Falls Retreat owner and head chef Brad King builds his menu around seasonal produce from the property's organic gardens or sourced from within a 50km radius.
Falls Retreat owner and head chef Brad King builds his menu around seasonal produce from the property's organic gardens or sourced from within a 50km radius.
It’s all about community – and good kai – at The Falls Retreat, a magical converted tearoom in the Karangahake Gorge where nothing goes to waste, writes Joanna Wane
Sometimes the stars align unexpectedly, and it feels as though everything is exactly how it’s meant to be.
Not that BradKing and Emma Walters saw it that way almost 20 years ago when they stumbled upon Goose Farm – a tearoom surrounded by bush and “in the middle of nowhere” – up for sale in the Karangahake Gorge.
“It was pretty basic when we first came across it,” says Emma. “We had no money, it was that ‘city folks come and try to make a go of it’ kind of thing.”
What the couple have achieved with The Falls Retreat is transformational, while remaining true to the property’s rustic vibe. Gourmet food at The Bistro, where Brad is head chef. Boutique accommodation in three cabins (and a glamping tent), where Emma runs the show.
The Log Cabin, a traditional log house with stained-glass windows, a sun-drenched verandah and a mezzanine level with extra beds upstairs, was the family home for their first 10 years here.
Nearby, the Waterfall Cabin is a “tiny house with a view”, overlooking the roaring cascade of Owharoa Falls, a short walk across the road. There’s also an outdoor bath.
Fresh, local produce is the priority at The Falls Retreat, whether it's wood-fired pizzas on a Sunday afternoon or gourmet hampers delivered to cabin guests.
It’s all wonderfully charming, rather than big-city flash. Brad, an award-winning chef, has constructed a popular four-course degustation menu, but it’s families who flock to “The Local”, a casual Sunday gathering for wood-fired pizzas, chips and organic salad. Free-range kids swarm the playground while adults steam in a mobile sauna, and dining tables in the barn are warmed by an open fire.
“We’ve always said that good food should be accessible and I’m totally over fine dining,” says Emma. “I don’t want to go to a restaurant and have a pea foam. I just want the pea. It’s all about simple food done well and that’s what brings people together.”
Brad is fully on board with that. “Everything’s about the people; that’s the whole joy of it. And one way to bring everyone to the table is food, isn’t it? It’s kai.”
Emma Walters and husband Brad King, owners of The Falls Retreat in the Waikato.
So, back to their origin story. Emma grew up in the industrial heartland of the UK near Birmingham (Peaky Blinders territory, she calls it).
In her late 20s, she went backpacking in Australia and spent a ski season at Mt Buller, where Brad – a Kiwi boy from Whakatāne – was a chef at one of the resort restaurants.
On a trip back from Melbourne to visit Brad’s parents, they settled on Waihī Beach as a halfway meeting point between Whakatāne and Auckland airport. The Hauraki Rail Trail hadn’t yet been developed, but they all went for a walk in the gorge.
“His nana was with us and she got a bit tired,” says Emma, taking up the story. “There was a little sign at the bottom of the driveway saying ‘Tearoom this way’, and it was for sale.”
It’s taken years of hard graft to knock the property into shape. Initially, Brad worked as a chef at The Porch at Waihī Beach, which helped the family bed into the community.
By 2020, they had customers fighting for carparks, with The Bistro serving 200 people for lunch and another 100 for dinner.
“What a journey!” says Brad, a natural enthusiast who vibrates with energy when he talks. “I’m thankful we had a vision because when you’re neck-deep in it, you’ve got no other choice but to put the hammer down and give it a crack.”
Writer Joanna Wane, below, settles in for sunset nibbles at the Log Cabin, where the roar of Owharoa Falls can be heard in the distance.
Surviving Covid restrictions was a struggle, as it was for anyone in hospitality. Still, it gave the couple a chance to step back and reconnect with what drew them here in the first place.
Right from the start, their “paddock to plate” philosophy has been shaped by an ethos of sustainability and minimal food waste. Brad builds his menu around seasonal produce from their gardens and orchard, supplemented by fresh produce sourced from within a 50km radius.
There’s also a flourishing barter system, where people bring in their excess fruit and vegetables. One recent drop was a bag of Jerusalem artichokes.
During the autumn feijoa glut, Brad made a batch of kasundi from the flesh. Emma then made feijoa cordial from the skins and blitzed the leftover “mush” to whip up a feijoa slice for their two teenage children.
The Falls also runs a series of sustainability workshops, from pickling and preserving to making kombucha and learning the basics of organic and edible gardening.
In early May, the retreat hosted a local event to launch Every Bite, a national programme designed to help people make simple changes that prevent food waste, as part of New Zealand’s first Food Appreciation Month.
An entertaining storyteller, Brad barely paused for breath as he conjured up a chicken and a vegetable soup from aromatic homemade stock, fresh turmeric and whatever produce he had to hand in the kitchen.
