Hunter’s winemaker James Macdonald catalogues some of the region’s finest culinary secrets: freshly shucked oysters, excellent butcheries, Thai wok dishes, chocolate factories, dreamy date spots, and yes, glasses of sauvignon blanc.
Should you find yourself seeking culinary direction in Marlborough, Hunter’s winemaker James Macdonald would be a very good person to turn to for advice. He knows wine, he knows food and he knows the northeastern corner of the South Island from the unique vantage point that comes with growing up among its vineyards.
Hunter’s is a pivotal part of the New Zealand wine story. It was established in 1979, making it the third oldest winery in Marlborough. “I first started working at our family winery when I was four years old, together with my brother Ed,” says Macdonald. Hunter’s is owned by their aunt Jane Hunter, and the brothers now run the business for her. James is as interested in wine’s edible companions as he is with the wine itself, particularly when those companions come from the region: especially kaimoana.
So, consider this your personal guide to the places Macdonald thinks are worth knowing: the chocolate factory to make a detour for, pie shops to add to your rota, where to find a plate of freshly shucked oysters, where to sip a very good Marlborough sav, and what to sip instead when you’ve had quite enough sav.
Three words (other than vibrant) that sum up the food in Marlborough: Sunny. Fresh. Emerging.
My most controversial food opinion about Marlborough: Turning beautiful, fresh seafood into patties or fritters should be outlawed.
Everyone has a dining out pet peeve. Mine is: Serving stale bread.
The local dish I crave most: A plate of freshly shucked Marlborough oysters on ice with a glass of wine at the beginning of a meal. These are grown here in the Pelorus Sound where we had a bach growing up. The taste of the seawater takes me straight back to swimming as a child.
The best restaurant in Marlborough is: Frank’s Oyster Bar.
Why I love Frank’s: Living in the regions can mean the buzz of a busy restaurant is hard to find. Frank’s pulls off this ambiance perfectly, providing us with a taste of city life.
My go-to order is: Those aforementioned Marlborough oysters.
When I’m craving something cheap and cheerful I head to: Noodle Corner which is a hole in the wall Thai place in Blenheim. Their beef, thai basil and bamboo shoots dish reaches S-tier with an optional fried egg on top.
The most underrated local gem is: Meaters of Marlborough, our exceptional family butcher. We take this place for granted and use it almost daily. It is perhaps the best butcher in the country.
A place I’ve been dying to try is: Sisu, which is a Nordic inspired wine bar and eatery located next to the foreshore in Picton. This place is tiny and run by a great couple who really believe in what they are doing. The street has just received a makeover so there are always people sitting in the sun, enjoying a view of the Marlborough Sounds with a glass of wine from the great, local list. It looks like the perfect place to wait for your ferry which has been delayed or cancelled.
Celebrating with a group? Book a table at: The Fancy Cow, which is a great pizzeria and brewery just down the road from the winery.
Pub or bar of choice: There is only one – The Grovetown Hotel which is the spiritual home of Marlborough’s wine industry. It is an esoteric old tavern that has largely been left untouched. There are no televisions and you can only order at the bar, but what they do have is great Japanese izakaya style cooking and excellent beer. This is the place where everyone knows your name.
The BYO I keep going back to: The answer to this question is a little unconventional. The best BYO we can have in Marlborough is at home with friends. Wine and food go hand in hand so winemakers tend to be very good cooks, or at least we think we are. Dinner parties with friends that go late with seemingly unlimited bottles of great wine are what our industry is all about.
For a late-night food fix you’ll find me at: Large dinners reduce the requirement for late-night top ups but that wasn’t always the case. Once the lights used to come on at Paddy Barrys (an Irish pub in Blenheim that closed in 2017), everyone would congregate at the BP service station for a pie. The long-suffering nightshift worker was a bloke called Pete. Once the pie was purchased, he would ring a taxi to try and move us along. At times, that forecourt used to resemble the end of days. I would love to see the CCTV from that place circa 2005.
Got visitors from out of town? I’m taking them to: I love to show off the diversity of Marlborough wine. This is best done by visiting our great winery cellar doors. There is so much more to Marlborough sauvignon blanc than meets the eye. Hunter’s, Cloudy Bay, Clos Henri all showcase the diversity and exceptional quality of Marlborough.
An ideal date spot would be: Harvest Restaurant offers a premium experience as it is part of the Marlborough Lodge, a beautiful luxury hotel. The grounds are simply amazing and so is the service. If you are in real trouble, I suggest a night at the Bay of Many Coves in the Queen Charlotte Sound. The Marlborough Sounds are the crown jewel of our region. This resort is accessed by boat only and the whole experience is incredible.
Make sure to order: A glass of Marlborough fizz!
