Phill and Nora Blackburne have been setting their own standard in Taupō restaurant Embra.

Running a restaurant post-Covid has been a tough prospect but Phill and Nora Blackburne’s passion and perseverance is paying off in accolades and awards.

By Dan Hutchinson

After 10 years in Scotland, and with Covid closing borders and shutting restaurants Taupō-born Phill and Latvian-born Nora returned to New Zealand with their two-year-old in 2021.

Phill trained under Chef Dominic Jack at Michelin-star winning Castle Terrace Restaurant, which was forced to close when Covid-19 struck.

Over eight years, he worked his way up from a Comis Chef to Head Chef.

There was also a two-year break in New Zealand, where he found himself as the Head Chef at Poronui Lodge in the high-country south-east of Taupō.

After returning through managed isolation, with the young family confined to a hotel room, Phill then spent months travelling the country doing job trials before landing back in Taupō.

It was something of a prophetic return. A newspaper article about Phill – a former Taupō-nui-a-Tia College student – quoted him saying he wanted to return one day and bring his overseas experience with him.

And that was how their restaurant Embra was born – Embra being an abbreviation for Edinburgh.

"It came full circle, which is pretty cool.”

The 60’s-style bungalow at the top end of Kaimanawa St had been a hairdresser but was converted into a boutique restaurant, with 30 seats.

They opened during Covid-19 restrictions — with spaced tables, masks, limited numbers. It was hardly ideal, but Phill believes the difficult start made the business stronger.

"We sort of got through that first year and we were still here. So we went, oh, if we can do that, we can keep going."

They have built something of a legacy already.

In their first year of eligibility for the Cuisine Good Food Awards, Embra went straight in at two hats, then claimed Regional Restaurant of the Year at the 2024 awards — just 18 months after opening. They retained their two-hat rating in this year’s awards too.

The menu changes every eight weeks, built around what's in season and what suppliers have available. Phill works closely with Chef's Garden, run by the Misfit Garden, and Hawke's Bay-based Matangi Beef, which he only uses during their seasonal window.

"You can go to the supermarket and get lamb, beef, pork, chicken, fish at any time of the year. What a lot of people don't realise is, like fruit and vegetables, animals have seasons that it's better to raise them and eat them."

One thing the awards can't fix, though, is the Michelin Guide situation. New Zealand's inaugural Michelin listings this year covered only Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Regional restaurants like Embra aren't even in the running.

"It's like a rugby player who plays in Waikato being told you're not allowed to apply for the All Blacks," Phill says.

Phill says restaurants that gained Michelin stars were immediately booked out, sometimes months in advance, whereas they have some nights where they are serving just a handful of guests.