Earthsong Lodge - 5 star holiday accommodation on Great Barrier Island Auckland New Zealand

Earthsong Chef Trevor Rendle talks about Cuisine at Earthsong Lodge and his philosophy on Food

My philosophy on food is simplicity. The perfect dish consists of perfect ingredients simply cooked.

I believe that the high point of any day is the coming together of family and friends enjoying conviviality with a glass of wine and lovingly prepared food.

I enjoy following the seasons and taking advantage of the local island produce. Lobster straight from the sea or the joy of harvesting produce from our own gardens and preparing them for our guests, this gives me great delight.

Chef’s Notes

Fresh Great Barrier Lobster tail steamed in a bamboo basket, served with a juniper berry and thyme infused sweet pepper sauce

This is my favourite way to serve Pacific Lobster as an entrée/starter course (here, lobsters are known as crayfish) and they are plentiful around the coast of Great Barrier Island.

The lobsters are gently steamed in a bamboo basket over the wok and then served with a yellow pepper sauce. Yellow peppers are first char-grilled and the sweet flesh then combined with shallots, wine and vermouth, and seasoned with juniper berries saffron and thyme, then the addition of my own sweet chilli jam. The savoury sweetness of this delicate sauce is magnificent with the succulent rich meat of the lobster tail. Perfect with a big mouth-filling buttery chardonnay

Seared Whole Baby Paua on a bed of Green Salsa

I think Paua (New Zealand abalone) are the most iconic of all the shellfish found in the clear waters of New Zealand.

Seared in the pan for 30 seconds and served with a green salsa, these paua are luxurious and extremely rich.

A dry-style Gewurztraminer is the perfect match for the bold flavours and textures of this appetizer course.

Fillet of organic Angus Beef with a Red Wine and Caramelized Shallot Sauce served on Potato Gratin Dauphinois

I am very fond of this dish and it is based on a traditional French regional recipe.

The fillet of beef is seared whole then roasted in a very hot oven before being allowed to ‘relax’ for ten minutes.

The shallots are caramelized in cassis and then added to a very slow reduction of beef stock and red wine, resulting in a heavenly smooth rich sauce with a wonderful flavour and aroma. 

Succulent slices of the fillet are layered on a meltingly soft Gratin Dauphinois and served with the divine red wine and caramelized shallot sauce. I think a full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect companion to this main course.

New Zealand Lamb Tenderloin with Spicy Dukkah and Slow-roasted Tomatoes

I love the spicy, peppery characters of dukkah and they harmonise well with tenderloins of New Zealand lamb. I coat the lamb with my dukkah, a mix of cumin sesame seeds coriander sweet paprika and thyme, then the lamb is cooked in a very hot oven for just 5 minutes and put aside to ‘rest’.

Accompanied by sweet slow-roasted baby beetroot, and juicy slow cooked tomatoes harvested from the Earthsong garden, drizzled with our own extra virgin olive oil, this aromatic dish is a delicious take on the exotic flavours of the middle east. The spices in this dish find their ideal match in an Otago Pinot Noir.

Pears poached in Red Wine and Star Anise with a Lemon and Dill infused Sorbet

One of the simplest and most rewarding methods of cooking fresh fruit is to poach it in a gently simmering liquid. When this liquid is red wine, enhanced with star anise, lemon zest and bay leaves, the complexity of flavours is greatly increased. The red wine also adds a new element of colour with the pears tinted a rich ruby red.

Complimented with the liquorice flavour of our lemon and dill sorbet this dessert becomes absolutely luscious. While sweet the pears are not overly so and their clean refreshing taste makes a wonderful finale to the evening meal.

We are often asked about Slow Food particularly at that gentle time of the evening when our guests have that relaxed satisfied air of those who have dined well in good company. Then kitchen duties finished for the night Trevor can enjoy chatting about food in general and flavours in particular.

Earthsong has been a member of the International Slow Food Movement since the 1990s. Slow Food was founded in 1986 to protect the pleasures of the table from the homogenization of modern fast food and fast life. Slow Food initiatives promote gastronomic culture, develop taste education, conserve agricultural biodiversity, and protect traditional foods at risk of disappearance.

The courtyard is ideally situated for al fresco dining...

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Box 23 Tryphena, Great Barrier Island 0962, Phone 64 9 429003

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