Business
7 November, 2024
Ochre constantly rates highly
MODERN Australian dining and catering business Ochre has snapped up top awards and reviews in 2024.
Owner Craig Squire said he was delighted that after 30 years of trading his team was consistently creating a high standard and exceptional dining experience.
“Made even more difficult by high input costs and supply issue, the restaurant and its catering arm strives to buy the best produce to represent the Australian tropics,” he said.
“As the way of reviews has changed from print media and industry award balls to online -based awards, this has given the public a much greater say in awarding the best, not just one reviewer or journalist or based on one’s own submission.”
Great results in 2024 include:
• New York-based Trip Expert. Now in its eighth year, it includes Ochre in its expert choice awards. The award is based on reviews by journalists and travel writers from a range of publications, including Lonely Planet, Fodors and Frommers. Less than two per cent of eligible venues receive the award. Trip Expert said: Ochre was “such a fantastic restaurant with unique fare that deserves to be recognised”.
• Australian wine list of the year awards includes Ochre, one of only three establishments in FNQ. “Soak up views of the Cairns coastline whilst dining on creative fare, featuring the produce of Tropical North Queensland at Ochre. Indigenous ingredients offer intriguing bursts of flavours throughout the modern Australian menu, and pop up again in the refreshing cocktails. An exclusively Australian wine list celebrates the diversity of varieties that thrive across the vast continent – many of these reflected in the extensive ‘by the glass’ offering,” the judges said
• Trip Advisor can be the bane of any restauranteur’s existence with keyboard warriors out to exact vengeance, however, as Mr Squire said you can’t stress on one bad review and must look at the long term result. Ochre is included again this year in the travellers’ choice award, based on the last 12 months reviews. This is given to the top 10 per cent of establishments world-wide.
• Best of Queensland. Driven by Tourism Events Queensland, this best of Queensland experiences result is from a survey of industry memberships, book ability, industry best practices and social media ratings and engagement. Ochre achieved 100/100 based on industry benchmarking, a higher percentage than peers throughout the state
• Three Best Rated. A referral web site that rates the three best in various business categories, using a transparent 50-point inspection process. Ochre is included with 4.9 stars out of five in best Australian restaurants in Cairns – one of just three.
