Executive Chef Yuri McKenna

Mr McKenna is a born Kiwi but grew up in Ireland, where he commenced his formal training which included the Channel Islands and London, before returning to Ireland.  During his career, he has headed a number of prestigious hotel restaurant kitchens including Dublin’s National Yacht Club, Planet Hollywood and Morton’s, Dublin’s high-end deli restaurant – the Irish equivalent of London’s Harrods Food Hall.

Having forged a niche for himself as a specialist food consultant, rescuing and reinventing high quality establishments throughout Ireland, more recently Mr McKenna has led demonstrations and tutored at the Dublin Cooks Academy as well as running his own fine dining restaurant, Wild Honey, in Wicklow, Ireland.

Mr McKenna has a passion for food and cooking, and is renown for creating innovative and creative menus. While a new summer menu for The Grill at Solway Park is planned for release in early 2012, Mr McKenna says he wants to get a real feel for what his customers want and like first. "It’s not about me showing off. It’s more about creating a dining experience that our customers are comfortable with and enjoy, so they'll return and want to share the experience with their friends"  he commented.

The appoinment of Mr McKenna will assist The Grill at Solway Park to further develop their ethos for showcasing fresh, locally grown Wairarapa produce. The new Executive Chef praises Wairarapa’s local growers saying that his role is made easier by already having fantastic produce in the region to work with.

Yuri is the hotel’s second consecutive Irish Executive Chef, with former EC, Paul Condron having recently left the hotel to work at a winery restaurant in his home town of Martinborough.