Royalburn - Ethical, Sustainable and Real

Set up by a lovely young couple who made national headlines with Masterchef and later their business My Food Bag, this place is what they turned their attention to as their next project.  Something they thought worthwhile.  Bringing their vision and version of sustainability to a beautiful piece of land not far from Queenstown in New Zealand's South Island.

What we found compelling, surprising, and which we have thought about since our visit, was the way in which the vision here is shared by everyone on the property.  Whether one is talking to the chicken specialist, or one of the Michelin starred chefs focused on the butchery and charcuterie, or Carlos and Nadia themselves, was how everyone had those bright, interested, awake eyes which signal true energy, true belief, true buy-in. 

Add to that the way they have influenced local buying with their shop in Arrowtown, and the way that every experiment they try needs to be or become financially sustainable, and you know you are experiencing something new, something truly different.  Of course some experiments may have a harder time than others and ultimately not make it, but there was a sense here of creating the future.  A good future.  A future good for the land and for people.  For me, seeing the sheer high quality of the individuals involved and their passion in creating something new - especially some of the innovations in the charcuterie department got this Frenchman truly excited, watering mouth and all.  There are some fantastic new tastes coming and they're ethically sound.

Our day here starts from Queenstown and takes in a morning on the farm, after which we recommend lunch at an excellent local restaurant.  Did we mention almost every high end institution in the Queenstown area sources produce from Royalburn?   

If you'd like to explore more than this teaser, you can see the Royalburn website here....