Nic Watt trained as a chef before beginning his career at the acclaimed Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo, where he discovered his love of Japanese cuisine.
After co-founding the Roka group in London in 2004, Watt opened several award-winning restaurants globally before trekking back to New Zealand and opening Masu in 2013. Now, he is the proud owner and operator of Masu, Inca, and Akarana Eatery in New Zealand and is currently opening his new restaurant, Shoku, in Dubai.
Consistency in food quality and aiming to exceed guests' service expectations are key to Masu's longevity.
Cultivating a culture centred around team support and putting the guest's needs as the number one priority has been an integral part of Masu's and Watt's personal ethos in establishing his range of successful restaurants and businesses. Watt and the team also do not compromise on aspects they are not focused on.
Masu's menu has evolved over the last decade based on the availability of items, guest feedback and seasonal recognition. There was little overall change beyond that, with Masu's priority to provide consistency so that guests can be assured and comfortable with each dining experience they have when they visit Masu.
In celebration of its tenth anniversary, Masu is bringing back its defining dishes, with a 'Greatest Hits' menu available throughout October.
"The menu will showcase the high-quality ingredients and technical cooking the Japanese Robata is renowned for," said Jeremy Ellis, Masu's restaurant manager.
Accompanying Masu's greatest hits menu, the team has worked with New Zealand's premium sake producer Zenkuro to produce an extremely limited edition Nigori sake using roasted Pinoli pine nuts.
"This is a world first. The pine nuts have been roasted and soaked before being fermented as part of the sake process, creating a delicious silky sake which pairs perfectly with rich proteins."
Only 75 bottles of this sake will be available at Masu during October. Watts recommends it be paired with Masu's beeswax-aged Japanese wagyu, a dish exclusive to the greatest hits menu.
Preserving on the menu for the last decade has been Masu's Alaskan Black Cod and chilli and citrus miso with pickled apple, which Ellis described as an exciting dish featuring sweet, sour, and salty components balanced with Umami, leading to complete and balanced flavour sensation.
Moving forward into 2024, Ellis said that the industry's most significant challenge was maintaining resilience in staffing.
"Ensuring staff longevity is the only way to create consistency in service. We want great staff who consider hospitality to be a career, and at Masu, we have set up programmes over the past ten years to retain these staff through ongoing training and development."
When customers come to dine at Masu, Ellis wants Masu's staff to be confident in guiding them through the menu and talking about the history of a dish, this knowledge being integral to elevating a customer's dining experience from a good one to a great one.
"We are looking to develop our team further with an internal micro qualification focused on attesting to a team member's knowledge, including food, beverage and system aspects within Masu."
