It’s not that we necessarily needed another excuse to hop on the ferry and head Cable Bay ways over the weekend, but if we did, the Waiheke winery’s new lineup of seasonal dishes would surely suffice. Made with ripe fruit and veggies hand harvested daily from the kitchen’s sprawling organic plots and orchard, the new ferry-fare-worthy additions are minimising the distance between garden and fork to just a few steps.

With an ever-revolving arsenal of produce, Cable Bay’s focus on seasonal goods means that we’re met with different, garden-fresh fare on every visit. Take the ‘Angus Beef in the Garden’, for instance. A succulent slab artfully laid on a plate with an array of nature’s finest, because the dish depends on what’s good in the garden that day, you can never be sure what will arrive before you. It’s the same with the ‘Gnocchi di Patata’, a delicious lucky dip of a meal that takes shape depending on what organic goods take the chef’s fancy that day. Following the seasons rather than the trends, the ever-changing accompaniments also mean that the uncomfortable pang of guilt usually associated with ordering the same thing each time you visit — gone!

Making strides towards self-sustainability (if you go for a wander you may just chance upon the chooks that donated the eggs to make said gnocchi), Cable Bay’s new dishes are a delectable tip of the hat to Mother Nature. And while it seems such a homely thought — the idea of the chefs simply popping out to the garden and plucking what they need every day — we can assure you, the cuisine here is far from your standard home cooked fare.