New Zealand's finest restaurants are to be subjected to a new gold standard with the introduction of a 'chef's hat' rating system.
Cuisine magazine has implemented the new system ahead of its restaurant awards in June and says the hats are more internationally recognised than other ratings currently used in New Zealand.
The magazine's editor Sarah Nicholson says the sheer number of publications all awarding stars or scores out of 10 makes it difficult for people to know who to trust.
"There are a lot of similar ratings around New Zealand," she says. "This will really set us apart so there won't be any confusion.
The chefs' hats are based on a prominent rating system used in Australia. They are awarded by food reviewers at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age – both owned by Cuisine's parent company Fairfax Media.
Hatted restaurants are scored out of 20, with only a select few being awarded three hats.
"The hats are the things that people cite all the time. It's really the one benchmark that matters there," Ms Nicholson says.
"[Three hats] will be a tough thing to get, it's approaching world class standard."
But the new system has one top chef nervous about the expectations a top rating will create.
Michael Meredith, whose restaurant Meredith's was repeatedly awarded five stars out of five under the old Cuisine system, says a three-hatted rating may be too "pretentious" for his establishment.
"Personally I don't think we should get three hats," he says.
"I'm happy to have two hats. Our food is up there but I like our service to be a bit more casual."
However, Mr Meredith says the system is a positive step because it will give chefs a new standard to aim for, as well as increasing diners' appreciation of top restaurants.
"[In Australia] people understand that if you go to a two hat or a three hat [restaurant] they'll expect to pay a little bit more."
But Metro magazine, which holds its own Auckland-wide Top 50 awards in competition with the Cuisine awards, is dismissing the significance of the new hat system.
Metro editor Simon Wilson, a former editor of Cuisine, says having a maximum of only three hats does not offer enough flexibility. Metro changed its restaurant rating scale to be out of five, rather than three, to combat this.
"We think five is a better weighted measure than three," he says. "Three was just too limiting – we had endless arguments about two-and-a-half."
Mr Wilson also questions whether Cuisine can maintain a high enough standard across the country.
Ms Nicholson is confident of her brand's integrity, saying each restaurant is visited more than once to ensure consistency.
"Judges come from a range of backgrounds, but they are all people that eat out a lot. They mainly include restaurant critics, former chefs, food writers and wine industry experts," she says.
The Metro Top 50 Auckland restaurants will be announced on April 22, while the Cuisine Restaurant of the Year awards will be held on June 17.
The Cuisine chef's hat judging breakdown
1 hat = 15/20
2 hats = 16 or 17/20
3 hats = 18 – 20/20
- Food (includes flavour, presentation, value, quality of produce, seasonality, technique) = 9 points
- Ambience (includes décor, lighting, noise-levels, personality) = 3 points
- Service (includes knowledge of the menu, personality of staff, level of attention to detail) = 4 points
- Wine (includes wine selection, knowledge of wine staff, pricing) = 4 points
3 News
source: newshub archive
