The George Boutique Hotel

Zane Neustroski, Apprentice Chef at boutique hotel The George in Christchurch, is excited to be the winner of the annual Fonterra Foodservices’ Proud to be a Chef Competition 2012. Zane competed against other young up and coming apprentice chefs at AUT’s Piko Restaurant on 30 November where each young chef’s original recipe was tasted and evaluated by a panel of judges. Clearly the judge’s favourite was Zane’s goat cheese cheesecake made with a shortbread crumb and served with mango sorbet, pistachio nut tuile, mango puree and dehydrated raspberry to garnish.

As his prize Zane will compete at the annual Fonterra Foodservices’ Proud to be a Chef Final in Melbourne in March 2012. The expenses-paid trip includes flights, accommodation and three nights dining at top Melbourne restaurants. However, the chance to participate in hands-on mentoring and inspirational master classes with Philippe Mouchel, Adam D'Sylva, Pierrick Boyer and Peter Wright is key to this competition as it represents an invaluable learning experience for a young chef.

Zane has been working at The George for 12 months and is currently under the tutelage of Pescatore’s Chef de Cuisine Reon Hobson. Should Zane win the Melbourne competition the reward is an international culinary sponsorship valued at $7,500, customised to his individual career ambitions.

The George takes great satisfaction from the achievements of its team and is proud of the training they receive whilst working in its kitchen brigade under Executive Chef Andrew Brown. Just last year Pescatore Apprentice Chef Elliott Pinn won the same competition and relished his time representing New Zealand at the Melbourne competition. Elliott then went on to win the NZ – UK Link Cookery Apprentice of the Year 2011, as did Tom Williams, another of Pescatore’s Apprentice Chefs, before him.

Up against nine other leading General Managers from around the country, Bruce Garrett of The George Christchurch wins the New Zealand General Manager at the Hotel Management (HM) Awards for Hotel & Accommodation Excellence. Now in its 9th year this event represents the regions leading awards for the accommodation industry. Over 800 properties are nominated and the nominations are open to hotels and staff at properties across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The HM Awards are hosted and presented by HM - Hotel & Accommodation Management, a leading industry magazine. This year, 48 HM Awards were bestowed to recognise excellence over a range of categories at a ceremony held at the Sydney Town Hall on Friday 2 September 2011. The finalists and winners were decided by a key judging panel made up of 50 industry professionals and travel media. Major achievements in the last 12 months are pivotal to any individual or property winning an HM Award. For this Bruce Garrett is certainly highly qualified as not only has he been at the helm during the all of the Christchurch earthquakes, surely the most difficult period for hotels ever seen in New Zealand, he has also led the property toward its many accolades including:

World Travel Awards
Australasia's Leading Boutique Hotel 2010
New Zealand’s Leading Boutique Hotel 2010

Travel + Leisure 'Worlds Best Hotels Survey
#1 in New Zealand in the Travel + Leisure ‘Worlds Best Service Awards’ 2011
#2 in New Zealand by Travel + Leisure 'World's Best Hotels Survey' 2011
#1 in New Zealand by Travel + Leisure 'World's Best Hotels Survey' 2010

Qualmark
5 Star rating
Envirogold rating

Bruce was proud to be at the ceremony to collect his award and was moved that during the course of the ceremony over $60,000 was raised for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust, the greatest charity display the accommodation industry has seen for years.

Christchurch hotel, The George, is delighted to make the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards again in 2011. This year it has received awards in 2 categories. Firstly, it is one of only two New Zealand hotels to make the coveted Travel + Leisure ‘Top 10 City Hotels of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific’. However, if this is not kudos enough, The George is also 2nd only to The Langham Melbourne in the Top 5 City Hotels of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in the Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Service Awards.

It has certainly been a rocky year for tourism in Canterbury so we are thrilled that The George has been included in these awards that will help highlight Christchurch as a desirable destination to the international market.

Travel + Leisure magazine is a well regarded international magazine with a discerning readership of close to one million. Each year its readers have the opportunity to select their favourite hotels, spas, airlines, cruise lines, outfitters, cities and islands around the world.

