The winners of Waikato’s Hospitality Awards have been announced. The range of Waikato’s hospitality scene was showcased at the awards ceremony, with tight competition for each of the prizes.
Gather Foodhouse proved to be a crowd-pleaser, winning People’s Choice, with the head chef and owner Ashleigh Brodie taking out the award for outstanding chef, too.
Other top performers included Mr Pickles, a new eatery that won outstanding ambience and design as well as emerging chef for Harriet Boucher.
In terms of fine dining, Palate earned the title of outstanding restaurant—a well-deserved win considering they have more national restaurant awards than any other dining establishment in the Waikato.
Outstanding bar of the year and bartender accolades went to The Wonder Horse, who serve an array of custom and classic cocktails, as well as having extensive craft beers, wines and whiskeys available.
“As an industry, it’s so important that we take time out to celebrate our success and acknowledge our achievements,” said Marisa Bidois, CEO Restaurant Association of New Zealand. “We believe it’s important to shine a light on our industry and make sure we are recognised for the contribution we make to our community and economy.”
The full list of winners is below.
Meadow Fresh Outstanding Barista
Dove Chen, Grey Street Kitchen
Antipodes Outstanding Bartender
Alex Williams, Wonder Horse
The POS People Outstanding Front of House Team
Gothenburg Restaurant
Bidfresh Hamilton Outstanding Chef
Ashleigh Brodie, Gather Foodhouse
The Breeze Waikato 99.4FM Local Food Hero
Gus Tissink, Bidfresh Hamilton
Service Foods Emerging Chef
Harriet Boucher, Mr. Pickles Bar & Eatery
Bidfood Hamilton Outstanding Café
The Shack, Raglan
Restaurant Association of NZ Outstanding Bar
Wonder Horse
OneMusic Outstanding Ambience & Design
Mr. Pickles Bar & Eatery
Nova Energy Outstanding Suburban/Regional Experience
Cinnamon Café
Burns & Ferrall Outstanding Restaurant
Palate
The Recruitment Network Outstanding Caterer
Mavis & Co
Maurice Trapp Group Outstanding Sales Rep
Katrina Frost, Bidfresh Hamilton
Kerr & Ladbrook Outstanding Supplier
Bidfresh Hamilton
