Waikato Business News August/September 2023
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the voice of the region’s business community, a business community with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of cooperation.
Waikato Business News has for a quarter of a century been the voice of the region’s business community, a business community with a very real commitment to innovation and an ethos of cooperation.
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28 CONFERENCE & EVENTS<br />
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
Late Night Lounge Ernest dominates<br />
<strong>2023</strong> <strong>Waikato</strong> Hospitality Awards<br />
Hamilton Late Night Lounge Ernest,<br />
a trailblazing establishment in the<br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> hospitality scene, celebrated<br />
a resounding victory at the <strong>2023</strong><br />
<strong>Waikato</strong> Hospitality Awards.<br />
BY EDITH SYMES<br />
Winning an impressive<br />
four awards out<br />
of seven nominations,<br />
this outstanding achievement<br />
solidifies Ernest's status<br />
as an industry leader, marking<br />
them as the nightspot of choice<br />
for guests seeking an unparalleled<br />
bar experience.<br />
Since its grand opening in<br />
November 2021, Ernest has<br />
captivated guests with its distinctive<br />
blend of sit-down<br />
seating, top-tier service, and a<br />
curated selection of premium<br />
beverages spanning from delicious<br />
cocktails to exquisite<br />
wines.<br />
Among the accolades,<br />
Ernest bartender Roberto<br />
Valenzuela proudly secured the<br />
title of Outstanding Bartender.<br />
With over two decades of bartending<br />
experience, he has dedicated<br />
relentless effort to reach<br />
this milestone.<br />
“Creating unique experiences<br />
through my cocktails has<br />
always been a passion of mine.<br />
This award has been a long<br />
time coming and I am grateful<br />
for the recognition from my<br />
peers,” he says.<br />
Ernest also claimed Outstanding<br />
Front of House Team<br />
and Outstanding Bar. These<br />
awards serve as a testament to<br />
the unwavering commitment<br />
of the team to elevate the standard<br />
of service and hospitality<br />
in the <strong>Waikato</strong> region. However,<br />
the crowning achievement<br />
was the coveted Overall<br />
Supreme Award presented<br />
to the establishment with the<br />
highest number of nominations<br />
and votes, a great recognition<br />
of industry support.<br />
Craig Loveday the visionary<br />
behind Ernest says the team<br />
was thrilled and humbled to<br />
receive these awards.<br />
“It is a testament to the<br />
hard work and dedication of<br />
our team, who consistently go<br />
above and beyond to create a<br />
memorable experience for our<br />
guests. We look forward to continuing<br />
to push boundaries and<br />
raising the bar in the <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
hospitality scene."<br />
Ernest can be found at 30<br />
Alexandra Street, Hamilton,<br />
open Wednesday to Saturday<br />
from 4pm till late.<br />
Now there’s<br />
just the barbie<br />
to match with<br />
those sauces<br />
BY EDITH SYMES<br />
An enterprising Raglan<br />
couple who started out<br />
six years ago making<br />
their own brand of chimichurri<br />
sauce at the Raglan Old<br />
School Arts Centre kitchen are<br />
now about to launch locally a<br />
traditional style of woodfire<br />
barbeque from their native<br />
Argentina to help promote<br />
their products.<br />
The venture follows on<br />
from an Argentinian-style<br />
barbecue catering business<br />
which Ben Parodi and wife Ani<br />
have set up to push their popular<br />
range of sauces.<br />
Cooking with<br />
charcoal or wood<br />
gives a much<br />
better flavour than<br />
cooking with gas<br />
“We found that more and<br />
more people were asking<br />
about the barbeque itself,”<br />
Ben says.<br />
So on a recent trip back<br />
home Ben met with Asaparri<br />
– a factory specialising in<br />
products for cooking over fire<br />
– and as a result will launch at<br />
Labour Weekend a woodfire<br />
and charcoal barbeque that,<br />
he says, challenges the Kiwi<br />
idea of summertime-only outdoor<br />
cooking.<br />
He decided to import the<br />
barbecue himself because,<br />
unlike a gas barbecue, it has<br />
a firebox that keeps on burning<br />
and creating the embers<br />
on which to cook – in turn,<br />
evoking warmth and ambience<br />
for outdoor eating at<br />
any time.<br />
The fire transforms<br />
this method of cooking<br />
into a year-round event,<br />
Ben insists, and continues<br />
the South American<br />
tradition that he and Ani<br />
grew up with of socialising<br />
around a woodfire barbecue<br />
Diego Nicholson and Ben Parodi<br />
– specialty sauces at the ready.<br />
“The weather is not<br />
important, it’s the experience<br />
of being out,” says Ben. “And<br />
cooking with charcoal or wood<br />
gives a much better flavour<br />
than cooking with gas.”<br />
Ben and Ani’s business<br />
Salsa Brava started small in<br />
2017 with the idea of making<br />
and selling chimichurri –<br />
found originally in the cuisines<br />
of Argentina and Uruguay – as<br />
a way of sharing their culture<br />
through healthy food for Kiwi<br />
tables.<br />
The uncooked sauce using<br />
parsley, olive oil, oregano,<br />
garlic, onions and chilli began<br />
as something of a labour of<br />
love – the pair growing and<br />
chopping the parsley themselves<br />
from their home.<br />
Early on they travelled the<br />
country with up to 800 jars<br />
of the sauce stacked on top of<br />
their campervan in search of<br />
retail outlets.<br />
The rest is history, a range<br />
of their sauces now sold in in<br />
many outlets in the <strong>Waikato</strong>.<br />
While Ani in particular<br />
these days is busy with the<br />
couple’s two young children,<br />
Ben’s been getting all fired<br />
up about the barbeques Salsa<br />
Brava has imported to promote<br />
the sauces.<br />
He and fellow native<br />
Argentinian Diego Nicholson<br />
are currently showing off the<br />
woodfire barbecue at <strong>Waikato</strong><br />
Home & Garden Show, but<br />
will be back at Raglan doing<br />
demos in a fortnight.<br />
*Catch them Labour Weekend<br />
at The Hut in Rangitahi,<br />
Saturday October 21 at 10am.