Bluestone Estate

Stay · Bluestone Ridge

The Cookhouse

A modern take on the traditional New Zealand farm cookhouse: one long recycled-oak table for twelve to eighteen, a chef's kitchen, glass on three sides and the Hauraki Gulf filling the fourth.

12 to 18At one table
40 m²Kitchen and dining room
Beside the FarmhouseBluestone Ridge
On applicationWith the Farmhouse, or on its own in the low season
Enquire about the Cookhouse
The Cookhouse at Bluestone Ridge from the terrace: corrugated roof and cedar shingle gable, the glass doors folded back, a chef at the bench and a party of guests at the oak table inside, an umbrella and the barbecue outside.Lunch at the Cookhouse, Bluestone Ridge: guests passing dishes down the oak table under the rattan pendant, hydrangeas and platters between them, and the inlet and green hills through the open wall behind.A chef in a navy apron carrying a board of crayfish to the wood-fired oven outside the Cookhouse at Bluestone Ridge.A chef picking herbs from the raised kitchen garden bed at Bluestone Ridge, sage and basil in the foreground, the lawn, the bush, and the water behind.The Cookhouse at Bluestone Ridge set for a meeting: the oak table with water glasses and notepads, a projector and screen at the end, rattan pendants under the white trusses, and the doors open to the terrace and the Gulf.The Cookhouse kitchen at Bluestone Ridge: a concrete-topped island with brass edge and two rattan stools, the gas range and concrete splashback behind, glasses hanging under black and rattan pendants, and dark oak cabinetry.Guests on the rattan sofas beside the Farmhouse pool at Bluestone Ridge, umbrellas up, the infinity pool behind them and the Hauraki Gulf and its islands beyond the paddocks.A group on the pool terrace at the Farmhouse, Bluestone Ridge: a woman in a white dress and sun hat on the sofa, a platter on the table, others standing by the pool under white umbrellas, the Gulf behind.The wood-fired oven on its concrete bench outside the Cookhouse at Bluestone Ridge, the glass doors open to the oak table and chairs, and the water beyond.

The room

Built to be cooked in, celebrated in, and remembered.

The Cookhouse stands a little apart from the Farmhouse, on the edge of the lawn where the land falls away to the water. Fold the doors back and the room becomes a covered deck: rattan pendants over the table, the island bench at your elbow, and the wood-fired oven a few steps outside with the barbecue beside it, so whoever is cooking never has to leave the conversation. The table itself was cut from recycled oak and is the reason the room is the size it is. Everything else is arranged around it.

It is at its best with the day's work done: lunch that runs into the afternoon, the doors open and the wind off the Gulf coming through; or dinner as the light goes, the oven glowing, the hills across the water turning blue. Afterwards there is the lower deck with its sofas and the fire, or the pool, or the Farmhouse lounge with a wood fire and a basket of blankets when the evening turns cold.

Gatherings

Business and pleasure.

From long lunches and milestone dinners to board meetings and workshops, the Cookhouse is made for gathering around one table. It comes with the Farmhouse and, from May to October, can also be booked on its own. Whatever brings you here, the table is yours and nobody else's.

Pleasure

Celebrations for friends and family.

A milestone birthday, an anniversary, a reunion, the whole family at one table for the first time in years. Long lunches that run into the evening, a chef cooking for your party alone, the pool and the lawn for the afternoon, and the Farmhouse beside it so nobody has to drive home. Private dinner events for a smaller circle, too: a table for twelve on a winter night with the doors shut and the oven lit.

Lunch at Bluestone Estate: a platter of sliced beef with romesco and salsa verde passed along the oak table, a guest serving herself, wine glasses and olive branches on the table, no faces in frame.A woman in a paisley dress cutting a layered birthday cake topped with candles and edible flowers at the Cookhouse table, Bluestone Ridge.A bowl of roasted cherry tomatoes with nasturtium leaves on whipped feta on the Cookhouse table, Bluestone Ridge, among rosemary, olive branches, hydrangeas, and glasses of rosé.A guest in a white dress serving grilled octopus with pickled onion from a platter at the Cookhouse table, Bluestone Ridge, hydrangeas in the centre and a man with a glass of wine across the table.Four men with drinks on the lawn at the Farmhouse, Bluestone Ridge: two on a beanbag, two standing by the verandah, the pool umbrellas behind.A chef spooning herb oil over cured fish with citrus on white plates at the Cookhouse bench, Bluestone Ridge.Two men playing pétanque on the lawn at the Farmhouse, Bluestone Ridge, palm fronds above, two Adirondack chairs on a platform, and the bay and green hills beyond.

