Foodies, if you haven’t heard of this region, that’s about to change

If you haven’t heard of Ayrburn (or even Arrowtown), take note – that’s about to change. Developer Chris Meehan (formerly of Belle Property in Sydney, now of the ASX-listed Winton group in New Zealand), is indulging his long-held passion for design on a 60-hectare farm near Arrowtown, the picturesque gold-rush village in the South Island’s Otago region.

The Ayrburn project is set to put the region on the map as a food destination.

The Ayrburn project – somewhat of an eminently stylish playground for devotees of good food and wine – is taking shape on a 160-year-old estate, with five venues opening officially on December 9, and more to follow in 2024.

The Remarkables mountain range is a dramatic and apposite backdrop. The quality, craftsmanship and scale of the development (and the truckloads of cash that are going into it – up to $NZ200 million [$A184 million]), are astonishing.

When Traveller visits, much of the site is crawling with landscapers and tradies, and Meehan is supervising every last detail, from the acoustics in the Barrel Room (dug out of a hill) to the glazed pots arriving from France.

Developer Chris Meehan’s vision is turning the 160-year-old estate into a food and wine hub.

His combination of big-picture vision and laser focus invite comparison with billionaire Australian restaurateur Justin Hemmes, though Meehan is refreshingly self-deprecating and down to earth.

Since buying Ayrburn in 2018, he’s overseen its transformation, including the planting of more than 30,000 native trees and the complete rebuilding of heritage farmhouses using their original stone and wood (down to recreating a sagging roof for that authentic look), as if they were always destined to be a chic restaurant or sexy bar. Working in concert with Meehan, Alexander & Co have created the sorts of interiors that get pinned straight to your renovation moodboard.

Ready for the first visitors (and they will be arriving in droves once word gets out, trust us), are The Woolshed, which, depending on the season, offers alfresco or fireside dining for 160; and the dangerously inviting Burr Bar, once the homestead of the farm’s founding owner, William Paterson.

The Woolshed offers alfresco or fireside dining, depending on the season.Credit: Trudi Jenkins

At The Manure Room (a secret drinking den during Prohibition), you can try the exclusive Ayrburn range of wines, a collaboration between Master of Wine Sophie Parker-Thomson and winemaker Jody Pagey – using grapes sourced from Central Otago, naturally.

Executive chef Richard Highnam, formerly of New Zealand’s Good Group, is using the best local and sustainably farmed produce – including wild-caught seafood from Harbourfish, beef from Neat Meat, lamb and eggs from Royalburn Station and greens from Nevis Gardens – and sensibly letting it speak for itself.

Meanwhile The Dairy has become a gelato and sorbet bar, and there’s a huge lawn area called The Dell where a farmers’ market and outdoor concerts will be held.

More than 240 staff will be employed by the end of next year, much to the chagrin of other local hospitality operators, no doubt.

Richard Highnam, executive chef, shucking a platter of Bluff oysters. Credit: Trudi Jenkins

An event space will open (we predict wall-to-wall weddings given the supremely Instagrammable surrounds), as well as a family-friendly pasta and pizza venue called The Bakehouse. There will also be a butcher’s shop plus a children’s playground and a yabby lake for fishing.

If that wasn’t enough, a 25-room boutique hotel and an indulgent flagship restaurant called Billy’s will seal the deal. Phew. It’s hard to think what Meehan has left out of his masterplan for this precinct promising “an all-in good time”. We suspect it’s precisely nothing.

The writer travelled as a guest of Ayrburn.