Josh Cronin, Milford Sound Lodge – Hotel Magazine

Josh Cronin desired to be a chef for as very long as he can keep in mind, and has by no means labored any other position.

“It is actually my lifestyle enthusiasm!”

The 26 year-old originally hails from Cork, Ireland. About 6 yrs in the past, he moved to Australia for two yrs ahead of jumping the ditch to Milford Audio. Getting attended two diverse culinary faculties, it was when he was travelling that Cronin’s capabilities truly started out to expand. 

“I was quite lucky to satisfy a passionate young chef that I could bounce tips and enthusiasm off of, while in college or university. This seriously kick-begun my journey and we are nevertheless close friends to this day.”

Cronin and his chef friend established off to the remote outback of the Kimberley in Australia, to are living and operate with the indigenous Bardi Jawi neighborhood and get the job done for a Grasp of the Artwork – a really properly renowned and acclaimed Irish chef, building a thing quite one of a kind and exclusive. Doing work listed here, Cronin acquired a great volume about his trade, when obtaining to practical experience how some of the oldest indigenous cultures in the planet eat, hunt, fish and considerably more. 

“This encounter served determine my fashion of cooking and is what seriously fuels my culinary passion.”

His major culinary design is, in portion, based on awareness he obtained growing up, observing his grandmother cook every Sunday. By his time in Australia, and now dwelling in the attractive wilderness of Milford Sound, Cronin has fantastic-tuned his culinary style, equipped to adapt to the surroundings he finds himself in. 

Cronin adores smoked and preserved food items, as is the standard way of cooking with the Bardi Jawi people of the Kimberley. He blends the cigarette smoking procedures, fermentation, and preserving methods he acquired with his new knowledge of the phenomenal generate New Zealand has to give. 

“Being in these kinds of beautiful pieces of the planet, it is vital to use regional deliver and highlight the wonderful place we are in. Sustainability is a large drive of mine.”

At Pio Pio, the cafe of Milford Seem Lodge, the team strives to make scrumptious seasonal dishes, though being as waste free of charge as feasible.

“As you can envision, this is not an effortless activity!”

Pio Pio is aiming to give an encounter that will not be neglected, with a concentrate on creativity, seasonality, sustainability and locality when curating the menu. With the support of some astonishingly dedicated persons, the group are earning gains each and every day to make Milford Seem Lodge an field chief in staying eco-welcoming. 

Just one of the largest worries facing the hospitality field has been restrictions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Problem in recruiting workers even though becoming in a remote area has intended the staff experienced to become even more resourceful but for Cronin, the remarkable get the job done ethic of his colleagues has gotten him by means of. The finest section of operating in hospitality is the means to express himself in the quickly paced character of a kitchen area.

“There is a standard camaraderie amongst a group of like-minded, passionate chefs.”


In the in close proximity to upcoming, Cronin is predicting a massive wave of travelers to New Zealand, growing difficulties confronted by staffing shortages. 

“Due to the border opening, this will be a quite chaotic summertime. It is just a make any difference of receiving the appropriate men and women into the country, educated to an suitable common in time for the substantial rush on NZ tourism.”

As a business enterprise, Milford Sound Lodge and Pio Pio are seeking to retain their really significant regular, with ever-evolving seasonal menus and an emphasis on innovation and creativeness. The lodge has a goal to maximize the share of its create sourced in Fiordland/Southland and has set a day to be 100 percent waste totally free by 2025. 

Cronin, personally, hopes to at some point open up his have restaurant using almost everything he has uncovered so far.

“My supreme aspiration would be to reach my very own Michelin stars.”

His assistance to those people hoping to pursue a profession in the hospitality field, function difficult and be punctual.

“You will get incredibly much on sheer get the job done ethic and self-control alone. Be absolutely sure to look at and soak up everything alongside the way.”

Cronin urges any youthful chef wanting to see the planet to get out there, since the final decision massively transformed his lifestyle for the much better.

“I experience it is certainly essential for absolutely everyone to practical experience the planet, even a minor of it. Just do it, it will be the very best detail you at any time do.”