The judges have spoken and King of Snake rules! Cityscape talks to the man behind the magic, David Warring.

King of Snake had a big night at the Canterbury Hospitality Awards. How good was that? We were thrilled with the results and humbled by them. It’s been a particularly challenging time for the entire industry. We took on a lot of risk with a project of this scale in the middle of a global pandemic. The entire team has worked incredibly hard and there has been a lot of personal sacrifice, so it was fantastic to see that acknowledged.

What do you think swayed the judges your way? I think a combination of things that we have been able to put together in the new premises. Obviously, the commitment from our staff both in the engine room and front of house and the standards they set. We’ve been able to create a culture that encourages the best in individuals in service of a shared ideal. That, along with the environment we’ve delivered, makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. When we committed to the space, I strongly believed that the market had outgrown the traditional “theme bar/restaurant” interior. We took a calculated risk on letting the style of our cuisine speak for itself and showing some discipline and restraint in the design. I think it’s a maturity in our dining experience that people wanted, and we were able to deliver that for them.

Winning Supreme Establishment of the Year – that must seem a real endorsement of all the changes you have gone through at King of Snake? Absolutely. There is always that possibility of missing the mark or being wrong about what you believe people will appreciate. We took some brave decisions in leaving the entire King of Snake interior themes in the past and reinventing the brand and the experience. It’s hugely rewarding to know we made the right decisions.

King of Snake also won the award for Outstanding Ambience and Design – who gets the kudos for that? I am lucky to have a very talented wife, Jennifer, who has her own architectural design company, Studio Collective. We worked incredibly hard on this and it consumed us entirely for about a year. When we took the space, I knew we had a unique opportunity to create a sense of arrival and movement through the space. That movement creates confidence, a feeling of luxury and generosity and a sense of personal ownership. Jennifer was able to interpret that resort-like experience I was aiming for and make it work within the limitations we faced. She understood my vision and nailed it.

What’s next for King of Snake? Now it’s the challenge that all restaurants face – maintaining consistency and drilling down on the details that require fine tuning. That process never stops and we have some plans to develop the cuisine and dining experience. We have something very exciting planned for next year that I think will be a great offering for Christchurch, but we’ll be talking about that when the time is right.

Monarch has certainly raised the bar for sipping cocktails and soaking up some sounds – any plans there? We’re thrilled with Monarch, and being able to indulge my personal passion for high-end audio in a commercial space was a real delight. We wanted it to be an amenity for our loyal diners and people who are looking for a sophisticated space to have a world-class cocktail. We are achieving that and I think Monarch really rounds off the entire experience at King of Snake and adds to that feeling that you are experiencing something very unique.

Looks like a great season of celebration coming up for Christchurch – what plans do you have? To be honest, we are so busy that it’s business as usual for us. We are just 100 percent focused on delivering the dining experience we’re famous for, maintaining and fine tuning our standards, looking for the ways we can improve and build upon what we’ve achieved. We know all eyes are on us now so we’ll be working hard.

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