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New cafe simply the best

Queenstown business partners (from left) Michelle Freeman, Chris Vile and Rae Ellis outside...
Queenstown business partners (from left) Michelle Freeman, Chris Vile and Rae Ellis outside Bespoke Kitchen, yesterday declared New Zealand’s best cafe. Photo supplied.

Just six months after opening, a Queenstown cafe has been named New Zealand's best.

Bespoke Kitchen, near Queenstown Medical Centre, was opened in June by Rae Ellis, Michelle Freeman and Chris Vile, owners of Vudu Cafe and Vudu Cafe & Larder.

In the annual competition, sanctioned by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, cafes are judged on a range of factors including atmosphere and appearance, menus, meals and coffee, service and staff interaction and overall impression.

Bespoke Kitchen won New Zealand Cafe of the Year and Best Suburban Cafe from 700 entrants.

Cafe of the Year head judge Kerry Tyack said the name "Bespoke'' cleverly and accurately described the business.

"A thoughtful and thoroughly user-friendly layout combines with an equally considered menu to provide cafe aficionados with a world-class experience. The judging team was impressed with all aspects of the superb service and the coffee was unmatched.

"Best of all, Bespoke Kitchen delivered consistent quality in every respect including counter food offerings, reading material and menu choice.''

The Bespoke menu was, as much as possible, organic - including coffee, which was roasted in Dunedin - with raw and vegan options supplementing traditional cafe staples, as well as a stand-alone bar for ‘‘espressoholics''.

Ms Ellis said she and her business partners were thrilled with the recognition for their latest venture.

‘‘We loved the space up there; we're always looking around to see what's going on and we liked [it] - it's a wee bit out of the way and it's a lovely, sunny spot.

‘‘It was just an overflow from Vudu Larder really - we just kind of wanted to test out some new things we've been working on, so it [the business] came up and we grabbed it.''

The cafe was ‘‘inundated'' yesterday with customers popping in to check out New Zealand's best, she said.

Included in the prize package was a $40,000 editorial package in Dish magazine, a Great Cafes of Melbourne tour, valued at $10,000 and use of a Renault Kangoo vehicle for a year.

Other winners were Red Shed Palazzo (Drury) and The Clareville Bakery Cafe (Carterton), joint winners of the Best Rural Cafe; Elizabeth Cafe & Larder (Tauranga), winner of the Best Metro CBD cafe; Sweet Vanilla Kitchen (Lower Hutt), which won Classic Kiwi Cafe; and Nick's Cafe (Waiuku, Auckland) which won the People's Choice Award.

tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz

 

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