I’ve seen people, bartenders especially, tattoo a logo that I created on them, and it’s like “what did you do that for, man?” I wasn’t expecting that… you’re actually really honoured, because they’ve literally branded something you created on their body.

 – Chanel, on seeing people choose to tattoo her graphic designs on their bodies

88B: How does it feel when you see a bottle that you designed, or when you see people interacting in a bar where you handled their design, how does that strike you when you see them enjoying themselves with something that you were responsible for at the bar?

Chanel: It’s unreal. The feeling is unreal. I’ve seen people, bartenders especially, tattoo a logo that I created on them, and it’s like “what did you do that for, man?” OK, it looks cool, but I wasn’t expecting that. I would’ve made nicer lines for you or something, but yeah, there are times when you’re actually really honoured, because they’ve literally branded something you created on their body.

88B: But that’s a huge testament to the fact that your designs really speaks out to people, right? That they really feel so much towards it.

Chanel: I think it’s a testament to the design, but also it all comes down to how they feel about the bar itself, right? I could have made a nice design, but if it’s a crappy bar, no one’s going to get that tattooed on them anytime soon.

The Black Pearl Bar in Victoria - another one of Chanel’s design clients.

Definitely the floor maltings, direct fire distillations. Sukhinder loves old style whiskies. That means means slow fermentation, slow distillation. That means he’s gonna need to build that to create a capacity that is worth having, but have the capacity that creates the liquid that he loves so much.

– Chanel, on Sukinder Singh and Elixir Distiller’s plans for Portintruan Distillery, which would focus on old style production techniques.

88B: How does your background in design lend itself to your subsequent roles with various whisky / spirits brands? 

Have you ever looked at the packaging of a brand you’re repping, and very diplomatically told the brand manager that you could help improve it?

Chanel: Yes. I think there’s a little bit of both. So my experience means that I understand how people pick up a bottle and how they react to it, or how they look at a shelf with thousands of bottles and then be like “I want that one.”  Or what makes them feel or how it makes them react with their friends when they show their bottle, or whatever that is, and that lends to a lot of the way I speak about brands and the way I react myself with brands. In terms of brands that I repped, all the time. But that’s why they have you out in the field and looking at the way people are reacting, because they want that feedback. You want to hope that the brands that you are working for want that feedback, right?

You’re seeing it from the eyes of the bartender, eyes of a brand, and eyes of a designer, and basically making the brand look good. That’s your job in a cocktail competition, where brand managers can stick their chest out and be like “I created this. I’m the reason these drinks happen and this cocktail competition could happen.”

– Chanel, on the secret to winning bartending competitions. Aspiring bartenders, take notes!

88B: You’ve been a cocktail bartender for 17 yearsAnd you’ve also won numerous awards. Could you tell us a little bit more about that?

Chanel: I’m very old, thank you for mentioning those 17 years. *Chuckles* Oh my god, I think the awards only started coming when I started becoming more of a designer. Understanding what the brand wants, you’re understanding how they want to be spoken about, how they want to be viewed, and you’re trying to tailor your entry for the cocktail based on that. You’re literally seeing it from the eyes of the bartender, eyes of a brand, and eyes of a designer, and basically making the brand look good. That’s your job in a cocktail competition, where brand managers can stick their chest out and be like “I created this. I’m the reason these drinks happen and this cocktail competition could happen.”

Chanel behind the bar. (Source: Instagram)

When I was a tiny baby bartender, my bar manager was like “If the drink that you are making isn’t working, put passionfruit syrup into it. It should work.”

– Chanel, on the secret ingredient to making every cocktail amazing

88B: Is there a favourite cocktail you enjoy making?

Chanel: So many. I love daiquiris, I love drinking them all the time. Especially at two in the morning when I’m very tired and it’s the zingiest thing that will make me wake up, and I love them. I also like drinking something refreshing like a highball, which I mean is arguably not really a cocktail - I know it’s just whisky and soda. It’s so refreshing, what else do you want!

 Daiquiri. (Source: Epicurious)

88B: Do you have a secret ingredient that you think is super underrated, that people commonly don’t know that you use in a bar?

Chanel: What a question! You know what– growing up when I was a tiny baby bartender, my bar manager was like “If the drink that you are making isn’t working, put passionfruit syrup into it. It should work.”

