Queenstown Aroha

dish meets owner Karen Hattaway, head chef Michelle Phillips and general manager Warren Ratana, the team behind iconic Queenstown restaurant Blue Kanu.

Tell us about the concept behind Blue Kanu.

Karen: I came up with the idea of bringing ‘Polynasian’ food and service to Queenstown 10 years ago, and now we’ve been open for eight! It was a very new concept back then, embracing a mixture of Pacific, Māori and Asian cuisine and culture. I love healthy fresh Asian food and wanted to combine it with our local ingredients and a sense of Māori manaakitanga – that care for whānau and environment, and the feeling of aroha in everything from our staff culture to how we treat our guests. We have a truly international staff, from Māori to Indonesian and Japanese, and we wanted to embrace those different cultures and bring their experience to the plate too.

Over the years, our philosophy for Blue Kanu has also grown to include being really socially responsible in our community. We’ve realised we have a venue that can be used for many different purposes, and we love that. When our Queenstown Māori whānau needed a place to give vaccinations, we opened our doors straight away. And we fundraise for Wakatipu Waka Ama, which is dear to my heart as I used to race, and many other causes. We know we serve great food, but we have a bigger role as well in supporting our community and we take that really seriously. It’s all part of that same dedication to whānau and manaakitanga.

A cosy corner of the dining room at Blue Kanu.

What’s special about ‘Polynasian’ food?

Michelle: It’s really special to be able to embrace Māori culture on the plate.

Karen: And we love that the ingredients can speak about multiple cultures quite significantly on the plate. I love the idea that we can ‘Blue Kanu’ food. For example, recently we ‘Blue Kanu’ed’ a Caesar salad and our version features rice croutons with oyster and shiitake mushrooms and a tofu and ricotta dressing… we love mixing up these traditional dishes with Asian and Pacific flavours to embrace those cultures.

What are some of your favourite menu items?

Michelle: I think one of the hidden heroes of the menu is our lamb jungle curry. It’s super spicy, it’s got heaps of flavour and it’s just so good – definitely underrated!

Warren: And our most popular cocktail is called the Wāhine, featuring gin, elderflower, lemon, lime and egg white, and yes, it’s probably our highlight!

The Blue Kanu Prawn Curry.

Where do you source your ingredients?

Michelle: Our seasonal menu changes often but we always use local suppliers where we can. We source mushrooms from a local guy called Remarkable Fungi, our fresh local herbs come from Bob Tovey in Cromwell, our goat meat comes from Alexandra, our chicken is from Dunedin… we like to keep it close to home.

What do you love about Queenstown?

Karen: Warren and Michelle are from this area, so they have a huge connection to the land, the mountains, the dirt. For me, I came along a little later, but it’s a really special community!

Michelle: For me, it’s the snowboarding as well, I love the mountains!

Warren: And I love that so many people come and go through this town, so you meet people from all over the world.

To learn more about Blue Kanu and plan your Queenstown experience, head to queenstownNZ.nz

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