By Linda Bennett
Darren Wright certainly isn’t going to let a series of natural disasters stand in the way of opening his new restaurant.
The renowned Canterbury chef had a central Christchurch space confirmed for his new venture ‘Carlton Butchery’, when the September earthquake hit. The site destined for the restaurant soon became one of the poster buildings for media to film as one of the worst damaged, and was quickly taken down.
A determined Darren and his business partners, wife Leanne, and her Uncle and Aunt Graham and Lynda Bellaney, continued with their drive for their restaurant on the Victoria Street spot, named Carlton Butchery, after the original building that stood there. The foundation had just been laid when the February 22 quake rocked the region. So with the building site within the original no-go cordoned area, opening date got pushed further back still.
Meanwhile, Darren had given notice at his job at Bangalore Polo Club, so found himself without a kitchen to go to each day. A challenging time, to say the least, for the chef and his wife, who’d sold their hugely successful Akaroa-based restaurant, Harbour 71, after 10 years to move to Christchurch and open the doors on a new chapter.
“It’s been a tough year not knowing where the next dollar is going to come from,” Darren says.
“So many people here are in similar situations, people in business, people with broken homes, people who’ve had to leave their homes. Hospitality has been hit so hard, there’s so many restaurants out of action, and so many people out of work. You have to take your hat off to people like Jonny Schwass, he’s been a real soldier through all of this, it was never an option for him to bail out, and that’s fantastic.”
And was it ever an option for them to give up on their dream? The short answer is no.
“We never thought we wouldn’t do it, but we’ve just wondered if it’s going to happen, and when it is going to happen. It has been really frustrating, but we’re dealing with it the best we can, and just get on with it.
“Now we’ve got to the point where we just have to be patient. You have to step out of the kitchen, and recognise that at the end of the day you’re a businessman, and when you do open, you want to do it right. So we don’t want to rush it through for the sake of a few months now. It’s given us more time with the architecture, and fit-out, and that’s been great. And when we first took on this place, it was an old building, so now, it is fantastic that everything is going to be new, and purpose built.”
They’ve been buoyed by solid support from family, friends, and the Christchurch hospitality industry.
“The scene here is very strong, people rally together, and that’s become very evident this year. People are genuine in offering help, and they do care. Everyone just wants to see things get back to normal.”
And Darren says keeping busy and active has been key to getting through the last few months. Along with competing in The New Zealand Culinary Team for a gold medal at the WA Oceania Fest in Perth in March “keeping busy” has included entering the recent New Zealand Culinary Fare. He proved he didn’t need his own kitchen to turn out amazing food – taking out the Bidvest New Zealand Regional Team Challenge with teammate Gareth Evans. The pair cooked their three-course menu to win the title by just one point, against fierce competition.
“We were thrilled with the win, it was pretty close in the end, and some really good calibre chefs.”
So what’s Carlton Butchery going to be when it opens – hopefully later this year?
There’ll be a restaurant on one side, with a café aspect for a-la-carte lunch, along with a deli cabinet, which will also cater for those wanting to grab and go. There’ll also be a small shop – the domain of Graham and Lynda, who will showcase their range of ‘From The Farm Gate’ salt and herb blends, and some new products. Passionate foodie Lynda will do some cooking in the onsite demo kitchen during the day, and there are plans for men’s cooking classes in the evenings.
And while named ‘Carlton Butchery’ with some harks back to the building’s former usage in the decor, with Darren’s father being a fisherman, the menu certainly won’t be confined to red meat.
“It will be along the lines of what we offered at Harbour 71 – we want to get back to what we love, and our style of food and service.”
And regular customers of the Akaroa eatery will welcome the return of Darren’s ‘Trust the Chef’ menu, where diners are left in the dark about what’s coming until it arrives in front of them.
“It’s a really interactive way to get people to sit down and talk about the food, and the experience. We really enjoy it, it was one of the nicest things we offered at Harbour.”
Most of all, Darren and Leanne can’t wait to host people again.
“We’ve really missed the restaurant, so we’re really looking forward to getting back into that environment. But, the main thing is to get people back in, and help them feel like things are getting back to normal. When things like natural disaster strike, it takes you back to the basics – things like family, eating well, and staying warm, all become really important, so food has become very comforting to people here, and we’re really excited about being able to offer that comfort.”