayly feels like he has never been happier.
"I’m enjoying life and my job.
"It’s so exciting being able to carve out a lifestyle where I jump between two different places doing different stuff."