Marlborough’s best…
Breakfast: I’m not a great fan of brunch due to the limited wine options. I also find a late breakfast ruins my appetite for lunch which is a meal I am particularly passionate about.
Coffee: Kaiaka Cafe in Springlands. You can feel that coffee moving through your veins!
Sandwich: Boom! is a small sandwich shop in Blenheim. They have a great selection of creative sandwiches along with their own hot sauces to go with them.
Pie: This is tough as we have quite a few options. For proper, working class pies: Renwick Meat Market or Redwood Bakery. For those that like boujee pies (you know who you are): The Burleigh in Blenheim is the ticket. What started with a humble pork belly pie has grown to a huge range of modern flavours. It’s the jerk chicken for me.
Kaimoana: We tend to think of Kaikoura as being part of Marlborough. The Pier Hotel in Kaikoura has half crayfish and chips which you get to enjoy sitting next to the ocean. The backdrop in Kaikoura is stunning with the ocean moving to the snow topped mountains so quickly. Take it all in with a glass of Hunter’s Rose.
Fish and chips: There are three or four options in Picton. Paperfish, the one across from the supermarket, is the best.
And the best place to unwrap and eat them is: Every parent of small children in Marlborough has sat next to the playground at the Picton foreshore with fish and chips. The combination of fighting off hungry seagulls, trying to monitor roaming toddlers and attempting to find 20 cent coins for miniature sail boat hire or train rides is a quintessential experience. Throw in the water park in the summer for an extra layer of complexity.
Bowl of soup: The Hunter’s Cellar Door which is down the path. We have had Jane’s own green lipped mussel chowder on the menu for as a long as I can remember. It works perfectly with a glass of quality Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (we have that too).
Bread: Marco Minghetti is a local baker making extraordinary sourdough and patisserie. They sell their produce out of a van next to the library in Blenheim a few days a week and also attend the Marlborough Farmers Market each Sunday. He is an absolute perfectionist which you can see in the quality of his produce.
Baked treat: Speaking of Minghetti’s, they do these amazing cornettos which are basically Italian style cream filled croissants. The standout is the sbagliato cornetto which is considered a unicorn item. Marco’s wife (who staffs the van) tells me it has only been made twice. Marco, if you are reading this: you could retire on that cornetto if you make it a regular item!
For a serious sweet tooth, head to: The Makana chocolate factory on Rapaura Road. The macadamia brittle is elite and is definitely a local secret.
If you’re after spice, make a beeline for: Eat Thai for excellent Thai food and another great wine list. They have this unique system when you order: : “Kiwi medium” or “Thai medium”. “Kiwi medium” is spicy but tolerable. Despite my local advice, our guests usually go with “Thai medium” and cannot finish their meals.
A splurge that’s worth it: Lunch at Furneaux Lodge which is a historic pub at the top of the Queen Charlotte Sound. The splurge is really on the 1.5 hour boat trip to get there. Jump on a scheduled Cougar Line sailing to head out for lunch and enjoy views of the Sounds that are unseen by most.
My favourite grocery shop: Our local Bin Inn is epic if you do a lot of cooking. Most dads my age are on the home cooked pizza or focaccia buzz at the moment. This is the place for all of your flour needs.
My favourite local hospo personality: That has to be Sam Webb who has brought a little bit of city sophistication to Marlborough through his restaurants Frank’s and No.11 at Wairau River.
The place I’m most likely to bump into someone I know: Speights Ale House on a Wednesday night when they are selling $8 pints of Guinness. Perhaps the cheapest Guinness in New Zealand? My father in law will definitely be there, so will most of our cellar team.
My dream Marlborough restaurant would look like: Wine industry lunches can be legendary. My meal in the Dream Restaurant would consist of freshly shucked oysters, steak frites and an île flottante to finish. My side would be a brochette of duck hearts cooked over fire. These are all dishes from my time living in Bordeaux. Good wine is essential to proceedings but I am not fussy as to the colour or where it comes from. I’ll leave the selection to the genie waiter – just don’t mess it up.
A local spot I wish we could bring back from the dead is: We used to have a pretend paddlesteamer called the River Queen tied up in the centre of town. There was a surreal time about 15 years ago when our local pub closed so instead we used to drink on this paddlesteamer every Friday night as they had craft beer which was rare in Marlborough at the time. They used to bring out trays of sausage rolls to meet their licence obligations.
The place I return to again and again: The Grovetown Hotel.
Why I love eating in Marlborough: We are a wine town and I absolutely love that. The wine industry connects us all in one way or another. We produce one of the great white wines of the world, sauvignon blanc, right here in New Zealand. I love eating in Marlborough as the produce we have around us pairs so well with the wine that made our region famous. Green lipped mussels, salmon and oysters from Marlborough are just as good as the wine.
