Restaurant back in spotlight

Diners at the Northstar Restaurant and Bar can be assured they are eating quality meals after the business was awarded the Beef + Lamb Excellence Award, for the second year in a row.

Northstar Restaurant and Bar chef Pablo Tacchini said the team were proud of their achievement and it was a collective effort.

"To win it last year and now win it this year, it's pretty cool," he said.

To be eligible for the award, the business had to enter the competition and then several judges tried their lamb and beef meals, without revealing their identity.

The meals were judged on a range of things, such as tenderness, taste, temperature and presentation.

"They always check consistency, to make sure you weren't just having a good night," he said.

"They check everything."

Mr Tacchini said the Beef + Lamb Excellence Award was one of the most prestigious in New Zealand.

"It's good for the customers because they know that it's somewhere you can have good quality meals at," he said.

Argentinian-born Mr Tacchini said the award was important to him because when he began cooking in New Zealand, he found it difficult to adapt to techniques that New Zealand chefs use.

"Little by little they are accepting what I am doing," he said. "I make sure that every dish goes out at 100 per cent."