Reconfiguring menus with new entrees, mains and desserts is a foodie challenge laid down for Ryman’s gourmet experts who are reconfiguring their menus to excite and satisfy a wide range of residents. The construction of recipes is becoming more rigorous and the menus more sophisticated.
Seasonal Ryman Delicious menus – reflecting winter, spring, summer, and autumn – are being drawn up with the help of the ‘menu design panel’. This dedicated panel is led by Matt Orr (Food Systems and Development Chef) and includes regional lead chefs, village chefs and resident tasting teams. As part of the recipe and menu design process, ‘resident focus groups’ taste and test new meal choices.
One team member is Anshul Jairath, a Senior Lead Chef. Anshul has worked in high-profile Christchurch locations such as Harlequin Public House and No. 4 Bar and Restaurant. With his Ryman ‘roaming chef' role Anshul gets to travel, work within the South Island villages, and be creative. For example, he has added to the Ryman menu an Italian pasta dish that shows off ingredients like spezzatino (Italian pork stew with potatoes) or a roast vegetable bruschetta with goat cheese.
Ideas are generated from all areas of the Ryman world, including the villages. Regional Lead Chefs Gabrielle Lewis (Christchurch), Casey Cowley (Auckland), and Darryl Neshausen (Wellington) get foodie tips from the respective village chefs in their areas.
Eddie Tandy, Wellington-based Hotel Services Operations Lead, is another who has input into the panel. Eddie is responsible for the delivery of food and beverage options, some of which will feature in regular village Happy Hours. Charles Fleming Senior Lead Chef Daniel Reid, Diana Isaac Senior Lead Chef Troy Noronha and Grace Joel Chef Paratene King offer their perspectives to the menu design panel. Before the introduction of the extra chefs, the process of successfully introducing new recipes to 37 villages was a bit disjointed, Matt said.
Victorian-based Lawrence Manohara-Seelan adds input on what seasonal foods are available in Australia. Matt said that chefs on the menu panel will be given protein, such as chicken or beef, they should work with and then are asked to come back with a creative recipe that can be tested in the village and also with the resident focus groups.
Andrew Gibson (Ryman Hotel Services Manager) said that while many people are involved in the design process, inclusivity results in an amazing
selection on every Ryman menu. The menus are updated quarterly.
We’re trying to build a library of recipes so that over time we have more and more options that we can call on. It’s like the Edmonds Cookery Book for Ryman,” said Andrew. “We’ve done a venison casserole with prunes for the first time, which has proved very popular. So we will start to use more venison in our menus… We try things. If a change works we keep it and if doesn’t work we ditch it or reassess it.
The individual chefs and Matt Orr, in particular, do a lot of development work on new recipes being added into the Ryman mix. Matt says roast beef, fish and chip, and lamb stew dishes remain popular favourites and will be served multiple times during the seasonal menu calendar.
