On a paddock on the bank of the Waitaki River, renowned chef and restaurateur Fleur Sullivan spies a clump of watercress. “Boy, I’d love to get some.” She is standing in what was once her grandparents’ farm where she spent the first five years of her life, learning a culinary tradition based on what could be grown, fished, hunted (her father would shoot rabbits from the running board of the family car) or foraged.
“There were no supermarkets,” says Sullivan. But the watercress, even if she could gather it up, won’t be gracing a menu any time soon. Her landmark restaurant Fleurs Place in the coastal village of Moeraki , just south of Oamaru, has been closed for nearly three years – the result of hospitality rules during the early years of the Covid pandemic and a largely unvaccinated workforce .
Now, she tells Frank Film, she is selling up. “I’ve grieved but I’m prepared to let this go.” In doing so, she leaves a legacy of conviviality, local enterprise and fresh regional food.
“I’ve never done it for any other reason than the enjoyment of it and doing it well,” she says. “When you put together this little restaurant and the joy of having these people provide their produce to us – the fish, the tītī, the eggs, the vegetables from Joe’s up the road – all of these things created so much joy.” Fleur honed her hospitality skills as a newly married young mother working in hotels and restaurants, first on the West Coast then in Alexandra.
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