Tasting New Zealand’s High Country at Flockhill

Turning the traditional farm stay on its head, Flockhill Lodge masterfully combines luxurious villa accommodation, hat-worthy dining and an authentic immersion into a working sheep station in New Zealand’s untamed backcountry

It’s the dish that could convert any anchovy hater. ‘Anchovy toast, lemon’ – the fourth course in the Chef’s Table experience at Flockhill‘s restaurant, Sugarloaf – is so simple, so matter-of-fact, and so mouth-wateringly delicious even my salty-fish-averse dinner companion can’t resist it. The three previous dishes, too, had us vigorously nodding at each other with each bite, and by the last mouthful of the ten-course experience we are unanimous: that was one of the best – if not the best – meals we have eaten in the last 12 months.

Transforming humble ingredients into something altogether momentous is head chef Taylor Cullen’s forte. Born in New Zealand, European-trained Cullen has returned to his roots to head up Sugarloaf following a role as head chef at Matt Moran’s Sydney institution, Chiswick, and years working under Australian culinary greats including Ross Listed and Peter Gilmore. In his new venture at Flockhill in the Craigieburn Valley in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, he brings a deep commitment to sustainable cooking, spotlighting the best seasonal produce the region has to offer with a menu that is a true reflection of the land on which Sugarloaf resides. “Everything we serve is from our region with little to no exceptions,” Cullen explains. “We want to create a cuisine that champions the heritage of Canterbury New Zealand farming and puts New Zealand on the map for food.”

Garden to table

Most of Sugarloaf’s produce is harvested from the restaurant’s vast gardens, which yield a bounty of over 30 varieties of fruit – including petite alpine strawberries and zesty gooseberries – along with vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, all carefully tended to by Flockhill’s resident gardener.

To bring out the true essence of each piece of produce on the plate, Cullen and his team – which includes accomplished Kiwi chef Floyd Lyttle as sous chef – cook by open flame, and spend ample time preserving, fermenting and pickling to ensure the garden’s full harvest is used. “We’re in the high country with a short growing season but we utilise fermentation techniques to extend the life of our produce, with the added benefit of enhanced flavours,” Cullen says. The umami-hit ‘buckwheat noodle soup with fermented miso chilli’, which I order twice during my stay, confirms he’s not wrong.

I am among the first guests to experience Cullen’s menu on the very day the restaurant opens, in December 2024, and as he plates up delicate masterpieces bursting with flavour right in front of us, he tells us about his mission. “Our main goal at Sugarloaf is to show people what is possible when you grow your own food,” he says, adding that the restaurant stays true to its sustainable ethos through “little to no waste, taking from the land in only the quantities that we need, and supporting the farm’s growing biodiversity plan.”

As we chat, we savour dishes like beef tartare with cured egg yolk; blackfoot pāua (a local variety of abalone) with chicken skin; brioche with chicken butter; kingfish with wasabi and elderflower; and crayfish with marmalade and finger lime. The chicken skin and butter courses are the perfect examples of Cullen’s mastery as a sustainable chef using as much of the animal and plant as possible. He proves with each and every course that resourceful, sustainable, seasonally responsible cooking can be not only delicious but utterly refined.

In the details

Such elegant food calls for beautiful design, and to that end Sugarloaf is a vast, impressive piece of contemporary architecture that encompasses an open kitchen, dining area, a central reception desk and two lounge areas. Its minimalist design and neutral palette is balanced by curvaceous custom furniture wrapped in earthy leather and sumptuous velvets of gold and slate grey that nod to the New Zealand landscape. A vaulted ceiling with exposed beams of metal and ancient river-rescued matai wood, timber floors, a grand marble bar with illuminated veins, elegant orb pendant lights, two fireplaces and a dazzling, behemoth copper front door contribute to an ambience that is warm and sophisticated. 

And yet all of this thoughtful design is merely a supporting act to the real star of the show – a spectacular valley setting that awards guests a boundless mountain panorama no matter where they sit. A table at Sugarloaf also gives you a front row seat to Flockhill Lodge’s other recent triumph – a cluster of brand new villas, nestled into the landscape. 

