At the water’s edge
Down on the harbour you’ll find this elegant, light-filled eatery, where the food is just as appealing as the view.
Words Karl Puschmann
You’d be hard-pressed to find somewhere to eat with a more spectacular view than The Restaurant at Trinity Wharf. Perched on three piers that stretch out and over the glistening waters of Tauranga’s harbour, the only way to get any closer to the water would be to jump in.
It’s a view that would improve any meal. But Trinity Wharf’s executive chef Rob Forsman, doesn’t want the food to simply match the gorgeous views, he wants it to exceed them. Rob’s been working in restaurants for close to 25 years. During this time he’s worked as head chef for Aotearoa’s restaurant royalty like Simon Gault, Al Brown and the Bay’s Kitchen Takeover team before moving to Trinity Wharf 18 months ago.
It’s a long way from his humble beginnings. “I started as a kitchen hand,” he says. “It was out of necessity. I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a chef. That would be a really cool story to tell but it’s not the case. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but it didn’t occur to me as a job until I started washing dishes.”
He spent well over a year in the “dish pit,” picking up knowledge around the kitchen and getting trained in the basics. Soon enough his days of scrubbing pans were over and his passion had been ignited. Not just for the work, but for kitchen culture itself.
“To be in a team of hardworking people who are all single-minded in their vision and all working toward the same goal is an amazing feeling. It epitomises kitchen work.”
He worked his way up the chain of command until he attracted the attention of Simon Gault, who offered him the head chef role at Ponsonby’s acclaimed Jervois Steak House. He was there for three years before accepting the head chef role with Al Brown at the trendy Federal Delicatessen beside Sky City.
“I loved working in these places. AI’s whole vision was to treat customers like friends and treat staff like family. It’s inspirational.”
That’s the mindset he’s instilling in his staff at Trinity Wharf. He wants to inspire and feel that inspiration himself. If the kitchen’s cooking, so to speak, then he reasons the food will take care of itself.
To that end, his first priority was to refresh the menu.
“We now use New Zealand ingredients and try to source as much as we can locally. There’s a lot of great produce and fruit in this part of the country and we want to support local business as well.”
While adapting from the single-focused restaurant business to the multi-faceted role at Trinity Wharf, with its multitude of menus for various occasions, events and the day-to-day, has been a challenge, it’s one he’s embraced.
Looking out over the glistening sea which is right outside the window, he reveals his hopes for The Restaurant at Trinity Wharf.
“We’d love to become a destination for the local population.” He smiles. “We’d absolutely love that.”
ASK THE CHEF
Rob Forsman takes on UNO’s quickfire questions.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
The street food in Southeast Asia. It’s not a polished, plated meal but the flavours are insane. It’s so humble but the love has been put into it. I recently went to Indonesia and ate my way around. I didn’t eat any Western food at all.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Baking bread with my grandmother. I was really little and the process was like magic to me – kneading the dough and seeing how it rises. Her secret was to pop it under the bed to proof.
How can you make everyone’s most disliked vegetable, Brussels sprouts, tasty?
Blanch them in a little bit of salt and sugar to take the bitterness off. Get some bacon nice and crispy, some caramelised onions, some chilli if it takes your fancy, and then toss them all together in the frying pan with some butter until you get a little colour on the Brussels sprouts. Colour is king.
What’s the next big trend in food?
I think people are going to start consuming a lot less meat. It’s become too expensive, and there’s a lot more awareness around the environmental impact. I think meat is on its way out. Slowly. We’ll never get rid of it. It’ll just become more opulent. More special.