One of my long held fantasies is to stay overnight in a department store with friends. We would raid the food and chocolate counters, try on makeup without getting pressure sold and try on dresses and shoes all night. I’ve held this fantasy since childhood. But what about a little twist? Instead of staying in a department store, how about staying in the house of a department store owner?
Whare Kea (pronounced far-eh-kee-ah) Lodge is named after the world’s only alpine parrot, the cheeky Kea and is owned by the Myer family (of the Australian Department store). Whare Kea was originally built as their holiday home as the Myers are keen heli skiers and they would bring friends along to stay who in turn encouraged them to open their doors to the public. The 70 acre location couldn’t be more spectacular. On the edge of Lake Wanaka near a glacier there’s nothing between your balcony door and the grass which leads to the lake edge.
The main lobby resembles someone’s living room-well if that someone was a department store mogul (it certainly doesn’t look like my living room!). It’s the corner of the lodge facing the lake and there are floor to ceiling windows and very high ceilings. After our trip travelling from Mollies in Auckland we are offered refreshments of tea and coffee and a cheese platter and something a bit more substantial as we’ve missed lunch. They bring us a cheese platter with a Talbot Forest Vintage Cheddar and brie from Geraldine, and a Fiddler’s Hill Goat’s cheese from Puhoi Valley. Splendid!
As we’re still a bit peckish we get another plate this time with gorgeous quartered fresh figs which are lusciously good, serrano jam, Clevedon Buffalo ricotta with manuka honey drizzled on top.
Come along with me and see what a department store mogul’s bedroom looks like!
The rooms are decorated with pale woods, greens and blues, much like the outlook through the balcony and are spacious. The bathroom is large with a spa bath and separate shower-in fact two shower heads, one monsoon and one massage head should you wish to shower together, in a sea blue green. There are Aesop products provided. There is also an outdoor wooden deck with chairs and tables and the whole room is centered upon the view which you could happily while away the hours looking at while sitting in one of the Zen chairs.
The remote location means that the wireless does drop in and out on occasion and if TV is important there isn’t one in the room nor a fridge. Whenever I settle into a hotel I must have a cup of Earl Grey tea and craving one and needing milk, I tried to call the office but the phone didn’t work so I crept up to the kitchen door with the porthole too high for me to peer in but luckily the chefs are a friendly bunch and furnished me with some milk. And you know my thing is slippers especially when it is cold and there were none although there are robes.
What’s that noise we hear? It’s the beating from afar getting closer. Before we know it a helicopter appears in the distance and lands in our “backyard” on the lawn. Well that doesn’t happen every day so I must take a photo of this! We’re going up for a very special ride in the helicopter to Whare Kea’s own mountaintop chalet. For an extra fee during Summer (around $5,000, ok please pass my a gold bar from my safe) guests can overnight up at their ski chalet perched atop the Buchanan mountain range and ski their way down. They have their dinner cooked and served in the chalet and stay overnight. We’re just going up to have some champagne today. This is my first time in a helicopter and I’m excited.
We get into the helicopter and I’m sitting in the front seat (not the pilot seat obviously 
) and we put on our headphones where we can talk to each other. The helicopter rises into the air, the blades beating a rhythm and we ascend. It’s like an IMAX film but real as we cross mountainous terrain and soar above an island which has a lake on top of it and an island on the lake.
Alex our helicopter pilot points out the various mountains including Mount Aspiring and Mount Cook. These are summits where keen heli skiers travel up to and take the long, swervy ride back down and then are picked up by helicopter and brought back up again. We face the glacier and after a twenty minute ride we arrive at the mountain top.
The Chalet
The living room of the chalet
The ladder leading up to the beds
The chalet is built up on top of the ground on stilts and took two years to construct with little to no environmental damage which was a consideration. It’s luxurious as far as mountain top chalets go. At 5,700 feet or 1,750 metres a hot shower and plumbing facilities are usually non existent. When one books this chalet they also get a host and a mountaineering guide to keep everyone safe and the host also serves us the meals from the kitchen in the main living room.
