New Blyth staff

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 441, 23 June 1992, Page 9

New Blyth staff

The Sunbeam's new chef is London-trained Englishman Mark Oliver, who sounds Scottish but is really English. By coincidence he was born at Blyth, an old fishing port and colliery, in Northumberland, near the Scottish border. The coincidence is that the Sunbeam Restaurant has a new name this season - "Blyth" - named after the Ohakune school teacher who blazed the trail to the southern slopes of Ruapehu. Mark's partner Lynne, is Scottish (from Berwick Upon Tweed) They arrived in Ohakune while travelling through New Zealand as part of their OE. They had previously worked together In a top-class hotel in Aberdeenshire, where he was head chef. Lynne will work as Maitre 'd at the Blyth Restaurant. Mark has worked as a chef for 12 years, training at North Technical College in England before heading for a threeyear stint doing the rounds of the top London hotels. He moved north after

becoming tired of London, eventually making it back to Scotland. Lynne has extensive experience in restaurants, having worked both in the kitchen and at tables.

Work in Ohakune for a winter was appealing, because they both like , small towns and are both ,keen to do some skiing. Mark has skied a little before but Lynne is yet to try the slopes.