Villa life

The seven two-bedroom villas join what has been Flockhill Lodge’s sole accommodation offering since its debut in 2023 – the award-winning Homestead. An exclusive-use, ultra luxury four-bedroom residence with mind-warping views of Lake Pearson, Sugar Loaf, Purple Hill and a patch of the 36,000 acre working sheep station below, the Homestead comes with a dedicated staff of butlers, chefs and concierge. Unsurprisingly, this ultra-exclusivity is matched by an eye watering price tag very few can afford. Flockhill Lodge’s new villas open it up to a broader luxury clientele – including Australians like me and, no doubt, plenty of Americans on bucket list lodge-hopping adventures around New Zealand. 

Designed by the same Christchurch-based architecture firm that conceived Sugarloaf, Hierarchy Architects, I’m not surprised to discover the villas are gorgeous. The clever design features a central lounge room with a full kitchen connected to two king or twin bedrooms – each with their own signature colour palette. The bedrooms can be booked individually as junior suites or along with the lounge room to make a one- or two-bedroom abode, ideal for romantic escapes or family holidays. 

The polished interior is dominated by a neutral yet warm material palette of timber, concrete and steel, with splashes of deep green and rust that reference the alpine scenery. I wouldn’t be in New Zealand – or on a working sheep station, for that matter – without some Kiwi wool in the mix, and in this case, a thick rug underfoot and custom upholstered bedhead contribute to a villa that would feel cosy whether there are fields of wildflowers or a blanket of snow outside. 

The north-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and private outdoor deck off of each room ensure guests never have to rely on memory alone for the view of Purple Hill, and, speaking of views, there’s the twinkling variety on offer in the oversized ensuite courtesy of a high vaulted ceiling with roof skylights, which provide a gateway to the stars from the freestanding bath. 

And yet all of this thoughtful design is merely a supporting act to the real star of the show – a spectacular valley setting that awards guests a boundless mountain panorama no matter where they sit.

On the station

As a 168-year-old working sheep station, Flockhill Lodge offers a luxury lodge experience like no other in New Zealand – an authentic piece of the New Zealand High Country, just a 90-minute drive from Christchurch (or a 20-minute helicopter ride, if you are in a hurry). This is a place where you can immerse yourself in the ruggedly handsome landscape of the South Island minus the crowds of Queenstown, and then luxuriate in Michelin-quality dining and plush accommodation at the end of each day. 

And you’ll appreciate the counter-balance of that evening down time, with a choose-your-own-adventure daytime activity menu that includes rafting, hiking, fishing, caving, guided hikes or biking, kayaking, standup paddling, clay bird shooting, ATV station tours and rock climbing – all activities inspired by the landscape, the station and its history. 

I get a taste of life working on a sheep station with female shepherd Thurza and her three heading and huntaway dogs on the signature Farm Tour one rainy afternoon, and join experienced equestrian guide Heather on a clear morning for a leisurely horse ride. The landscape is studded with native flora such as manuka, kanuka, everlasting daisy, matagouri trees, beech trees and tussocks that stretch for days. There are eye-catching bright purple and hot pink lupins shooting out of the Earth in pretty clusters that remind me of the English countryside – but as I breathe in the fresh air and drink up the magnificent terrain of this remote wilderness under the mild summer sun, there is no reason to wish I were anywhere in the world but Flockhill.

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Rates at Flockhill Lodge start from $3,250 for a Junior Suite off-peak. Rates at the Homestead start at  $12,625 for exclusive use off-peak.

flockhillnz.com

Sky Time

Free from light pollution, Flockhill Lodge offers a breathtaking view of the Milky Way, Southern Cross and distant galaxies. At the Homestead, relax by the fire pit with a drink, explore the stars through a telescope, and let the night sky ignite your imagination.

Full of soul

In 2002, during a visit to New Zealand’s South Island, the Dalai Lama referred to Castle Hill, a remarkable limestone rock formation not far from Flockhill Lodge, as the “spiritual center of the universe”. This area, known as Kura Tāwhiti in Māori, has long been considered sacred and holds significant cultural importance.