The Dominion Post: MacLean Fraser Ticks Off Bucket List Moment

This article first appeared online in the Dominion Post on 6 April 2022.

MacLean Fraser, executive chef at the Bolton Hotel's Artisan, says being named an Ambassador Chef for New Zealand Beef and Lamb has been on his career bucket list for nearly 18 years.

Out of the kitchen, Fraser says his love of hunting informed his respect for the process that led to the produce at the heart of his creations.

MacLean Fraser’s signature lamb dish was one of his submissions to Beef and Lamb New Zealand, and is till on the menu at Artisan.

“With everyone being urbanised I think some people have lost that appreciation that meat comes from a living animal. That beautiful food is so far removed from the farm, from paddock to plate. I try to waste as little as possible and utilise the whole animal from nose to tail. It comes down to respect for the animal.”

One of Fraser’s submissions to Beef and Lamb New Zealand is still on the menu at Artisan – grilled lamb loin, duck fat potato, baby carrots three ways (salt-baked whole, puréed, pickled), peas (in pods, sprouts, and foam), with layered slices of potato and crisp bacon.

MacLean Fraser’s signature lamb dish was one of his submissions to Beef and Lamb New Zealand, and is still on the menu at Artisan.