The weather is a big factor when you’re doing something like this and they only take people up if there is a 48 hour window for clear weather. It is also one of their most popular activities with one in three enquiries being about the mountaintop chalet. And there is a webcam so that you friends and family back home can watch you live on the balcony sipping champagne!
James Stapley
But you know why we’re here right? The food! All Relais & Chateaux properties must have world class rooms but they must also have top notch restaurants attached to them so the idea is that guests don’t have to venture out for a good meal if they don’t want to. Other Relais chefs include the renowned Thomas Keller from Per Se and French Laundry, Heston Blumenthal from The Fat Duck and our very own Tetsuya Wakuda. Here at Whare Kea, effervescent and friendly chef James Stapley is a young British born chef from Kent who has trained under Jacques Rolancy and David Chambers. His emphasis is on simple, local food presented beautifully and Carole from Whare Kea Lodge tells us that the tomatoes that feature in the first course come from his garden as do the porcini mushrooms.
Canapes: bluff oysters
We’re having pre dinner drinks at the bar and alongside our drinks are a range of canapes including fresh Bluff Oysters-my very favourite oysters. I remember pursuing these the last time I was in Queenstown and I was simply smitten by them and their strong zincy flavour. These are served with a shallot and red wine vinaigrette and I relish in three of these as some of my dining companions can’t eat them. I’m happy to take up the slack!
Smoked seaweed roulade
James comes out and brings out this dish housed in a tall round box. It’s a smoked seaweed roulade and in a bit of theatre he opens the top slowly to reveal a cloud of smoke and that distinct smoky aroma. It’s creamy from the cream cheese but distinctly smoky with a seaweed flavour too and it’s easy to pop a few into your mouth before appreciating the effort that goes into making these.
Dunedin clams
The Dunedin clams which are also from the South Island are deliciously briney and slip down the throat easily.
Home Grown Heirloom Tomato salad, Halloumi stuffed pumpkin blossoms and Harissa
I do love a good heirloom tomato salad and this one comes with a single deep fried and delicately crispy pumpkin blossom (a change from zucchini blossom) which is stuffed with a single slice of stretchy, squeaky halloumi cheese. The harissa, a spicy hot African paste is strong in garlic and other flavours and almost gives it a bitter end.
Steamed West Coast Crayfish salad, Mango, Avocado, Chilli & Lime Dressing, creme fraiche
Now well you know me. We visited Kaikoura to eat crayfish last time (oh and to see the view!) and I am excited about the crayfish dish. The crayfish is exquisitely cooked and so tender and is simply paired with mango and avocado cubes and a chilli and lime dressing and a bit of creme fraiche to give it a touch of creaminess. This is simply done but just with wonderful ingredients and perfectly cooked crayfish.
Olive Oil Poached groper “In Crosta”, fresh corn, black turtle beans and yellow zucchini, verjus
The groper comes with a light lacy breaded crust and sweet fresh corn, artfully scattered black turtle and soy beans and a ribbon of yellow zucchini and a sprinkling of verjus which gives it that distinct tartness. Truthfully I prefer lemon to verjus (I know, Maggie Beer might strike me down for that!) for tartness with fish but the fish is again expertly cooked.
Wild Fiordland venison, Celeriac puree and wild mushroom tortelllini, brussels leaves and porcini emulsion
I think everyone’s favourite fish was the stunning venison, a lean mean that still remains succulent in James’s hands. It is paired with celeriac puree, deep fried celeriac tendrils, a rich wild mushroom tortellini, three brussel sprout leaves and a porcini mushroom emulsion -the porcinis which comes from the grounds here!
Two Paddocks-the winery owned by NZ actor Sam Neill
Rose jelly with fresh raspberries, elderflower cream vanilla and biegnets
Our last course is pretty as a picture, the Amisfeld rose jelly looks as glossy as a glass paperweight. It holds fresh raspberries bound and suspended inside the beautifully wobbly jelly and a swift motion of the spoon releases them. They are partnered with a shredded mint leaf topped elderflower vanilla cream and powdered sugar dusted beignets which spurs a round of begging to see if there are any left in the kitchen (sadly not).
I run a bath (it takes a while so do run it early as the water has to come from their private well) and fall asleep to the sound of ….silence!