Don’t try to be Scotch. You’re not Scotch. You’re in New Zealand, you’re in Aussie. You’re not beholden to the perimeters of Scotch Whisky Association in Scotland, don’t use them. I mean, sorry SWA if you’re listening to this. Try something else. Maybe mix grains, what are the local grains? What are the local climates like? Use it to your advantage.

– Chanel, on how New World whisky distilleries should be charting their own course

88B: You recently shared this tasty-looking warm cocktail called “Ode to a Cranachan” which asks for some Port Askaig, raspberries, oat milk and poetry.

Could you share the recipe for one other cocktail made with one of the fantastic labels you help promote?

Chanel: Right now I’m doing some cocktails for Elements of Islay. What we are looking for with Elements of Islay is obviously stuff that is formed by the elements on Islay. So you’re talking about wind, rain, you know, earth, fire. So I went foraging on Islay, I had a lot of help because I don’t live in Islay so you needed local help for that.

88B: So you don’t fall off the side of the island.

Islay. (Source: GettyImages)

Chanel: Well, that, and you don’t want to pick something that isn’t that great at the time or not isn’t seasonal. And we made what’s called a seaspray soda, which is using sorrel leaf, which is very, very citrusy, some seaweed, which gives you that umami, earthy flavour, right? I made that into a cordial, and then some Elements of Islay were added with soda. Easy-peasy, but bright, and has that little bit of earthiness from the seaweed.

Source: Elements of Islay Official Website

Olly found a box on his desk that had samples in it, and a post-it note that says “fix these”. And that’s how he got his start. So he had to learn pretty quickly and on the fly, how to make things taste real good, real fast. 

– Chanel, on how Elixir’s Head Blender, Olly Chilton, got tasked his first job as a blender by head honcho Sukinder Singh

88B: So you’re very passionate about hospitality of course, but if we’re being honest, I think the true love would actually be Prince’s music. What is your favourite song performed by Prince and what do you like to sing in the shower?

Chanel: You’ve clearly done your homework, and I’ll be honest, it’s not that much of a secret that I’m a big Prince lover, I love him very, very much. My favourite song does change, but I think the one that comes up a lot is called “7”. I’m not going to sing it for you now but I was about to break out into it so I’m not going to do it. Yeah, if you watched the music video he did with 7, it’s like its own film. It’s like this action film with obviously a lady love, because he did love the beautiful ladies. It’s very cinematic.

88B: He’s always known for taking over guitar solos and then going crazy.

Chanel: Yes, it’s true. It’s true that My Guitar Gently Weeps on Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, that is Prince to a T. That makes me cry. I am a sucker.

7 by Prince

Prince’s soulful three-and-a-half minute guitar solo during My Guitar Gently Weeps on Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s Tribute to George Harrison (2004)

Can you be subtle and bold? Sure, Prince was… a lot of people look at him at face value, and think that “Oh, you’re a bit crazy in the 80s.” But when you delve deeper, you realise just how god-damn talented he was. And you kind of wanted to take it at face value “Oh, this drink looks good,” and then you taste it, “that is depth I never thought you could get from that drink”.

– Chanel, on how Prince inspired her “subtle but bold” cocktail of milk oolong syrup, strawberry and gin

88B: Can you recommend an expression or a cocktail that you think will best embody the spirit of his work?

Chanel: OK, so this is a bit of a weird one. Prince was a teetotaller, but, he wasn’t originally, let’s be perfectly honest here. One of my favourite drinks that I ever made, was inspired by Prince– I was working at a bar run by a man named Paul Hammond, who used to run Raffles’ Long Bar here. He had created this wonderful milk oolong syrup, and I had that with some strawberry and gin, and I nailed that drink. I don’t know how I did it.  But it was subtle, but bold, can you be subtle and bold? Sure, Prince was. I think he was talented but he had a lot behind him. I think a lot of people look at him at face value, and think that  “Oh, you’re a bit crazy in the 80s.” But when you delve deeper, you realise just how god-damn talented he was. And you kind of wanted to take it at face value “Oh, this drink looks good,” and then you taste it, “that is depth I never thought you could get from that drink”. 

88B: So you mentioned celebrating Burns Night early this year, do you have any favourite poets? What do you find yourself drinking on a night where you are in a mood to read poetry?

