Open Kitchen Feature of New Central City Eatery
Open Kitchen Feature of New Central City Eatery
Guests at Christchurch’s newest central city restaurant and bar will get to see one of the country’s top young chefs in action when it opens its doors this Wednesday, 1 May.
The open kitchen at the Straits Cafe and Junction Bar at the Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch will allow diners to watch executive chef Mat Jones and his talented team of young chefs as they create gastronomic delights.
Mat Jones has worked at The George and the Millennium Hotels in Christchurch and was awarded the prestigious Junior Chef of the Year title in 2008 by the Chaine des Rotisseurs, the international association of gastronomy. He has also represented New Zealand in Malaysia at the New Zealand Food and Wine Festival.
His focus is on producing top quality food using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. The seasonal menu he has created for the Straits Cafe features farm-fresh vegetables and free-range meat from across the region and is complemented by a range of top wines from Canterbury’s Waipara region.
Also on the restaurant’s menu is a selection of Asian dishes that pay homage to the hotel’s Singaporean connections. Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch is one of 13 hotels in Rendezvous Hospitality Groups (RHG) portfolio. RHG is the hospitality division of Straits Trading Company Limited, one of Singapore’s oldest listed companies.
“We want our guests to enjoy a mixture of something familiar with the chance to try something quite different,” Mat says.
“The open kitchen means you can see the chefs at work. It’s bistro-style, but dressed up and with a contemporary edge.’’
Over the winter months Straits Cafe will be open for breakfast and dinner, with food also available to hotel guests through the room service menu. Classic hotel fare such as burgers and fish and chips will also be available in the Junction Bar.
In the spring a lunch menu will be added and an outdoor dining area opened up in the courtyard area beside the Junction Bar. The bar will be open all day for coffee and drinks.
To make a reservation for Straits Cafe call 03 943 3888 or just pop in.
Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch opens on May 1 and for a limited time it is offering guests 10 per cent off the best available room rate every day of the week, as well as free internet connectivity, free local telephone calls, and discounted charges for other hotel services.
ENDS