Once the sole domain of Members of the New Zealand Parliament and their guests, Bellamys has been operating in the Beehive since 1974 but has only recently opened up to the public. Iconic Wellington venue Logan Brown took over management of the parliamentary restaurant, and diners can now enjoy a creative, tantalising menu that showcases the best of New Zealand cuisine, cooked to perfection and delivered with signature Logan Brown style.
Head chef Josh Ross understands the importance of maintaining the reputation of both Bellamys and Logan Brown.
“We have a great team behind us who share the same values we were taught at Logan Brown, like producing high-quality dishes, exceptional customer service, sustainability of produce and giving an excellent overall experience to our customers.”
Ross was at Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand for two years studying the Professional Culinary Management programme. This consisted of one year of the Diplôme de Cuisine programme and one year of business studies, learning the marketing, financing, and management-side of running a restaurant – invaluable skills for a young chef.
“The course taught us a great foundation of skills, particularly the more classic culinary skills,” he said. “Although you may not use these every day in the kitchen after you graduate, it teaches you how to be precise, how to present, and how to manage your time efficiently.”
Before he began his studies, however, he had already contacted Logan Brown and asked for a six-month unpaid internship – two months in they had offered him a job.
“I found that working and studying at the same time complimented each other so well; I was able to pick things up a lot faster than anyone else in the classroom, and when it came to filleting my first fish at Logan Brown I’d already learned this technique from my studies.”
Since starting at Logan Brown, Ross has made the most of the opportunities which have come his way. I've had the chance to work in so many different positions and was sous-chef when I left to work at Bellamys. I have had the chance to work on a number of awesome functions, travel the country, and meet some truly amazing people.”
A highlight was working with the Cartwheel Creamery, based in the Manawatu region, where he got to create his own cheese. However, Ross enjoys almost every aspect of his job.
“I love the creativity aspect of my role; being able to design a whole menu, then changing it seasonally and getting to experiment with various ingredients every day is such an amazing part of the role,” he explained.
Working at Bellamys means that Ross is often catering for foreign dignitaries, and as such he has tried to incorporate a lot of native ingredients into the menu to showcase the top-quality foods available in New Zealand. Sustainability is a big part of Bellamys and the wider Logan Brown family. Every second morning Ross and the team go out and collect ingredients such as sea succulents, celeries and wild porcini mushrooms from different spots all over Wellington.
"Sustainability is a big part of Bellamys and the wider Logan Brown name,” he explained. “We use free-range pork, wild venison, and line-caught fish – we do not use trawled as it is not good for the fish quality, nor is it good for sustainability. It’s about being respectful of the environment in which these top ingredients are coming from, and if a certain fish is being over-fished that season, we don’t use it in our dishes.”
For the time being, Ross is focused on establishing Bellamys – getting operations consistent and building up a well-known, reputable restaurant. However, as with most young chefs, the lure of overseas is hard to resist.
“In the far future, it would be great to go and work overseas,” he said. “Working in some of the top fifty restaurants in the world is a big dream of mine.” 