Chanel: That’s a good question. One of my favourite poets is Rupi Kaur. You know, she speaks a lot about womanhood and the heart, and you see some of her poetry and I really feel that. So, in terms of things that I would drink while listening to poetry, or, reading poetry, maybe something a bit more subtle, maybe something more light. I enjoy a good Linkwood or Glen Elgin. You know, the orchard fruits there? It’s not sherried, it’s not peated, it's just lovely.

I should probably be in vodka or gin with the amount of patience I have. But to do it right, to not cut corners, you have to take the time. Fermentation takes time. Good distillation, high reflux or whatever you’re trying to create. With maturation, don’t try to cut corners on that, man. Because, it’s not good. Respect the climate that you are in.

– Chanel, on how whiskymaking requires tremendous patience, a quality not seen in every distillery

88B: You had so much experience working in the spirits industry for so many exciting cities including Auckland, Melbourne, New York, London, just to name a few, and been to all kinds of places in the Asia-Pacific region. How do you say the whisky scene differs across these markets?

Chanel: I think whisky kind of transcends the whole beverage and hospitality industry as a whole. I think the smaller or lesser known markets, say like Auckland or Melbourne, probably don’t know what they’re worth, after going to all these bigger cities. I think there’s so much love for the industry, and they’re some of the best in terms of hospitality and what you give in hospitality, and I think that you’re starting to get some amazing flavours coming through. Whisky scene, people are learning a lot more about whisky these days, about independent bottlers, everyone’s a connoisseur, a professional, but I think with each place that I’ve gone, I’ve learnt something from it. 

Chanel with Yao at the Elysian Whisky Bar, Melbourne. (Source: Instagram)

I just came back from Auckland and Melbourne. So with the younger whisky markets, I feel like they think they need to take shortcuts. And I also found that the ones that have the quality, have not done so. But that takes patience, which I’ll be honest, I have absolutely none, I should probably be in vodka or gin with the amount of patience I have. But to do it right, to not cut corners, you have to take the time. Fermentation takes time. Good distillation, high reflux or whatever you’re trying to create. With maturation, don’t try to cut corners on that, man. Because, it’s not good. Respect the climate that you are in. 

88B: So you should give the whisky time to sort of imbue the local influence and terroir, it seems.

Chanel: Also - don’t try to be Scotch. You’re not Scotch. You’re in New Zealand, you’re in Aussie. You’re not beholden to the perimeters of Scotch Whisky Association in Scotland, don’t use them. I mean, sorry SWA if you’re listening to this. Try something else. Maybe mix grains, what are the local grains? What are the local climates like? Use it to your advantage.

Chanel’s visit at Circumstance Distillery in Bristol, which experiments outside of Scottish whisky regulations by playing with different ferments, grains and cask maturation recipes. (Source: Instagram)

88B: When you’re talking about the consumers, is there any credence to the saying that “we’re more common than we are different?”

Chanel: Yes, yes I see the point of that too. I think there’s varying degrees of maturity on palates, and there’s still markets out there that want the darkest, oldest thing and put it in front of them. There are markets that understand that sometimes young whiskies are delicious. Sometimes old whisky can be light.

88B: Across the different markets, do you think most of these consumers are enthused by a specific flavour profile, or are they more enthused by variety? 

Chanel: I think that's maturity or that exploration, which might take that time. First, you’ve got to start liking whisky, you taste it and be like “I’m not sure about this.” And then maybe you go “oh, I like this sherry. Oh, someone’s giving me peat, not sure about that. Oh, I actually like peat.” People move on, then people will be like “I want more.” I want more variety. 

It starts with curiosity. Some people just aren’t curious, and that’s fine too, they know what they like, and you gotta respect that. Half the time, you don’t know what you like, right? But I’m also finding more and more people who are like “that’s not enough for me now.” New wine casks, peated, rum casks. I like new spirits. SWA did make that traditional oak rule a little bit more lenient, so now you can get mezcal casks, you can get different kinds of spirit casks that you weren’t able to get before, and that sort of broadens the horizons. It probably helps to impact the curiosity of people.

They give you crackers, and they are the driest crackers in the goddamn world… Lots of water, lots of crackers, lots of cleansing your palate, lots of sniffing the back of your hand, lots of everything that you can think of, to try and get it back.

– Chanel, on the challenge of retaining her taste sensitivity as a judge at the World Whiskies Awards

88B: Earlier this year, you were invited to World Whisky Awards, which was such an honour. Could Your Honour, share with us how the experience was like as a whisky judge? What was the most memorable part of the experience and what was your secret to not becoming completely incoherent like I usually am after anywhere from five to ten drams?