With the sheer volume and quality of experiences available, it is no easy task to provide the kind of memorable and meaningful experience that motivates a guest to select you above others as a resounding favourite. Nonetheless, The George has a long history of success in the Travel + Leisure Awards, and has been a recipient of these awards in 2008, 2009 & 2010.

This year The George has received awards in 2 categories. Firstly, it is one of only two New Zealand hotels to make the coveted Travel + Leisure ‘Top 10 City Hotels of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific’. However, if this is not kudos enough, The George is also 2nd only to The Langham Melbourne in the Top 5 City Hotels of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in the Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Service Awards.

It has certainly been a rocky year for tourism in Canterbury so we are thrilled that The George has been included in these awards that will help highlight Christchurch as a desirable destination to the international market.

Travel + Leisure magazine is a well regarded international magazine with a discerning readership of close to one million. Each year its readers have the opportunity to select their favourite hotels, spas, airlines, cruise lines, outfitters, cities and islands around the world.

With the sheer volume and quality of experiences available, it is no easy task to provide the kind of memorable and meaningful experience that motivates a guest to select you above others as a resounding favourite. Nonetheless, The George has a long history of success in the Travel + Leisure Awards, and has been a recipient of these awards in 2008, 2009 & 2010.

Up against competitors from all over New Zealand, Elliott, an apprentice chef in The George’s signature restaurant Pescatore, created a winning menu from a surprise box of ingredients.

To be eligible for the competition, applicants must have completed 12 months of their Cookery Modern Apprenticeship and preferably have had some competition experience. As the awards are training focused, part of Elliott’s prize will be to travel to London to work with some of London’s top kitchen brigades in a variety of restaurants.

Elliott follows in the footsteps of friend Tom Williams, also from The George’s kitchen team, who won the very same award in 2009 and greatly benefitted from his time overseas. Although, still an apprentice, Elliott has already travelled to Melbourne where he represented New Zealand in the Fonterra ‘Proud to be a Chef’ final in Melbourne earlier this year.

The George takes great satisfaction in the achievements of its chefs and is proud of the excellent training they receive whilst working in its kitchen brigade.

Congratulations to Elliott Pinn of The George, Christchurch who last night was awarded the NZ-UK Link Apprentice of the Year 2011 in the National Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) Modern Apprentice of the Year competition. Up against competitors from all over New Zealand, Elliott, an apprentice chef in The George’s signature restaurant Pescatore, created a winning menu from a surprise box of ingredients.

To be eligible for the competition, applicants must have completed 12 months of their Cookery Modern Apprenticeship and preferably have had some competition experience. As the awards are training focused, part of Elliott’s prize will be to travel to London to work with some of London’s top kitchen brigades in a variety of restaurants.

Elliott follows in the footsteps of friend Tom Williams, also from The George’s kitchen team, who won the very same award in 2009 and greatly benefitted from his time overseas. Although, still an apprentice, Elliott has already travelled to Melbourne where he represented New Zealand in the Fonterra ‘Proud to be a Chef’ final in Melbourne earlier this year.

The George takes great satisfaction in the achievements of its chefs and is proud of the excellent training they receive whilst working in its kitchen brigade.

Due to the recent bumpy events, art gallery space is at an all time low in Christchurch. However, after a very successful Art Opportunity Exhibition at The George in May 2011, The George has collaborated with Arts Canterbury to provide local artists with free exhibition space each month until more commercial gallery space opens up. Featured work of various artists selected by Arts Canterbury will grace The Residence link.

During July we are delighted to display artwork of Joanne Webber and Stephanie Crisp for public viewing.

Stephanie Crisp, artist and art teacher, has painted for as long as she can remember. Her work was included in the “12 Contemporary New Zealand Artists” 1998 calendar and she was the winner of the 2005 Christchurch (Telecom) White Pages Art Award for “Canterbury Plains and Mountains” a work that graced the regions White Pages. More about Stephanie can be found on her website www.stephaniecrisp.co.nz.

