"We are thrilled Peter is bringing his reputation for imaginative and innovative New Zealand cuisine to the Hilton Queenstown. The food he and our team of chefs are planning, paired with Wakatipu Grill's exhilarating design and setting, will truly elevate the gourmet dining scene in Queenstown to another level," Hilton Queenstown general manager Marlene Poynder said.
Thornley's appointment foreshadows the scheduled mid-May opening of the once troubled development, which features four- and five-star Hiltons as well as a high-end retail and dining village being touted as a draw for locals and tourists alike.
Thornley has headed restaurants across New Zealand for more than a decade. He has worked at Icon Restaurant at Te Papa in Wellington, Bracu near Auckland, Thornley's in Christchurch, The French Farm near Akaroa and, since 2008, Kermadec at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour.
The recipient of many national and international awards, Thornley will be working with Hilton Queenstown executive chef Frederic Monnier and will be joined at Wakatipu Grill by Scotsman Brian Campbell, his longtime pastry chef from Bracu and Kermadec.
Campbell has worked in Relais & Chateaux fellowship luxury hotels and restaurants in the UK as well as Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain.
Thornley promises an "interactive" dining experience using local, seasonal produce.
"You won't find things out of season, the oysters will be alive when we shuck them. I want to offer all our guests the tactility - I want them to be able to touch and feel and interact; that's kind of one of the things the big city can't give me."
A "South Canterbury boy", he says the five-star deep south appointment feels like "coming home". He is full of praise for Campbell, whom he calls "probably the best pastry chef in Australasia", and Monnier, whom he describes as "the rock, the backbone, the local intelligence on the ground for us".
