The Amisfield Bistro, in its dramatic stone building overlooking Lake Hayes, is renowned for its innovative foodand spring is the time when the lighter menus feature fresh new ingredients foraged from the local region matched with the company’s distinctive wines.

“Spring at Amisfield means long, lazy lunches, relaxing in warm sunshine and soaking up the atmosphere, just what Amisfield is renowned for. The days get longer, people enjoy sitting outside and we launch our rosé,” says Food & Beverage general manager Larni Wedd. “It is such a great food wine and our kitchen and service team are always excited about food and wine pairing possibilities.

“We’re well-known for our Trust the Chef menus. If time is a consideration, guests can enjoy three courses, or our five-course menu is a popular long lunch option. Dinner is an eight-course tasting menu, taking diners on a culinary journey around the South Island.”

New this spring is an àla carte bar menu, perfect for those who want to enjoy plates of delicious shared food such as Hapuka ribs, game pies, zucchini trifolati or the legendary pork belly with wine available from 5.00pm to 8.00pm daily.

Head chef Adam Harrison is in his “happy place” in spring & summer.

“Spring is our fresh start to the year, when everything starts to flower and grow. We get vibrant flowers and fresh herbs back in the kitchen, and work on giving every ingredient a new lease of life.”

Birch trees are tapped to extract birch syrup at this time of the year, which according to Adam is “just like maple syrup”.

“We use this new life and energy from the tree in a variety of dishes, for glazing meat and in dressings, as well as in desserts with our native Kawakawa herb,” he says. ““Spring & summer is a feast for the eyes, working with ingredients such as oyster leaf, which really does taste of oyster. We trialled it last year and it was excellent, so this year you’ll see more of it on the menu.”