Chanel: So, the memorable part of the experience was that up till that day, I hadn't done any of the judging for World’s Whisky Awards or otherwise, because I had only been in London since lockdown. So this was the first time I got to see a lot of friends, a lot of people in the same room together. Sharing a dram from around the world because that was World’s Whiskies. So that was probably the most memorable experience. You get to learn a little bit from people, you get to learn a lot from people.

And in terms of the secret to not becoming incoherent, you spit, and you drink a lot of water. They give you crackers, and they are the driest crackers in the goddamn world, it is very drying, you need a lot of water with that, that fills you up quickly after that. 

This is just the first round! Source: Instagram

Incoherent isn’t the issue, the issue is losing your palate halfway through, because twenty whiskies at one go, and that was just one round, there comes a time where it’s like “yep, that tastes like whisky.” Lots of water, lots of crackers, lots of cleansing your palate, lots of sniffing the back of your hand, lots of everything that you can think of, to try and get it back. Incoherence wasn’t an issue, because you want to be asked back. 

88B: Did you find it a surreal experience to be in a hall, filled with camaraderie and fellowship that so many of your peers, all of you getting to do something that you love at the highest level possible? Must have been a surreal experience.

Chanel with a panel of judges at World Whisky Awards. Source: Instagram

Chanel: It’s pretty goddamn cool. We have a term in the whisky world called “whisky fabric”. So I have a good friend who passed away earlier this year who introduced me to whisky fabric, because everyone in this industry is aligned and closely attached somehow. Hospitality is no different, bartenders are no different. It’s nice, because you don’t want to go to the world from bartending to accounting, which I don’t think is as tight a fabric as whisky.

Chanel with her spread of whiskies she brought to the Swan Song.

88B: In past interviews, you have mentioned that Olly Chilton, Elixir’s Head Blender, works in an idiosyncratic way. Could you share a little bit about his cask selection process and his approach to blending whisky and rum?

Chanel: So I think one of the coolest things to know about Olly is he probably didn’t know that he was going to wind up in whisky as much as that seems kind of odd today. He started in a booze store, and then moved over to Whisky Exchange, which was originally part of our business, and he said to our head honcho Sukhinder Singh one day “Hey boss, I think I’ll like to get into this blending thing, I think it might be kind of cool.” And Sukhinder didn’t say very much because Sukhinder doesn’t say very much. 

And the next day, he got into his office, and Olly found a box on his desk that had samples in it, and a post-it note that says “fix these”. And that’s how he got his start. So he had to learn pretty quickly and on the fly, how to make things taste real good, real fast.

Sukhinder Singh, founder of The Whisky Exchange and Elixir Distillers (Source: Club Oenologique) and Olly Chilton (Source: LinkedIn)

So the way he does that quickly, is that he has a three tick system. One tick is “mmm, something’s gone very wrong here. We might need to think about how to do this, this is a new project for us. Second tick is “this is good, but it could be great”, and the only way to make that great is if we put it together with other two ticks, together, make it a single malt that is greater than the sum of its parts. Three ticks is “this is fucking awesome, it stands well on its own, it should be a single cask. It should be a bottle on its own.” So that’s how his initial tasting cycle works. For something like Port Askaig, which is one of our single malt brands for Islay, he flies up to Scotland, he tastes 50 casks in the morning, boom boom boom, three tick, two tick, one tick, two tick, has a sandwich and a cup of tea, does another 50 casks, and then flies back home in the afternoon.

Olly’s table when blending whisky. (Source: Instagram)

What he learnt, or, what we’ve learnt is that he tastes in colours. He has synesthesia, which again, I didn’t think he knew until he started developing it further. He will taste to paint a picture, if that makes sense. He will taste to make a full picture. 

Remy from Ratatouille during that strawberry and cheese scene.

88B: So Elixir has an ever growing portfolio of new brands and spirit categories. Of all the brands and categories in your portfolio, which bottle would you recommend to someone who is new to spirits and is just starting out?

Chanel: New to spirits on a whole, we have two ranges that I can think of off the top of my head. The first one would be the Single Malts of Scotland Reserve Cask Range. Very much a traditional view on independent bottling, and we bottle from all around Scotland, as single malts. And we do follow that traditional independent bottling route, but make it a little bit more accessible. Instead of doing cask strength which you see a lot of independent bottlers do, we drop it down to 48%. Not the 40% that you see in OB, or 43%, something a bit higher, but to get their palate used to it.

