The best locally owned establishments in Wellington

This new patisserie in the southeastern suburb of Kilbirnie is teaching its customers a whole new culinary vocabulary: canelés, verrines, gianduja and kouign-amann, along with more familiar delights, such as brioche doughnuts, meringues and tarts, accompanied by velvety siphon coffee and tea blends. It’s the creation of 22-year-old pastry chef Maxine Scheckter, who previously worked at Gâteaux Thoumieux in Paris as well as Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant The Fat Duck. Drop by for sweet treats between Friday and Sunday each week.

Architecture is a major source of inspiration for clothing designer Gosia Piatek, and her Kowtow line of womenswear plays with structure, volume and dimension. Kowtow is stocked in boutiques around the world and is made in India from sustainably sourced organic cotton – but its first flagship store only just opened in Wellington, Piatek’s hometown, this March. Minimal and free-form, many Kowtow pieces push the boundaries of dresses or tops, while perennial basics allow for the layering that Wellington’s unpredictable weather demands.

When the well-loved Wellington restaurant and bar Matterhorn closed in February, head chef Sean Marshall could’ve taken a break – after all, he’d already won New Zealand’s top restaurant title. Instead, Marshall went in search of his next great venture with the opening of all-Italian affair Monte Cervino. The restaurant pays homage to his grandmother who grew up in Italy – her fritoli (fried dough) is on the menu, along with an array of handmade pasta, wood-fired pizzas and a selection of antipasti for those lingering at the long bar.

When newly minted art school graduate Eloise Evans found a screen-printing space in a former pressed-tin factory, she decided to throw her doors open and create a community art studio. Evans decorated it with knick-knacks and filled it with supplies: emulsions and inks, a large print table, a wet room and a darkroom. The Neighbourhood Studio hosts beginners’ classes in screen- printing, as well as dyeing, calligraphy, woodblock-printing and other skills. There’s a small shop, and the odd craft market takes place on weekends. Newcomers can buy a day pass to use the space.

Despite a busy career in finance, Prak Sritharan always appreciated timeless, well-designed objects. Finally, he took over a former bookstore on Ghuznee Street, removed the narrow row of shelves, installed a poured-concrete table and filled the space with some of New Zealand’s best examples of fine craftsmanship: Goldsworthy Studio furniture, Wayward St bags and ceramics and jewellery by local artisans. He has also opened a gallery space within the store, which hosts a different emerging artist each month.

Singapore Airlines flies to Wellington four times weekly. To book a flight, visit singaporeair.com

SEE ALSO: Why coffee lovers must visit Wellington, New Zealand

This article was originally published in the May 2018 issue of SilverKris magazine