Waikato tastes success at Cuisine Good Food Awards

Two Hats have been bestowed on renowned Hamilton chef Mat McLean’s Palate restaurant, amid tough times for the food and drinks industry.

The prestigious chef’s hats are dished out yearly at the Cuisine Good Food Awards and set a benchmark for hotly contested excellence within the sector. This year Hamilton restaurant The Green also snagged Two Hats for the second year running, while Alpino in Cambridge was awarded One Hat.

Two Hats mean an eatery has been recognised as among the nation’s 42 “consistently outstanding” eateries.

“We’re just really, really over the moon. It was a great night and we weren’t necessarily expecting anything when we went up, so it’s quite special,” McLean said on Wednesday.

It was a very competitive market, and the anonymous reviewers were more analytical than the average punter.