A drive into the countryside is a refreshing shake up for anyone suffering from the inner-city winter blues, and if the goal of that journey involves copious amounts of fine food and good wine in an old, converted, 19th century wooden cottage, complete with a roaring winter fire, one can’t help but give in to the feeling of rural calm that takes hold and lets the good times roll.

By Thomas Jones

Forty minutes south of Auckland City, in the middle of the vast and sprawling market gardens that sate the city’s never-ending hunger for its daily produce, is the Simunovich Olive Estate, the heart and soul of a very successful olive oil and cosmetics business. It is also home to Bracu, one of Auckland’s finer restaurants. It takes its name from the island of Brac in the Adriatic, the Croatian homeland of Ivan Simunovich, who owns the Estate together with his Italian wife Branka.

Several years ago Ivan and Branka asked each other what they would want to do when they retired. He said, “grow olives”. She said, “make cosmetics”. So they found some land, 100 hectares of it, and did both. “In the Mediterranean olives are a last resort crop,” says Branka, “it’s the only thing that will grow in the dry barren soils, But here they do in seven years what they do in the Adriatic in 50.” They planted the trees in 1999 and, true to form, took their first harvest  in 2006 in time to coincide with the opening of the restaurant. “We only started the restaurant to open a window to the cosmetic and olive oil business, and it has become a great success.”

That success is evident everywhere, and on this sunny June winter’s day the trees were full of the black fruits and the estate was alive with the promise of the harvest, a bounty matched only by that of the kitchen. Chef Adrian Brett-Chinnery has worked under the glow of a Michelin star before so knows how to cater to a discerning audience and here at Bracu he meets his match every day. Like most chefs, Adrian is a big believer in seasonality and is blessed with having full control over his kitchen. “The menus are very flexible and largely down to what is available at the time. This keeps in with our philosophy on using only the freshest seasonal ingredients,” he explains. “This is great for the customers, and for the chefs, since neither will get bored of seeing the same thing every day for months on end. We have good relationships with growers and suppliers and they keep us in the loop all the time with what is good, what is coming up, and what is about to go out of season.”

Seasonality doesn’t just apply to vegetables, however, and over the year various strange beasts make cameo appearances on the menu. “We use game on the menu when it is in season. For example, right now at the beginning of winter when the deer come off the hills it’s in its prime condition and we create some wonderful dishes with it,” he says. “We also have a supplier just up the hill that does all of our quail, pheasant, rabbit, hare, etcetera. It’s great stuff.” Adrian’s favourite on the menu right now in winter is the rabbit loin dish. “We use rabbit from just down the road and wrap it in free-range chicken farce and bacon which are both from the area. We serve it on celeriac puree, with wild mushrooms and walnuts and finish it with a game stock reduction infused with our estate-grown thyme. It’s perfect for winter, and it looks great.”

Overseas, restaurants get much mileage out of New Zealand’s reputation for environmentally efficient produce, but here in Aotearoa itself it has to get even more micro-geographic to have any relevance.
Bracu goes super local in their procurement, with names like ‘Pukekohe’ Potatoes, ‘Pokeno’ Bacon, and ‘Clevedon’ Oysters studding the menu, all well known places within a few miles of the restaurant’s kitchen. “Here in NZ we don’t have the access to produce from around the globe like the USA or Europe does. This means you need to know your seasons and produce inside and out to be able to create great dishes,” says Adrian. “We also grow a lot of herbs, lettuces, fruits and vegetables ourselves, so those also have a lot of input into the menus.” There are exceptions however. NZ-grown may be good but producers know their limits, and like all good Kiwis they know when to defer to the masters with a healthy dose of humility and gravitas. “Some ingredients just have to be imported, we just can’t help it. Things like Parma ham, Chorizo and Parmesan, they just can’t be copied,” he defers.

As well as producing award-winning olive oils, a great line of natural cosmetics and operating one of the city’s best restaurants, ultimately for Ivan and Branka it’s all about lifestyle, a place to celebrate life and share the famous hospitality of their homelands. “The restaurant is not just eat, drink and go,” says Branka. “We indulge you. It’s an experience. We have created a home away from home here. The rolling hills remind me of Umbria, and with all this around me I am not homesick anymore. I feel blessed.”

Bracu Restaurant
Simunovich Olive Estate
49 Main Road, Bombay, Auckland
New Zealand
Tel: +64 9 236 1044
www.simuolive.co.nz/bracu-restaurant

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