Joanne Webber has painted & indulged in various forms of art all her life. Joanne’s
recently attained Arts Honours degree has proved immeasurably helpful in providing a clearer focus of what she wants to achieve. Her inspiration for artwork comes from a diversity of places such as advertising, history and public & political affairs. Irony plays an important role in her work. Her artworks are held in collections throughout New Zealand and overseas in diverse places such as Hong Kong, Germany, England. Two works were recently bought by the Benetton (United Colors) family of Italy. More about Joanne can be found on her website www.joannewebber.co.nz.

The George's signature restaurant, Pescatore, has been selected as one of the 50 finalists in this year's Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year Awards. This prestigious competition, now in its seventh year, is the only national restaurant competition in New Zealand. Each restaurant is anonymously visited and assessed by leading local food and wine experts and a highly respected international judge. A final follow up visit decides the ratings and competition winners.

As part of the competition Pescatore will offer a “Star Grazing Menu” from Saturday 18 June – Saturday 16 July 2011. The 3 course menu is served with matching Villa Maria wines for just $80 per person.

Elliott Pinn, Apprentice Chef at boutique hotel The George, is proud to be one of the 2 winners of the annual Fonterra Foodservices’ Proud to be a Chef Competition.

Elliott competed against seven other finalists at AUT’s Piko Restaurant on 16 November where each young chef’s original recipe was tasted and evaluated by a panel of judges, including the venerated Ray McVinnie. Obviously a favourite of the judges was what Elliott refers to as his “tricked up Marquise” - a white chocolate marquise with cherry gel and chocolate and hazelnut tuille.

As his prize Elliott will compete at the annual Fonterra Foodservices’ Proud to be a Chef Final in Melbourne in March 2011. The expenses-paid trip includes fights, accommodation and three nights dining at top Melbourne restaurants. While the trip in itself is an exciting prize, the opportunity to attend cooking master-classes and receive mentoring from award winning chefs is an unbelievable opportunity for a young man at the beginning of his career.

Elliott began his cooking career 3.5 years ago at The George by washing pots before being offered an apprenticeship in the hotel’s well regarded 50 On Park Restaurant. Winning the Melbourne competition would be a great boost to his training as the reward is an international culinary sponsorship valued at $7,500, customised to his individual career ambitions.

The George takes great satisfaction from the achievements of its team and is proud of the training they receive whilst working in its kitchen brigade under Executive Chef Andrew Brown. Just last year Apprentice Chef Thomas Williams was awarded the NZ-UK Link Cookery Apprentice of the Year.

General Manager, Bruce Garrett, was at the awards ceremony, held in Delhi on 14 October 2010, in person to accept the awards on behalf of The George. To his knowledge this is the first time that these two awards have been won by the same property and the first time any property has won the NZ title 5 years consecutively. Bruce Garrett credits this continued recognition to The George’s owners continued investment in the property and by the way that each and every one of the team go about living out the hotel’s mission statement: “A passion to exceed our guests’ expectations by providing a unique, personal and memorable experience”.

Such unwavering commitment of The George to the mission statement is reflected in the experience of its many guests whose feedback in turn influences industry professionals from around the world who vote for category nominees.

Competition is stiff in what is considered to be the most prestigious and comprehensive awards program in the Travel and Tourism industry, with well known properties such as Huka Lodge, Medusa Hotel, Sydney, The Lyall Hotel & Spa, Melbourne, and The Spire Queenstown among the contenders for the Boutique Hotel categories.

The George Christchurch is delighted to announce that not only has it been voted New Zealand’s Leading Boutique Hotel for the 5th consecutive year, it has also for the very first time been named Australasia’s Leading Boutique Hotel in the prestigious World Travel Awards.

General Manager, Bruce Garrett, was at the awards ceremony, held in Delhi on 14 October 2010, in person to accept the awards on behalf of The George. To his knowledge this is the first time that these two awards have been won by the same property and the first time any property has won the NZ title 5 years consecutively. Bruce Garrett credits this continued recognition to The George’s owners continued investment in the property and by the way that each and every one of the team go about living out the hotel’s mission statement: “A passion to exceed our guests’ expectations by providing a unique, personal and memorable experience”.

