Chef plans to plug NZ wines, food in US restaurants

A New Zealand chef who writes cookbooks in the United States says he is negotiating a deal to showcase New Zealand wines and food through a chain of restaurants.

Bruce deMustchine, formerly from Hawke's Bay, said today the concept he was developing with a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company was due to be launched in Massachussetts during late 2007.

"It will feature strongly both New Zealand foods and, in particular, our wines," he said. It was expected to expand to a franchised chain of 172 restaurants along the east coast of the United States by 2014.

"Stage two will expand the concept throughout the rest of the USA and abroad," he said.

Mr deMustchine lived in Australia and Britain before settling in the US, and wrote a series of cookbooks that was published in Britain.

He said the potential of a New Zealand food and wine showcase was proven two years ago by the high-profile Kiwi Grille restaurant, 63km northeast of Boston, at Newburyport, Massachusetts.

That restaurant served 10,000 customers in its first eight weeks, and the North American office of Investment NZ, an arm of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, leveraged attention on New Zealand around the upmarket restaurant.

New Zealand's ambassador to Washington, John Wood, even suggested it could spur the creation of a "free trade zone" for New Zealand in Newburyport, while state lawmakers declared a statewide "New Zealand Day".

The restaurant was expected to sell at least US$1.5 million ($2.2 million) in New Zealand food and drink products annually when it opened in April 2004.

The restaurant, owned by a property trust held by the building owners Ed Molin, and Jim Gaines, was recently forced, after Mr Molin's death, to close because of the amount of money spent on converting a 157 year-old church, Steeple Hall for the project.

Mr Molin's heir, Doug Molin, said the restaurant was overwhelmed by the property trust's debt from renovating the building.

Mr deMustchine, who shared in the earnings from the restaurant, said the trust had set its sights too high in trying to fund the refurbishment of the church and a function hall from the restaurant's revenues.

But Mr deMustchine said he still owned the intellectual property involved, including the name and concept, and he was seeking another restaurateur to open other Kiwi Grilles in other parts of the United States.

"The Kiwi Grille concept is still alive and well," he said.

Separately, he was negotiating for a franchised chain of restaurants to feature NZ food and wine.

Mr deMustchine said he was developing a restaurant concept around the well-known board game Monopoly in the town of Salem, 37km south of Newburyport.

The Parker Brothers company that first marketed Monopoly as a game called "Banking" began in Salem, and Mr deMustchine said the development could feed off the popularity of Monopoly, which was printed in 18 different countries, and played by 500 million people.

He has acquired a licence from Hasbro Inc, which now owns and manufactures Monopoly, for the venture known as Banker and Dice LLC.

"Banker and Dice has negotiated the proprietary rights for the use of the names, logos and images for 'Monopoly ... The Restaurant'," he said. The first restaurant will be adjacent to an interactive museum, the Parker Brothers Experience.

- NZPA