Rātā
Queenstown, New Zealand
With a world-renowned chef, a fantastic venue and a memorable menu, Rata’s strength comes from within.
Josh Emett is eminently capable. With a huge amount of international experience and acclaim, the Michelin-starred chef is well known for his roles on Masterchef in New Zealand and Australia, and highly regarded for his work overseeing Gordon Ramsey’s international restaurant empire. Now, with the establishment of Rata in Queenstown, Josh has well and truly branched out.
With local businesswoman Fleur Caulton and head chef Helen Turnball, the trio has combined New York bistro dining with some obvious New Zealand roots, the ‘iron-hearted’ native tree an apt title considering the restaurant’s natural strength and warmth.
Josh has a strong belief that a dining experience needs to be unique, stimulating and memorable. The well-presented, highly functional kitchen had to meet these high expectations, and be delivered to an exacting budget and a tight timeframe. The stylish new black finish of the Waldorf range helped set the scene and, with on-site training provided by Moffat, everybody quickly learnt the various strengths of the technology.
Functionality was paramount with the kitchen design and equipment, as was the ability to evolve and grow the business. That’s because, with a burgeoning reputation and consistent quality, it is expected that Rata will grow to even greater heights in the future.
IN THE KITCHEN
With an 80-seat capacity and a huge range of taste and culinary experiences on offer, Rata required versatility, power and style from its kitchen equipment.
The Waldorf range was chosen to deliver this capability – two Waldorf target top ranges, a deep fryer, dedicated griddle and salamander providing cooking capacity. The cornerstone of the kitchen is the Convotherm 10 tray combi oven, it’s cost and flavour effective strengths, heavy-duty durability and user-friendly settings providing just the right balance for the Queenstown operation.
