press kit
Steadfast in his focus on presenting local seasonal produce and serving it at its absolute best, Chef James Honore has shared his “farm to table” cuisine with diners for over a decade at Rosewood Cape Kidnappers.
New Zealand born and bred, Honore has been at the helm of the kitchen brigade at the Hawke’s Bay lodge as Executive Chef since 2013. His association with the lodges, however, harks back to 2003 with stints as Chef de Partie at Kauri Cliffs (2003-05), on the opening team at Cape Kidnappers (2007-2010), and then at Kauri Cliffs as Sous Chef (2010-2013).
During the pre-opening phase, the passionate chef was able to take part in the planning of the 12-plot fruit and vegetable gardens, built in 2008 in consultation with Scott Lawson of Lawson’s Organics. Over the past decade or more at Cape Kidnappers, Honore has truly championed the farm to table movement and made a name for himself and the lodge for fresh, vibrant, and full of flavour cuisine.
Leafy greens and herbs grow year-round, alongside kumara, potatoes, berries, figs, quince, crab apple, plum, pear, apricot, and a citrus grove to grow things that are harder to source from around the property. “We get vegetables fresh from our gardens daily and forage the Cape coast for interesting plants for my daily changing menus”, said Honore.
Especially interesting to the lodge’s international clientele are the indigenous ingredients that grow on the 6,000-acre farm and feature on lodge menus. Kawakawa and horopito flourish – as does native spinach, samphire found on the flat rock, lichen found in the bush, puffball mushrooms, and plenty of edible native seaweeds.
As such, the kitchens are constantly evolving with new dishes and experiences to delight guests. It’s important to offer a curated selection of offerings to cater to the diverse tastes of the worldly lodge guests.
“At least one or two components of each plate will be freshly picked from the garden”, Honore adds. Today two fulltime gardeners tend the plot to ensure they perform to capacity for the lodge kitchen’s use.
What can’t be grown or foraged on the property and coast comes from as close by as possible, with ingredients featuring only when they are at their seasonal best. “I work with many small local growers, and the Hawke’s Bay is abundant with fantastic suppliers”, Honore enthused. Strawberries, for example, only appear when they are ripe and juicy and available from the Havelock North specialty growers, Scotts.
Likewise, the very best meats from Gourmeats, fresh fish from Gisborne via specialist purveyors Yellow Brick Road, dry goods from Vetri in Ahuriri, pāua and crayfish from Tora Collective, and organic milk from Hohepa are carefully curated to complement the farm’s own bounty. In spring, beautiful Hawke’s Bay spring lamb paired with farm grown greens, fresh beets, carrots, and fennel wows guests from around the world.
Honore and his team continuously experiment with the new crops, with ingredients such as sea buckthorn often making an appearance in a popular lodge dessert, ‘Three Scoops of Sorbets’. Catering to guests who often want a lighter dessert, the brigade has 30 to 40 sorbets on the go at any one time.
The preserves, jams, and marmalades served during breakfast all come from the farm’s fruit orchards. Likewise, do more exotic ingredients such as kimchi, sauerkraut and lacto-ferments of root vegetables. This is a kitchen focused on the essence of the season, as well as sustainably preventing food waste. Honore credits his New Zealand upbringing with his dedication and love for this type of cooking.
Honore has featured in numerous press articles including New Zealand’s Cuisine Magazine, Dish and Australia’s Gourmet Traveller. He’s also opened his Cape Kidnappers kitchen to co-host dinners with such culinary stars as Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller, Neil Perry, Rick Stein, Shannon Bennett, Danielle Alvarez, and many more.
