The host of TVNZ's popular Kiwi Living programme, Miriama Kamo, recently paid a visit to us at Pen-y-bryn Lodge, and the resulting segment appeared this week on the show. Kiwi Living features several segments each week, from cooking with famed Kiwi chef Michael van de Elzen, to household…

[caption id="attachment_1268" align="alignleft" width="225"] NZ Black Truffles[/caption] Few people know that New Zealand produces excellent black truffles (tuber melanosporum), the equal of their famous siblings from Europe. To help celebrate the current season, we are hosting a special dinner on 17 September 2016 that will…

Oamaru and the Waitaki District are great to visit during the cooler months of the year. Not only is the weather during the autumn and winter far more reliably clear than during the summer, but the attractions that have made our area one of New…

There is a great deal to see and do in the Oamaru area, and quite a few people use Oamaru as a base from which to explore Dunedin and Waimate, both of which are within an hour or so by car. To help our guests…

[caption id="attachment_1218" align="alignleft" width="600"] Gingerbread Waitaki District Council[/caption] Every year since 1997 we have created a gingerbread house as part of our holiday decorations, generally modelled on an architectural marvel that we visited during the year during our own holidays. Since this year we did not…

Ashley Baty, since early 2014 the sous chef at Pen-y-bryn, has just competed against young chefs from all over New Zealand in the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs competition held annually by the New Zealand bailliage of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. This august group, with 25,000 members…

There has been a sudden spurt in reporting on interesting things in the Oamaru area, including a few articles about Pen-y-bryn Lodge itself. New Zealand's Life and Leisure magazine for September/October 2015 has no fewer than three pieces about Oamaru. The first one is about…

In mid-2014 we began the process of planning for the expansion of our three guest rooms in the Oamaru stone "Annex" building (the Nest, Park and Garden Rooms) by challenging Timaru-based architect Desmond Prisk, who had been involved in the original conversion of the Annex building…

Ashley Baty, sous chef at Pen-y-bryn, participated in the 2015 New Zealand National Final of the Hans Bueschke World Chef's Challenge, held in Christchurch at the weekend. The competitors were given the challenge of preparing a menu using a selection of ingredients provided by the…

Centurion, the travel and lifestyle magazine for American Express premium card-holders, has a special feature on "48 places to spend 48 hours", recommending Pen-y-bryn Lodge as a great place for a visit. The photo they chose to use is a photo from the one time…