Cook'N With Gas, Christchurch

There was no time to lose and so with an enthusiastic hobbledygee my small party of hungry, salivating gobblers and I made our way down the ghostly city boulevard, overshadowed by the fenced off, partially ruined Arts Centre to arrive at the warm and welcoming Cookn with Gas, the bistro with the bare boards, beef and the prospect of a beautiful bouffage.
This establishment is a “bistro de brilliance” with a strong focus on delivering consistently good fare to customers ranging from the well-informed food tourist to the discerning, multi-visit local . There is a sense that you are in the hands of a well managed, close-knit team when you dine at this restaurant and this intimacy more often than not provides the guest with a very satisfying experience. Notwithstanding this, there is almost a deliberate drive to appear as casual as possible, a deliberate separation from fine dining by the uncoordinated approaches of the wait staff, the occasional slip in service. A bistro, after all.
A drink while settling in and absorbing the captivating blend of Victoriana and 1920s poster art is a fine idea indeed. The wine list is smooth and offers commendable style coverage with a strong range of by the bottle as well as by the glass.
An aromatic drop of Chateau de Sours, a Bordeaux red that will wrap you protectively in its antioxidants, smother you with kindness and get your lips a tremblin’ with excitement may be just the titivating start to your evening that you need. It was for me!
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! These were my mental words as the Chicken Waterzooi soup was ladled into the bowl before me, its lush, lavish ingredients buoyant and beckoning. The menu describes this unusually named dish as “piping hot soup served over poached chicken, olive and thyme tortellini & autumn vegetables finished with parsley, garlic and cream.” This was no thick & viscous hot & bubbling pool; more of a
carefully choreographed celebration of quality ingredients commingling in a relaxed pond of natural, ambrosial goodness.
The lamb, the pork, the duck and even the vegetarian dish looked fit and proper for my dinner on this night but I could not stop myself from once again prostrating myself before the altar of bovinity; the soulful mooing of the Hallmark Beef offered the gallop of joy I was in search of, its “prime medium-rare fillet with bearnaise and grilled rump stuffed with peppers and spring onion on bacon, cheddar gratin with courgettes, carrot and mustard crush” picked me up, spun me around, filled my head, heart and stomach with the drug of delight. Happiness!
Seek and ye shall find! Friends, you must remember that every dining experience is a very personal, individual one and you can make of it what you will. I strive to extract every last drop of excellence from my glass and every taste and tickle of fancy from my plate. Sometimes poor service or less than the best ingredients will get in the way of this but never at Cook n With Gas.
This is not the first time I’ve slipped in through the doors of CWG and it won’t be the last. After all, the proof of the pudding.......