Single Malts of Scotland range by Elixir Distillers.

The flavours are more upfront, they are getting ready for that kind of burn, but we also found out that we can be drinking at 48% without adding water. The other thing would be for that Single Malts of Scotland Reserve Cask Range, we are not doing single casks, but we are only doing batches of like 7 to 10 casks. So while it is still quite rare, right, 7 to 10 casks across the world does stretch very far, it’s still accessible. It’s still far more accessible than a single cask. So that would be a really good “new to spirits” range

The other one that I would think of in terms of brands that are new to spirits, it’s more like “Hey, I want to try something peated” would be the Port Askaig range. So the Port Askaig 8 year old, 100 proof, because what we’re looking at is a gateway into Islay, little dip-the-toe-into-the-water of elegant peat, but there’s still fruit at the back, there’s still something else there.

88B: So which bottles would you recommend to someone who is familiar with Scotch whisky, again, from that portfolio?

Chanel: Someone’s already familiar with Scotch. You know what, there’s still stuff in an independent bottling that is pretty god damn rare. The whole thing about independent bottling that I love is the breadth of whisky that you get, right? So you get whiskies that are work horses that you never ever see in single malts. You never see it in a bottle, because that’s not what the distillery is there for. The distillery is there to pump it out, to turn it into a blend. You know, that’s great too, but sometimes we get in between that, and we get to bottle some of that stuff. So, I would hope that I would be able to show something that they normally wouldn’t get to try, we have a beautiful Single Malts of Scotland Marriage Cask, a Speyside distillery, don’t ask what distillery it is, the distillery is called Speyside Distillery, it’s very confusing to everybody, but it is a distillery inside Speyside, called Speyside. That is, really, amazing to people. They don’t get to try Speyside Distillery by itself. It’s sandalwood, and citrus, and marmalade, and freaking good.

Built at the site of an old barley mill from the 1760s, Speyside Distillery was purchased in 1962 and built by a stone mason over 2 decades before it began whisky production in 1990. (Source: Speyside Distillery UK)

Single Malts of Scotland Marriage Cask. (Source: Whisky Galore)

88B: Right, so prices of casks are generally getting higher and higher, and we often hear about independent bottlers finding it harder to bottle good Scotch and keeping prices still kinda affordable. In fact, Phil Thompson from Dornoch Distillery, Thompson bros, told us that he strongly believes that independent bottlers need to reinvent themselves to stand out. How much do you think this sentiment resonates with the folks at Elixir Distillers? What other ways does Elixir look to distinguish themselves from other indie bottlers?

Chanel: We are facing what Phil Thompson is talking about. Everyone is facing it. A lot of distilleries are closing their doors. It’s becoming harder to find, especially Islay distilleries. And if you know anything about Elixir Distillers, you know that a lot of our heart lies in Islay. So, it’s been a process. We’re really trying to pivot, you need to be agile. Sukhinder has quite the eye for things that should be happening and he started Black Tot Rum about 10 years ago, and then a few years ago launched Black Tot Finest Caribbean. I feel like, instead of starting a tequila range, or cognac, we decided to build a distillery instead. We have two distilleries, we are building one from the ground up. And then we also got Tormore, a fully functioning, fully working distillery, and that is sort of where we are aiming towards.

Black Tot Rum by Elixir Distillers.

I'm hesitant to say that we are not trying to only become an OB, we’re still very much resonating with the IB community and what we do there, I would say we model ourselves a lot more something like an Adelphi-Ardnamurchan kinda thing.That’s what we’re sort of focusing on, on that level where we make our own spirit, we’re also very much loving the breadth of whisky that we can have under Elixir Distillery.

88B: Your distillery, Portintruan Distillery, would begin distilling next year, right? We hear that it would focus on old style production techniques and use methods like floor malting, direct fire distillation. Have you personally visited the site yet, and what can you share about this new Islay distillery?

Chanel: I have totally personally visited the site, I have visited the site last January and again in May-June, 2022. So in January 2022, it closely resembled a muddy patch. A distillery-shaped muddy patch on the south side of the island, it closely resembled a carpark, because the foundation is a bit tight. It’s not quite there. But you’re right, definitely the floor maltings, direct fire distillations. One of the things that haunts Sukhinder in a lot of ways is that he loves old style whiskies. That means low and slow, that means slow fermentation, slow distillation, that means he’s gonna need to build that to create a capacity that is worth having, but have the capacity that creates the liquid that he loves so much.