Bedside chocolate truffles
The next morning, I feel so comfortable as we are the only guests here so I come out to get my cup of tea from the continental buffet in my bathrobe.
Akaroa smoked salmon and scrambled eggs
The colour of the free range eggs are an incredible yellow shade and the salmon and toast restore mind and vigour. I am not usually a breakfast eater but there is something about the fresh air that makes me hungry. Or perhaps that’s what I convince myself with in order to eat more.
Home made jams
Beignets
And what’s that I see? More beignets? Yes chef James has fried up a fresh batch of beignets for us and passes on his recipe for these delicious, deep fried morsels which I will be making. Nothing like donuts to start the day no?
James in what has to be one of the most scenic kitchens ever
Porcini mushrooms from the property
Excitedly James shows us this morning’s fresh pick. He discovered porcini mushrooms on the property when he was driving in for his trial at Whare Kea and he spotted the porcinis under a silver birch tree. These porcinis have a different aroma and texture depending on the size. The larger ones are spongier and less aromatic wheras the smaller ones are packed with aroma and have firmer gills. We reluctantly depart the warm service of Whare Kea lodge which still manages to feel like you’re visiting friends and staying at their house.
So tell me Dear Reader, if you were locked up in a department store all night, what would you get up to? And which department would be your first stop?
The greenest plane runway you could imagine…
NQN travelled to and explored New Zealand as a guest of Relais & Chateaux and Qantas
Whare Kea Lodge
494 Mt. Aspiring Road, Wanaka, New Zealand
Tel: +64 3 443 1400
http://www.wharekealodge.com/
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61 Comments | Add your own
I think I could die happy after a trip (and meal) like that. So envious!
The beignets look soo cute and yummy! Small versions of stuff always taste better somehow! If I was locked in a department store I would have fun trying on all the clothes! Especially all the designer brands!
Being locked up in a department store is the stuff of childhood fantasies! My first stop would be the cosmetics floor, specifically the Chanel counter!
I loved reading about your stay. I was particularly smitten by the cheeses and oysters. There’s something about dairy in NZ that is just so fantastic. Also the shellfish. Must be the clean cold waters.
ooooh those cheese platters melt my heart!
I would totally raid the chocolate counters at DJs!
Oh wow!!!
This is just gorgeous, the images are so beautiful.
… and the food amazing! Lucky lucky girl.
My dream when I was a little girl was to have a never ending food machine. You just wished for what you wanted it came out the machine and it was never emptied. How funny, I hadn’t remembered this until you shared you shared your childhood fantasy.
Pass me the bowl of beignets please?!
Looks like a wonderful place to have visited. NZ is gorgeous.
Love the scenic shots it looks like a fabulous place. Those Bluff oysters look devine, but serrano jam
Your pictures are awesome! The beignets were my favourite – can I please have the whole bowl too?
Locked up in a department store sounds brilliant! The seafood looks great.
Looks like a lovely location. Big fan of the high ceilings.
I would call people I would love to hang out with, and then try on clothes, shoes, makeup with the help of someone that knew makeup well as I am not so good with makeup. Then I would love to do what you were able to do and go to the home of the department store owner. Though I am not sure about the various foods you ate, but wow, the view, breathtaking. Thank you for sharing as this is something I would not see without your blog. Love seeing where you go and interested in some of the foods you eat.
firstly; wow and num nums!!! i’m very overdue for a holiday, and it looks like you’ve shown me where i’m heading to next!
if i was locked up in a department store overnight, being a melbourne girl, it would have to be david jones, so i could try on the clothes for a while, then raid the food hall for the rest of the night
My favorite of this fantasy is the perfume Chanel. When I was in high school , my DC Teacher ‘s ex husband came into my job place to put fuel into his car(this was the 1970′s), I was the attendant and proceeded to take care of the fuel so he didn’t have to. He paid his bill and left. A few minutes later he came back in with his wife’s car and I waited on him again. As he paid the bill, he handed me a small package wrapped up in Christmas paper(it was almost Christmas) and said Big things come in small packages, and left. It was a small bottle of Chanel N0. 5 perfume, real perfume. It lasted me for over 4 years since I used it very sparingly. I still have the bottle even though it is long empty.