Business

Offsites, board meetings and executive dinners.

Some conversations are better away from the boardroom. The Cookhouse gives leadership teams one long oak table, the Gulf stretching out beyond the glass and complete privacy, an hour from Auckland by road or twenty minutes by helicopter. A projector, drop-down screen and blackout blinds turn the room into a presentation space when needed, while Starlink Wi-Fi keeps everyone connected.

When the conversation needs a change of scene, spread out across the deck, lawn, pool terrace or Farmhouse. Come for a board meeting, strategy day or private client dinner, with a chef cooking just for your table. Stay at the Farmhouse and work gives way to a swim, pétanque on the lawn, drinks on the deck and dinner as the light fades.

A board meeting at the Cookhouse, Bluestone Ridge: eight people around the oak table with laptops, water glasses, and rosemary in a stone pot, the rattan pendant above and the bay through the open wall behind.A meeting at the Cookhouse table, Bluestone Ridge: colleagues with laptops and a projector, the bifold doors open to the water and hills.A presenter at the Cookhouse, Bluestone Ridge, standing beside charts projected onto the wall screen, rattan pendants above the table.A presenter speaking to a table of executives at the Cookhouse, Bluestone Ridge, laptops open, the screen blank behind her.Four women with wine on the rattan sofas of the Farmhouse terrace at Bluestone Ridge, under the big tree, with the hills beyond.Three colleagues talking at the open doors of the Cookhouse, Bluestone Ridge, one gesturing to the bay and the headland beyond, the terrace sofas below.The Cookhouse at Bluestone Ridge from the terrace: corrugated roof and cedar shingle gable, the glass doors folded back, a chef at the bench and a party of guests at the oak table inside, an umbrella and the barbecue outside.

The Cookhouse hosts intimate private gatherings for twelve to eighteen around a well-loved, reclaimed oak table. Larger celebrations are considered individually, and details and pricing are agreed before you book.

Enquire about a gathering

Your chef

A chef cooks for your party alone.

Tell us who is coming and what they love to eat, and a chef arrives with the week's best from the coast: fish off the boats at Leigh, vegetables from the growers on the flats, wine from the vineyards ten minutes away. They cook while you talk, serve when you are hungry rather than when the clock says, and leave the kitchen cleaner than they found it. One dinner, or every dinner of the stay.

If you would rather cook yourselves, the Cookhouse is built for it, and the pantry can be filled before you arrive. Meet our chefs.

Enquire about a private chef

Questions about the Cookhouse

Is the Cookhouse a restaurant?

No. It is Bluestone Estate's private dining room, beside the Farmhouse at Bluestone Ridge. There is no menu on the door and nobody else booked in: a chef in the kitchen, and your people at the table.

Who can use it?

Guests of the Farmhouse. In the low season, from May to October, it is also available on its own for a celebration dinner, a board meeting, or a workshop, with the Farmhouse beside it to stay in.

How many does the table seat?

Twelve to eighteen, at the one recycled oak table.

What is in the kitchen?

A 90 cm gas stove and electric oven inside, and a wood-fired pizza oven and a gas barbecue outside, so cooking moves between the two as the evening does. A private chef brings the rest; or the kitchen is yours.

What does it cost?

Priced on application, with the Farmhouse or on its own. Tell us the occasion, the numbers, and the date, and Bluestone Estate confirms the price in writing before anything is booked.

Can we hold a wedding or a large party?

A small wedding, yes: a ceremony on the land and dinner at the table, with the Farmhouse for the wedding party. Larger celebrations are considered case by case; ask and we will confirm in writing what is possible.

See the Farmhouse