Schematics for Portintruan Distillery. (Source: Elixir Distillers)

88B: If you can’t buy it, just build your own distillery.

Chanel: And if you can make 1960s Longmorn, I think he’ll be a very happy man.

88B: Are there any exciting news, whether is it a new bottling or a new project, we should keep a look out for from Elixir?

Chanel: I think our big focus at the moment is Elements of Islay. With all of the stories that you are talking about earlier, in terms of the way bottlings are happening, we have started to slow down production of the small batch ones with the Periodic tables on the front, and we’re focusing more on the blended Islay styles. And we are starting to really market that a lot more, under the label Elements of Islay. Keep an eye out for it, it is tasty. There is a cask edit which is half bourbon and sherry cask together, then there is a sherry cask at 54.5%, 80% Laphroaig, 20% Caol Ila – am I allowed to say that? I don’t know, I’m gonna say it anyway! And then a bourbon cask that is 60% Laphroaig, 40% Caol Ila. All juicy, juicy bourbon casks!

Elements of Islay. (Source: Elixir Distillers)

88B: Going back to your interesting background for being a designer for bars and brands in the drinks industry, can you walk us through your creative process? What are some moments of inspiration that you hold near and dear to you? How do you transform something with your own personal touch into your creative work, how do you meld that source of inspiration with the venue itself? And maybe name us a couple of big sources that you find yourself being drawn back to?

Chanel: I’m thinking about a creative process that I went through earlier, I part own a store-bar in Bristol, and I did all the branding for it. And she wanted something that could change on a dime in a lot of ways, and that reflected the travel nature of her consumers. She wanted people from out of town to come in. So I modelled it off the flip boards, the travel flipboards.

Flip Boards in airports. 

I modelled it after that, which meant that the font all kind of fit together, the type could all fit together regardless of what space you’re in. And I really liked that stuff is constantly changing and moving, dependent on the environment that you are in, and not just static. I think the time of static logos and branding is kind of done, in my opinion. It needs to move. 

In terms of inspirations, I love handmade things. I love things that are not just done digitally. You paint. You do like painting and take up-close photos of bits of it and that creates a story, or where you stitch a few things and take photos of it. Hand-made things tell a story far more than sometimes digital can.

88B: We’re impressed that one of your hobbies is trying to learn Mandarin. Do you think that you will improve after a shot of baijiu? And are there any brands of baijiu that you’ve enjoyed?

Chanel: I have a very controversial thing on this. I really like Ming River, and I really like [Kweichow] Maotai. I find Ming River to be really juicy, fruity, and I find Maotai to be very chocolatey, malty. And I dig that. So yes, maybe, my Mandarin will magically get better.

Baijiu - may or may not improve your Mandarin. 

The Remarkables are the most gorgeous thing and the idea that people live there and don’t see that anymore because they’re so used to it is incredible to me.

– Chanel, on on the gorgeous mountain range you’ll see before landing in Queenstown, New Zealand

88B: Last question before we let you go: what are your itinerary recommendations for someone who is visiting New Zealand for the first time, and what do you recommend for things that they should see, do and taste?

Chanel: My personal feeling is that if you’re going to land in New Zealand for the first time, pass Auckland, land in Queenstown. You’ll want to land into Queenstown because it’s the most incredible landing ever. The Remarkables are the most gorgeous thing and the idea that people live there and don’t see that anymore because they’re so used to it is incredible to me. It is the most beautiful sight. Rent a car, and then move your way up. Up to Auckland, I guess. You know what? How much time do you have? Take a year off, go to New Zealand, and be with the people. I miss it so much.

The Remarkables. Source:theremarkables.co.nz

There is an amazing bar called Bar Theresa in Port’s Bay. It’s in Napier, they are foraging, they are using local ingredients. They also got hit very hard by the  cyclone Gabriel, so please, as much time as you possibly can. When you go to Auckland, there are bars like Caretaker, Deadshot, Christchurch has The Last Word, an amazing whisky bar, honestly, just go. If you’re looking for a place to eat when you are travelling up, Opotiki - the bakery there has the best pies. I didn’t know why that’s the first thing I can think of:, you need to eat pies in New Zealand, but you know what? I’m going to stick with that.