Such unwavering commitment of The George to the mission statement is reflected in the experience of its many guests whose feedback in turn influences industry professionals from around the world who vote for category nominees.

Competition is stiff in what is considered to be the most prestigious and comprehensive awards program in the Travel and Tourism industry, with well known properties such as Huka Lodge, Medusa Hotel, Sydney, The Lyall Hotel & Spa, Melbourne, and The Spire Queenstown among the contenders for the Boutique Hotel categories.

Christchurch hotel, The George, is delighted to be the Top New Zealand City Hotel as announced in the annual Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2010. The George is ranked second only to The Langham in Melbourne, in the overall category of Top 10 City Hotels of Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. The other New Zealand hotels to make the exclusive list were from Auckland and were ranked 6th 7th and 8th.

Travel + Leisure is a highly regarded international magazine with a discerning readership of close to one million. Each year its readers have the opportunity to select their favourite hotels, spas, airlines, cruise lines, outfitters, cities and islands around the world. With the sheer volume and quality of experiences available, it is no easy task to provide the kind of memorable and meaningful experience that motivates a guest to select you above others as a resounding favourite.

Contributing factors to this success may have been the completion of a major guest room refurbishment in 2009, which closely followed a re-launch of Pescatore Restaurant in 2008. Nonetheless, as The George has a long history of success in the Travel + Leisure Awards, it is undoubtedly The George’s unwavering commitment to guest service and satisfaction levels that makes the difference for its guests.

We are proud to announce that The George has retained both its five star rating from Qualmark, New Zealand tourism's official quality mark, as well as Qualmark's highest rating, Enviro-Gold, for our commitment to responsible tourism. The George is the only South Island 5 star hotel and one of only 7 in the country to be awarded an Enviro-Gold rating.

The George's signature restaurant, Pescatore, has been nominated as one of the 50 finalists in this year's Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year Awards. This prestigious competition, now in its sixth year, is the only national restaurant competition in New Zealand. Each restaurant is anonymously visited and assessed by leading local food and wine experts and a highly respected international judge. A final follow up visit decides the ratings and competition winners. The winners of the Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year 2010 Awards will be announced on 16 August at an exclusive event for the restaurant industry in Auckland.

The rooms refurbishment that began in 2007 with its level 4 rooms has been completed by leading architects Warren and Mahoney whose bespoke aesthetic created for the 4th floor rooms was widely lauded for offering a The George a high end contemporary look and feel.
Reinstating the complimentary neutral palate creates a unified feel throughout the Hotel but the latest design sparkles with shots of colour and state of the art technology with quality accessories such as the Tivoli Model3 clock radio’s found beside the beds and Bose entertainment centres found in the Park Suites.

While the aesthetic brief was similar to the 2007 design The George used this opportunity to remain on the cutting edge of emerging styles hence the introduction of all new furniture, striking coloured chairs and mini-bar trays, and a funky graphic feature wall with tiny holes representing oak leaves that ties in beautifully with The George’s enviable Parkside setting. Little touches such as soft closing bedside drawers and toilet seats, floor to ceiling picture windows in the 2nd and 3rd floor Park Suites and 3rd floor garden facing rooms, heated floors and make up mirrors in the bathroom, all add to the feeling of luxury and elegance that has always been a trademark of The George.

With its focus on guests’ needs The George was also quick to react to changing technology requirements, so wired and wireless internet are a given but new additions include media hubs with connections for all digital devices allowing integration to the television for playback and power hubs with universal plug sockets and USB power. For the gadget enthusiast the state of the art design includes elegant glass touch sensitive switches to control heating and lighting, electronic "Privacy" and "Please make up room" indicators and individual door bells for every room. Each room has also been fitted with an intuitive energy management system which shuts off lighting when the rooms are unoccupied, in keeping with The Georges commitment to caring luxury.

Following the refurbishment The George now offers 9 Executive Rooms, 32 Premium Executive Rooms, 4 Junior Suites, 2 Residence Suites and 6 Park Suites.