What a beautiful place and lovely experience for you. A helicopter ride and Relais & Chateaux food! How do you top that?
PS Lorraine, have you caught latest TB?! Swooon-a-rama!!!!!
What a magnificent place to stay! Such beautiful scenery
Just stunning! The rose jelly with raspberries I could almost taste and didn’t it look so pretty, yes like a paperweight.
Lorraine, please tell me you dipped those breakfast beignets into the little pot of peanut butter I spy in the photo above. PLEASE TELL ME YOU DID THIS.
Do you know, I have the same department store fantasy? But the chalet and home look like a fantasy come to life!
What a magnificent home!Do people really live like that!?
How beautiful! I really do need to plan a trip over to NZ soon, maybe somewhere a little more budget tho
Seriously beautiful scenery and places! Now, Lorraine, is being a genie one of your manifod talents? Could you possibly blink your eye and send over some of those wonderful Bluff Oysters with a whole lot of the Dunedin clams to follow? – I would be in foodie heaven
! Stay in a department store o’night: oh, yes, of course! Preferably Harrods in London [at least some years back] – after sussing out the homewares and kitchen equipment it would be straight into the Food Hall for the night – a glorious dream I have always had 
!
Oh my,die & go straight to heaven! How do you get to experience these “choice” adventures girl!!! Talking of childhood fantasties my son asked me what super hero power I’d like to posses.Me always thinking of my stomach replied,the ability to eat as much of any kind food & to never get fat or sick!!!This is gluttony with a purpose & with no pay back!!! All the food looked so fresh & delicious & your lodgings WOW… Your photography captured your stay brilliantly! Another job well done Lorraine.
My dear Lorraine… I saw a great Twilight Zone when I was a kid and now many times since that had the store mannequins coming alive
when everyone left.. sending out one of their own to be human for a month at a time… never really wanted to be alone in a store since (and mannequins always give me the whim whams!!)
Looking forward to that beignet recipe..although that salad looks delish!
Great looking place to have to yourself..and a helicopter ride? You have the best job ever!
I’ll begin at the end with the porcini mushrooms. I’m not likely to whisked away to such a chalet, but I can dream by making those fabulous cheese plates, and one or two dishes. If you can’t be enormously wealthy, at least eat this way, right. I think if I were locked up all night, I would try lingerie and evening gowns all night long.
First stop: Clothing. I’d want to try on everything before I gorge myself in the food section haha
i always dreamed of sleeping over at a department store too! food looks delicious, esp with the pretty NZ scenery
I have a wonderful beignet recipe for my bread machine so I just have to load the ingredients then cut the dough and fry it! And eat it of course! Also great with cinnamon sugar.
Looks like you fou d where I would like to vacation next lol.
I have a wonderful beignet recipe for my bread machine so I just have to load the ingredients then cut the dough and fry it! And eat it of course! Also great with cinnamon sugar.
Looks like you found where I would like to vacation next lol.
Mmm.. That meal looks amazing! Feel free to pass on the beignets recipe
This is beautiful, how I miss new zealand! went there about 10yrs ago, i was only a wee kid but the view was amazing. This lodge feels so cosy!
Gorgeous. I think I would choose galleries Lafayette in Paris and start in the shoe department. Or maybe Harvey Nicholl in London. But always start at shoes!
—I know why you have a million followers, L. Because we are all living vicareoslsy thru your great adventures of rich food, lush wine, chocolaty truffles, breathtaking scenery, & superb writing ( where you bring us in with your eyes). PS. What are bluff oysters? I want all of them. And I do not what to share.
xx
Forget the department store and just leave me at Whare Kea Lodge for a week, that’s pretty brave coming from someone that doesn’t like the cold or snow!
Everything looks perfect, oh to own a Department store and holiday in style!
Loving the picture perfect dessert .
How divine does that cheese platter with the perfect figs look and the dessert with the rose jelly is so pretty. Donuts for breakfast, I’ve done it but for some reason it puts me out for the rest of the day. I’d take the scrambled eggs instead.
