High St Bistro owners and chefs Campbell (left) and Brock Sprague. Photo / Sue Emeny
High St Bistro owners and chefs Campbell (left) and Brock Sprague. Photo / Sue Emeny
The decision to leave city life has opened up a new opportunity in Dannevirke for an Auckland family.
Father and son Campbell and Brock Sprague open High St Bistro, in what was The Vault, Saturday.
Campbell has been a chef for 35 years, working in large restaurants in Auckland. He was head chef of Bronze Goat, Ponsonby, and fine dining restaurant Bistango, St Heliers.
But three years ago he decided it was time to leave Auckland.
"I wanted a change of pace. I was sick of the hustle and bustle. We randomly chose to move to Dannevirke after my wife Nicole and I saw an old villa for sale here. So we moved here," Campbell said.
"I worked at the Fat Farmer in Palmerston North for a year but got sick of the travelling," Campbell said.
He spent time renovating their villa but returned to cooking when he became chef at Mangatera Hotel where he totally revamped the kitchen and the menu.
During lockdown Brock and his wife Liz and their children moved down to join Campbell and Nicole and liked what they saw here.
"We saw The Vault was for lease so things all came together and we moved here about six weeks ago," Brock said.
"I'm a city boy, but Dannevirke is a better place for a family. Also we wanted to bring something to Dannevirke that it hasn't got."
Working together is not a new experience for Campbell and Brock.
"I started working in the kitchen with Dad as a 13-year-old and we worked together for four or five years," Brock said.
"I then started on my own culinary path and worked in Melbourne then Auckland."
Brock was head chef at Woodpecker Hill, Parnell, and Good George, The Viaduct, Auckland.
"Now we have found ourselves back working together after 10 years."
The family have all been involved in hospitality. While Campbell and Brock will both take on chef roles, Nicole will be maitre d' and Liz will be bar manager and take on the accountancy side of the business.
"We are doing this purely out of our passion for food," Brock said.
Campbell said hospitality has always been their lifestyle.
"We are doing what we love. It's not a job you do eight hours a day, you work all hours."
Saturday sees High St Bistro officially open to the public and the offer of free takeaway coffee is bound to be a drawcard.
Crispy pork on parsnip puree with apple salsa is one of High St Bistro's signature dishes.
The restaurant has undergone a huge makeover.
New counters, that Campbell and Brock have designed and built themselves, have been installed and a wall between the kitchen and the dining room has been removed.
"We've always worked in an open kitchen so we've opened this up so that customers can see us cooking and we can interact with them."
As to the food on offer, Brock says it's all about fresh local produce and everything made from scratch.