The George's signature restaurant Pescatore was one of the 40 finalists in this year's Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year Awards having been selected from a shortlist of 100 top New Zealand restaurants.  Pescatore is proud to have received 4 stars, the highest rating for any Christchurch restaurant, which equates to a rating of excellent on the Cuisine rating scale.
This prestigious competition is open to any New Zealand restaurant and café that has been trading for at least 6 months before judging. Each restaurant is anonymously visited by at least two judges from a distinguished line up of professionals. A final follow up visit decides the ratings and competition winners.

Once again The George has been listed in the top 25 places in the prestigious Travel and Leisure Magazines World's Best Hotels in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.  Not only has The George been included in the list frequently, this year it jumped 9 spots to number 13.

The George was successful for the third consecutive year in obtaining the
prestigious title of New Zealand’s
Leading Boutique Hotel at the 2008 World Travel Awards held in Sydney on 10th June 2008.

Voted for by over 150 000 travel agents globally, these awards are
considered to be the very highest accolade in the travel industry, so it is no
small accomplishment that The George has held this ranking in 2006, 2007 &
2008.

The World Travel Awards were launched 15 years ago to acknowledge and
recognise excellence in the Travel and Tourism industry worldwide.

The latest project is the complete refurbishment
of the remaining guest rooms. This is by far the most ambitious project that
has been undertaken at the hotel in the past 21 years. Thirty-seven of the
fifty-three rooms will be completely stripped back and rebuilt from scratch,
including plumbing, wiring, bathrooms and all furniture and fittings.

The latest technology will be fitted and all rooms
will feature bathroom underfloor heating, heated towel rails, sensor
night-lights, LCD TVs, media hubs, wi-fi and fixed line broadband, granite
bench tops and luxury bedding. The look and feel will be chic and contemporary.

Bruce Garrett, General Manager, says "We are
thrilled that our owners have made the decision to go ahead with this project,
which will ensure The George remains at the forefront of the Christchurch hotel scene for many years to
come".

Designed by Warren & Mahoney and costing
nearly $3m, work will commence in mid July and continue through until the end
of September. The bulk of the work will however be carried out in August when
the hotel's guest rooms will be closed.

The George's award-winning signature restaurant,
Pescatore, will still be trading throughout as will conference and banqueting facilities.

Finally, the daring and
exciting vision for Pescatore has come to fruition. Following its initial
conception 18 months ago, 12 months of planning and 3 months in construction;
Pescatore was re-launched on the 27th November 2008.

Pescatore offers an
exciting new dining concept, enhanced by its stunning new interior, which is
sure to turn heads and rejuvenate guests' longstanding love affair with this
iconic New Zealand
restaurant. The space is luxurious and modern, offering a minimalist approach
to formal dining that is thoughtfully comfortable and uncluttered.

The experience begins in the lobby where you are
greeted by the lobby host who delivers you through the padded entrance door
into the uber-cool, all white ante-room where you are transported into a
different world. Light from the combination of chandeliers reflects off silk
drops and multi-faceted mirrored walls. Black carpet and table bases give an
illusion of levitating white table tops which are liberated from the usual maze
of crockery, cutlery and glassware creating a blank canvas for the culinary
artwork that follows. This allows the entire experience to build and develop
around the dinner. A Graham Bennett sculpture provides an intriguing feature,
while the huge oval table with its oversized chairs begs a revisit to enjoy a
hedonistic journey with a group of special friends.

Executive Chef Andrew Brown and his team have
created a unique, fresh conceptual approach to the cuisine, which at its core
has a passionate respect for ingredients. From the origins of classical cooking
to the latest food techniques, the menu has been designed to engage the senses
and build an emotionally rich experience while triggering long held food
memories from the past. Dishes such as Tuna Nicoise with liquid olives, ortiz
mayonnaise, green bean puree, and Venison Carpaccio with mustard, rhubarb,
truffle toast, olive oil ice-cream, will tantalize both the brain and the
palate.

Seasonal menus are matched with top vintages from
Pescatore's comprehensive wine list, honoured by Wine Spectator magazine as
being one of the most outstanding restaurant lists in the world.

Pescatore offers a number of different menu
selections, choose the one that suits your occasion and join us for an
unforgettable dining experience. For the very best in intimate dining,
Pescatore's stunning private room is an ideal choice for an exceptional,
exclusive dining experience.

