Sign In / Register
Jaz Ammar brings Parisian flair to the modern Mediterranean cuisine that is served at Faridas in Orewa.
Jaz became a chef in Paris, where he worked his way up, learning by experience. He has been in the hospitality business for more than 15 years. Until recently Jaz owned a restaurant in Panmure, but he began looking for a location closer to his Orewa home to save the commute.
The café, restaurant and fully licensed bar opened this summer, next to Faridas Ice-Cream (formerly Plantation). The interior has been completely refurbished and is now air conditioned, as well as having windows that slide open facing Orewa Beach.
Italian born/Paris trained chef Gaetano Francelle designed the menus. Gaetano has been a chef for around 30 years, including working in Michelin Star restaurants in Europe.
The menus, which will change frequently, are boutique in size, but big on flavour. Fresh ingredients are a priority and each main includes vegetables and sauces carefully chosen to work together to perfection. Everything is cooked on site, including the sauces, which are made from scratch.
“It takes hard work and love to get a delicious result,” Jaz says.
For dinner there will generally be four to five entrées, four to five mains and a dessert selection to choose from. One of the most popular mains currently is slow cooked beef cheek with aromatic vegetables, Barossa sauce, beetroot purée and mustard crème fraiche. The lunch menu includes blackened salmon, crispy pork belly salad and barbecue prawn bruschetta. Vegetarians and people with special food requirements will be catered for. Feedback is welcomed from customers and Jaz says so far people are loving it.
He says his aim is to keep the place humming with happy customers, especially in the evenings. “It’s lovely here on a summer’s day, but in the winter it will be a cosy place to enjoy great food and wine,” he says.
