Cuisine Announces Its Pick Of The Best Dining Spots Across Aotearoa New Zealand

Today sees the release of the list of over 250 New Zealand restaurants that have been selected to showcase in the Cuisine Good Food Guide for 2023/2024, and, on 7 August, 18 category winners and Cuisine’s Hatted restaurants will be announced at the highly anticipated Cuisine Good Food Awards, presented by American Express.

All these establishments have been carefully assessed by the 40-strong Cuisine Good Food Guide judging panel comprised of food writers and critics, chefs and hospitality-industry professionals, to ensure that that they meet the requirements to make it to the list.

“When choosing our restaurants, we are looking for places that have identified their niche and deliver on their promise to their customers. We award points for mood, décor and service, but our main focus is food: flavour, technique, innovation and balance,” says Lead Judge Kerry Tyack.

This year, in addition to its prestigious hat allocations and category winners, Cuisine, the nation’s authoritative voice on all things food and drink, has introduced its ‘Cuisine Destinations’ for 2023/2024.

This new section will allow for a wider focus across regional and metro areas to cater to the diverse taste of Aotearoa that is craved by both Kiwis and international visitors.

“Cuisine Destinations will throw a spotlight on those experiences that you wouldn’t want a visitor to miss: it might be showcasing some of the best kaimoana in town; the place for popping the big question over bubbles and snacks; or a spot that makes all of your sourdough pizza dreams come true. All of our Cuisine Destinations are firmly food focussed,” says Cuisine editor Kelli Brett.

A dining establishment endorsed by Cuisine equips serious food and drink lovers with everything they need to venture out for a good time says Brett. She believes that in recent years restaurant reviews have become the purview of many, meaning that at times they can be uninformed and not always a true or fair reflection of an establishment.

“We put into words – and portray through images – the dining experience, so that the diner can make an informed decision on whether they want to spend their dollars at that establishment.”

She sees the role of Cuisine, and the Cuisine Good Food Guide 2023/2024 as one that supports and uplifts the industry, celebrating the good, the great and the excellent.

“At Cuisine we’d much rather recognise those restaurants that we would happily encourage you to frequent and support. To receive a review in Cuisine, the restaurant experience needs to be good and the assessment may land somewhere between great and consistently outstanding or extraordinary. We will not waste your time or ours by telling you where not to go. We book anonymously and pay for every meal and, of course, we do often assess restaurants that won’t receive our endorsement. When that happens, we swallow our disappointment, ask for the bill and move on. We are here to lift up and celebrate our hospitality industry, not tear it down.”

In 2023 those restaurants deemed the best of the best will receive 1, 2 or 3 hats and there has been a change in the scoring levels this year. To be awarded one hat a restaurant will need to score 17 with a standard at ‘Excellent’. A score of 18 will remain at two hats (‘Consistently outstanding’) and to achieve three hats a restaurant will need to be considered ‘Extraordinary and approaching perfection’ with a score of 19 or 20.

“We do realise that this means that there will be restaurateurs at that 16 mark who will be disappointed this year as they will not be awarded a hat. However, restaurants scoring below 17 will be assessed for our new Cuisine Destinations list in the Cuisine Good Food Guide,” adds Tyack.

The establishments who have been “hatted” will be announced on 7 August at a glittering event along with the 18 category winners that celebrate the best restaurants and chefs.

This year’s awards also include a few new categories: “Hotel Room Service of the Year” and “Luxury Lodge Chef of the Year”. In addition, the “Wine Experience of the Year” award has been renamed to the “Sommelier & Wine Experience of the Year” to include a greater focus on the important role that Sommeliers play.

For more information in the lead-up to the awards visit @cuisinemagazine and cuisine.co.nz.

The full list of hatted restaurants and category winners will be announced on 7 August.

Stay tuned to cuisine.co.nz for updates on the Cuisine Good Food Awards presented by American Express on 7 August.

The September issue of Cuisine magazine, on sale 14 August 2023, will include all hatted restaurants and category winners.

New Zealand’s full dining bible the Cuisine Good Food Guide for 2023/2024 will be available at cuisine.co.nz.

The categories for the 2023/4 Cuisine Good Food Awards and their sponsors are as follows:

1. American Express Restaurant of the Year
2. Cuisine Chef of the Year
3. Pead Food Legend
4. NIWA-Haku Kingfish Champion for Change
5. Specialist Restaurant of the Year
6. Greenstone Creek Metropolitan Restaurant of the Year
7. Leefield Station Regional Restaurant of the Year
8. Ōra King Salmon Innovation Award
9. Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year
10. The Alchemist’s Table Winery Restaurant of the Year
11. Kenwood Restaurant Personality of the Year
12. Long-Term Player of the Year
13. Pastry Chef of the Year
14. Rising Talent – One to Watch
15. Luxury Lodge Chef of the Year (NEW in 2023)
16. Sommelier & Wine Experience of the Year (the addition of the focus on Sommelier is new for 2023)
17. Drinks List of the Year
18. Hotel Room Service of the Year (NEW in 2023)

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