NEW ZEALAND | Moving an established restaurant operation across the Remutaka Hill in three-and-a-half weeks would be a demanding opening programme at any time. Doing it immediately ahead of one of Aston Norwood Gardens’ busiest periods has given hospitality operators Theo Wijnsma and John Richards little margin for delay.
The pair have opened The Duke Bar & Restaurant at Aston Norwood in Kaitoke, bringing elements of their former Featherston restaurant Brac & Bow into a considerably larger hospitality operation.
The opening coincides with Aston Norwood’s annual Blossom Valley Festival, which brings thousands of visitors to the property. Wijnsma and Richards have converted the venue’s former function space into the new restaurant and bar in just three-and-a-half weeks.
For existing customers, one significant piece of Brac & Bow has also made the move. Its distinctive timber bar was transported from Featherston and reinstalled as a centrepiece of The Duke.
“Many hands, an expert timber craftsman also known as Dad, and a truck conquered the winding road over the Remutaka Hill to get it to its new home at Aston Norwood in Kaitoke,” Richards said.
“We wanted The Duke to have its own personality, but we also wanted to bring a little bit of Brac & Bow with us. There are so many memories attached to that bar.”
Brac & Bow had been ranked the number one restaurant in Featherston on Tripadvisor before closing at the end of July. Wijnsma and Richards have carried its contemporary bistro approach into the new operation rather than attempting to replicate the restaurant.
The Duke menu centres on recognisable bistro food shaped by seasonal produce, European influences and occasional references to Wijnsma’s Dutch heritage.
Starters are priced at $18 and include scallops with parsnip purée, smoked maple drizzle, cherry pearls and prosciutto chips, and gin and beetroot cured salmon with pickled red onion, dill crème fraîche and microgreens.
Several Brac & Bow favourites have also been reworked. Spring Lamb Two Ways combines twice-cooked lamb shoulder with pea purée, minted vert and cream of pepper, while the 250g-plus Silver Fern Farms sirloin is served with red wine jus, caramelised onion and a truffle mushroom croquette.
Rather than charging separately for sides, The Duke includes seasonal sharing plates with every main, served family-style to the table. Main courses, including sides, are priced at $44.
Desserts start at $15 and range from Louis XVI Chocolate Melange and vanilla panna cotta to Whittaker’s chocolate profiteroles. A savoury option of torched goat’s cheese is served with candied walnuts, beetroot kawakawa jam, smoked pear and bread crackers.
Wijnsma said the underlying proposition had remained deliberately straightforward.
“People want delicious food, a great glass of wine, friendly service and somewhere they genuinely enjoy being,” he said. “That was at the heart of Brac & Bow and it will be at the heart of The Duke.”
Local sourcing continues across the operation, with the kitchen looking to suppliers in the Wairarapa, Wellington region and elsewhere in New Zealand. The wine list retains a strong Wairarapa presence alongside selections from other New Zealand regions.
Beyond the restaurant
The larger commercial shift is the scale of the operation Wijnsma and Richards are taking on at Aston Norwood.
Alongside The Duke, the pair have assumed responsibility for the property’s weddings and functions business and its on-site Chalet accommodation overlooking the gardens. The accommodation has been refreshed ahead of spring.
The independently operated Three Trees Cafe has also received an interior upgrade and menu refresh, broadening the food and beverage offer across the property.
Blossom Valley effectively set the deadline for the entire programme.
“We probably could have chosen a quieter time to open,” Richards said. “But Blossom Valley gave us our deadline. We knew The Duke needed to be open and ready for 1 September.”
The Duke now joins Mother Goose Bar & Kitchen and Brac & Bow Catering in Wijnsma and Richards’ hospitality portfolio.
Mother Goose operates near Tauherenikau Racecourse from the renovated historic premises previously known as the Tin Hut. Brac & Bow Catering provides menus for weddings, events and private dining across the Wellington region.
For Richards, who grew up in Featherston, the expansion across the Remutakas is intended to build on the operating model developed at Brac & Bow rather than leave it behind.
“The Duke isn’t about recreating Brac & Bow,” he said. “It’s about taking everything we loved and learned from it and giving it a new home.”
With restaurant service, accommodation, weddings, functions, catering and a major seasonal visitor attraction now sitting around the wider operation, The Duke represents a substantially bigger platform than the restaurant the pair left behind in Featherston.
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