An Intimate Cooking Experience with Chef Stu
Throughout this 2025/26 Summer season, our guests couldn’t praise our Head Chef Stuart Young and his food enough. The reviews said it all.
At the end of this season, we organised our first-ever lunch cooking experience for some guests on a Friday.
Our guests spent a relaxed afternoon in the Te Karaka kitchen with our Chef as they explored one of New Zealand’s finest ingredients — lamb.
Following the guidance and demonstration, the guests explored the flavours of premium ingredients and deepened their culinary skills in a hands-on experience. Guests then had the opportunity to prepare three refined recipes and enjoy a three-course set lunch.
Our guests highly appreciated the opportunity to share, learn & experience with Chef Stu as he shows the tricks & techniques for producing meals to be shared with families & friends.
With easily sourced ingredients and simple classic methods, our hope is to inspire our guests to recreate recipes at home. Concentrating on particular proteins, these events will hopefully dispel some of the myths & fears of cooking.
“We enjoyed spending time in the Lodge kitchen and see what makes the Lodge experience so special.”
This small-group cooking experience combines live demonstration, conversation and shared dining at Te Karaka Lodge. This is a relaxed culinary series designed for locals, food lovers and anyone wanting to spend an afternoon around good food and conversation. Future Kitchen Series events will feature different seasonal ingredients and proteins.
Chef Stu is also experienced in high-end conference and event catering, whether you are planning a corporate, wellbeing, or professional retreat, or a family & friends gathering, girls weekend, and of course an intimate wedding, we can make your dream event a reality with amazing food that your guests won’t stop talking about.
Let us know if you’d like to be invited to the next Kitchen Series Events.