So, was the dept. store mogul staying the night in the dept. store while you stayed in the mogul’s house? LOL
I really love the look of those delicious oysters, yum, yum, yum!
mmm the beignets look DELISH! and yessss why are department store beds always more comfy than my own bed? I would love to sleep over in a dept store
Lake Wanaka is so beautiful and after a week there, we just did not want to come back to Sydney. It is a place I can seriously spend 6 months in a year there, frolicking, grazing and cooking with some beautiful local ingredients not to mention the great pinots from Central Otago!
Goodness me, such sumptuousness and the views are breathtaking!
As for your department store question, I’m off to the chocolate section (department stores in these parts actually devote a quarter of floor space just for chocolates!), then the shoes, and then the cosmetics!
HI Leanne-Sadly no, I haven’t seen the latest TB but I am having serious withdrawl symptoms!
well, don’t say i didn’t warn you!
That first photo of the blue sky and clouds is just stunning. I always fantasised about staying overnight in a department store as well – at least you would get a good night’s sleep in the manchester department.
So beignets are just mini donuts eh?
Wow. How amazing is your life!
I’d be down at the foodhall helping myself out to the food! Hahahaha… Gosh that first shot of the lodge is just so breathtaking.. I want a house like that!
Oh divine. I’m so impressed that you were calm enough to take photos from up in the helicopter. The first (and only) time I’ve been in one was over the Grand Canyon. My hands were firmly clenched the whole way.
OK. So I think my heart just stopped a beat LOL What an incredible getaway filled with food and a helicopter ride. Amazing.
Can’t to see NZ…not sure if I’d be able to afford a stay here though!
How delightful to have such perfect vistas and experience such warm hospitality.3cheers to the chef for his beignet encore and for parting with the recipe!!
If ever in a blue moon i’m locked in a department store, it would be at xmas time, in Myer where the winter wonderland/xmas displays are..First I’d find myself the fluffiest slippers,comfy Peter Alexander PJs, test out the pillows and doona and sleep under the fairy lights or some where between the nutcraker or santas workshop.
Gotta love NZ! I am craving the ricotta, figs and honey plate something chronic.
I think the answer to this question sums me up I’m torn between hotel chocolat and the apple store! Looking at these photos makes me miss NZ. I was there for a couple of months 6 years ago now. What a beautiful place. It really is land of the long white cloud.
What a perfectly gorgeous experience! The view, the food,
wow. I would chose a department store that had a bit of everything, like Harrods, or even DJ’s with a food hall. That way I could try on clothes,makeup,play with the toys, get some fabulous gourmet foods,and then curl up on a bed in the manchester department with a good book.
wow wow wow … amazing place, amazing food ! how i wish my meagre offerings looked that good in pics … but sadly no… last time i was in new zealand was when my husband and i travelled there to visit the horse studs there, and we upset our parents as we weren’t married (but not far off as he proposed over there) and it was considered a no no! how times have changed eh??
My dream section in a department store would be the book section and the furniture section. I would pick a collection of the best cookery books, garden books and all of jane austen books I could get my hands on. Heading for the best comfiest couch I can find and read to my hearts content(I would sneak to the chocolate section and find some excellent belgium chocolates as well, of course!)
That buffalo ricotta is a thing of beauty – and a ladder to the bedroom? Isn’t that straight out of my childhood fantasy!
Such a beautiful place! The hotel looks lovely and great meals here! I would so love to have those beignets right now!
Wanaka is so beautiful. And those oysters… yummy…
You lucky girl experiencing the life of the rich and famous!!
Although not ostentatious, the luxury was evident… if only for the privilege of sharing space in this remote and beautiful place on earth.
The scenery is beautiful up there! You must be the luckiest girl to be able to eat in such a breathtaking place.
Oh yes, and will you post the recipe for those lovely beignets?
What an awesome post…I love NZ and they really have a great way with food over there, even in small little places you get great produce and takeaway food. The pics are beautiful…
The crayfish salad & venison look like winners to me!
And beignets for breakfast? Oh yes! now I believe you said you got the recipe…?
Beautiful! Now about that recipe?
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