Some things, such as its long-standing reputation
and panoramic views over Hagley Park, will never change as Pescatore continues to
earn its position as one of New
Zealand's foremost dining experiences.

In a recent assessment for the 2008 CHADS, "atmosphere was just perfect", and  "we went for Sunday lunch and didn't want to leave" were among numerous complimentary comments from the judges reviewing The George for the GreetNZ Outstanding Canterbury Customer Service Award.
Not only did The George take home the award at the recent Canterbury Hospitality Awards it also achieved the highest score in the history of the awards. This accolade is presented to an establishment that has excelled in its delivery of customer service, demonstrating awareness of customer needs and expectations with a positive buy-in of all concerned to the delivery of a world-class hospitality experience.

The results of the 2008 New Zealand Lamb and Beef Awards saw the The George
Christchurch’s renowned restaurants Pescatore and 50 On Park each awarded with
a hallmark of excellence, while Andrew Brown received the honour of being named
as a 2008 New Zealand Lamb and Beef Ambassador.

Andrew Brown is one of only six chefs who displayed the outstanding culinary
expertise required to receive an Ambassadorship in the recent New Zealand Lamb
and Beef Hallmark assessment program. These awards follow anonymous assessments
by culinary professionals, and only establishments that reached a sufficiently
high standard are awarded the 2007 New Zealand Beef & Lamb Hallmark of Excellence.

This is the second time Andrew Brown has received this prestigious award and
he highly regarded in the industry through his work in the New Zealand Culinary
Team and his membership in the New
Zealand Chef’s Association.

At the Asia/Pacific Ceremony of the 2007 World Travel Awards, The George, Christchurch was once again successful in obtaining the
accolade of “New Zealand’s
Leading Boutique Hotel”. This is the second successive year that this honour
has been bestowed on The George, which shows that its ongoing commitment to
consistency and quality is recognised by its peers in the travel industry.

The World Travel Awards were introduced in 1993 to acknowledge the vast
contribution and achievement of one of the fastest growing industries in the
world and has now become the world’s most comprehensive travel award ceremony.
Thousands of travel professionals spread over 190 countries cast hundreds of
thousands of votes for their favourite candidates in order to select the
overall winners. The World Travel Awards are regarded by those in the industry
and their clients alike as the highest recommendation obtainable in the area of
travel.

Multi-award-winning hotel The George, Christchurch
has been named best New
Zealand hotel in the prestigious 2007 US
Conde Nast Traveler Gold List, just released.

In the Conde Nast Reader's Choice Awards 2006 it was also voted top hotel in
New Zealand and Best for
Service in Australia, New Zealand and
the Pacific.  Almost 21,000 Condé Nast Traveler subscribers completed the
2006 Readers’ Choice Survey published in November issue.

The Conde Nast Traveler Gold List is the ultimate guide to hotels and resorts
around the world.

The thirteenth annual Gold List features international hotels that have the
best service, rooms, food, ambience and design, location and leisure facilities
as voted for by readers. The George was included in the world’s top 208 hotels,
resorts, cruise lines, airlines, and destinations to score more than 90 per
cent.

The George scored 95.7% for service and its overall score was 90.9%, putting
Christchurch’s Qualmark-rated five star hotel
ahead of all other New
Zealand properties.

Magazine readers also voted Christchurch the
fourth most popular city in Australasia after
Sydney, Melbourne, and Queenstown.

The magazine said of The George: “A welcome drink is delivered to your room
at this 20-year-old hotel across from Hagley Park.
Contemporary rooms are nicely decorated and have a view of the park; turndown
service includes a George Bear for guests with children. Pescatore's menu
dégustation is a real highlight, pairing four to six small courses with wine.
Staff ensure your stay is enjoyable."

Bruce Garrett, General Manager of The George said the Conde Nast Gold List
accolades are a reflection of The George’s ongoing commitment to superb service
and attention to detail, as well as its excellent cuisine and parkside city
location in Christchurch, gateway to the South Island.

“The George has always been renowned for its high levels of service, with a
one-to-one ratio of staff to guests.”