Welcome to Gary and Robert from Ribbonwood.

Gary & Robert

Robert Day and Gary Mitchell are your hosts at Ribbonwood Country House in Cheviot, North Canterbury.  we have a wealth of hospitality and tourism experience; … over 50 years of it!

I (Gary) am an experienced and qualified chef, kitchen manager, front office manager, front of house manager (maitre d and sommelier) HR manager and food and beverage manager all to a senior level for many cafes, restaurants and hotels.

Robert has food and beverage experience and qualifications as a Maitre D and sommelier, was duty manager for a 5 star hotel and has front office experience as well.

For the past 10 years Robert has been working for Air NZ mostly in the Koru Lounge as a duty manager / team leader.  He has a Degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University in Palmerston North and worked as an arable consultant for MAF before retraining in hospitality, an industry he worked in whilst studying.

Robert is from Ashburton but like Gary, has also lived and worked overseas namely in the UK.  Robert enjoys the outdoors mainly his gardens.  He enjoys growing veggies from seeds and tending them through to harvest when he collects his produce and gives it to me to do something with!  Robert also takes pride in his non veggie gardens which have been established over the past 4 years so still growing and developing.  When not tending his gardens Robert can be found taking care of all things maintenance and on 7.5 hectares with a 510 sqm house there is always plenty to do on his days off from his regular job.  Robert and Gary both enjoy travelling and always planning their next overseas venture especially when combining it with food and wine.

Together, from 1999 to 2004 we owned and operated a country hotel with eight motel units, then ran a B and B from their house in Christchurch before selling and moving to Cheviot to build their dream home and set up Ribbonwood Country House.

Ribbonwood and our picking garden

I  (Gary) have worked as a retail manager for a large department store, Sector Manager for TIANZ – Tourism Industry Association, NZ Post, the rag trade and is also a qualified beauty and spa therapist.  I still operate a training company which specialises in training for hospitality, tourism, retail, customer service, leadership and management and adult education.

Isla and her family

I am from Christchurch but have lived and worked overseas and many parts of NZ.  I enjoys hospitality and making people feel at home.  My’s main passion outside of work is caring for my menagerie: Isla the Border Collie, Phoebe the black moggy, the 12 sheep and their offspring and the 3 calves – one which is named Dora Belle.  Hopefully she will be our house cow.

Ribbonwood Country House

We chose Cheviot for the location.  We are inland 3km from State Highway One so easy to find and have the most gorgeous views of the Kaikoura Mountain ranges.  Cheviot is a thriving rural town with all the amenities and clubs that one needs.  It is a very caring community and a delight to be living here.  We are close to the very popular Gore Bay and not too far from Kaikoura, Hanmer Springs and Christchurch.  There is much to see and do in this unspoilt region of NZ.  In March each year Cheviot is host to the A and P show and in September each year we have the Spring Festival which has market stalls, garden tours and lots of activities for the kids to be involved in.

Our own vegetables

One of our philosophies is ‘Paddock to Plate” we grow our own veggies, fruits and herbs and use these when cooking for guests and make our own chutneys and jams etc.  We also have our own home grown lamb and will have beef in the future.  We hope Dora will provide the necessaries to have our own milk and make our own cheese.  A goat and chickens are in the pipeline but we have a good supply of eggs from the neighbour so no rush there yet!  My training in aromatherapy and herbal studies has equipped me with the knowledge and will be able to make our own soaps, shampoo and body washes for the guests.

Produce for the table

Working to each other’s strengths, we are an ideal team and we take pride in the world class customer service our guests receive from the warm and friendly welcome to the time the guests leave.  We have excellent technical skills, industry knowledge and an abundance of experience.

Our first guests stayed on 26 and 27 December 2013 and already we are listed on Trip Advisor as the number one B and B in this area.  We were also delighted to be named as finalists for our unique glass showers in the GANZ awards 2014 (Glass Association of NZ) in the Innovation section and also as a finalist in the North Canterbury Business Awards Emerging Business awards 2014.

We have a unique product and hope you will enjoy your stay with us.

Welcome aboard the Heritage “Ship”  Gary & Robert. To my shame I have passed through Cheviot just once, and that was immediately post Wahine … and in a freezing square wheeled emergency bus taking us poor stranded travelers south after getting across the Straits in an Airforce Herc. One day not too far in the future Iris & I will remedy that……  Peter (Webmeister)