With a record number of nominations nationwide for the Hospitality New Zealand Best Cafe Award for Excellence 2021, Fusee Rouge was delighted to reach the Top 3 finalists.
There was only one other venue in the South Island to reach the finals, and that was in Christchurch.
Karaka Cafe in Wellington took out the top spot, and Fusee Rouge came home with silver.
The annual Awards have different categories for many aspects of the hospitality industry, including luxury hotels, new builds, marketing and gaming establishments.
With approximately 8500 cafes in New Zealand, to get into the Top 3 was quite an achievement.
The winners were to be announced at a gala dinner in Auckland, but sadly this was cancelled due to Lockdown, and so the team attended a smaller event in Queenstown.
Owner Nicola Taylor said, “I am immensely proud of our team for the hard work they put in daily to enable us to be selected as a finalist in these awards.
We continually strive to innovate and ‘raise the bar’ in our industry, which ultimately gives the customers an excellent experience, but it is fantastic to be recognised by our industry peers with this award.”
Fusee Rouge is a multi-award winning cafe having now won:
Best dessert: Eat Taste Central Competition 2019.
One Music Outstanding Community Spirit Winner for the entire Queenstown Lakes region: Restaurant Association of New Zealand Resilience Awards 2020
Runner Up Best Cafe: Hospitality Awards for Excellence 2021
Nicola and her team are working to make Fusee Rouge even better, with their goal set on taking our the top spot next year! Nicola says “You need to be excellent in all ways to make the cut, so we are very proud of reaching Top 3, for us and for Cromwell.”
