From our farm to fork feature

King of Snake has been a Christchurch institution since it opened in 2012 at its original location on Victoria Street.

Now on Cashel Street in the Terrace, with opulent, exotic décor and views over the Avon River and the Bridge of Remembrance, King of Snake remains the place to go in Christchurch for guaranteed impeccable Euro-Asian cuisine and a five-star dining experience minus the pretence.

"It's lavish, and it's comfortable, and it's about exporting people out of Christchurch for an evening to somewhere exotic and different," King of Snake executive chef Stuart Langsford says.

Langsford said part of the restaurant's charm is a blend of high-end dining with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

"Our market is huge and varied. People can come in and spend $50 or $150.

"We have high-powered businessmen and teenagers in hoodies and everyone in between."

King of Snake has received its fair share of accolades in the last decade, including being voted Supreme Establishment of the Year at the and winning the Service Foods Outstanding Restaurant Award and the One Music Outstanding Ambience Award at the  2022 Canterbury Hospitality Awards.

The menu is elegant and exciting, with small shared plates including dishes such as Chatham Island Crayfish Mini Brioche sliders and Wild Venison Carpaccio.

Larger plates include crowd favourites such as Crispy Pressed Half Duck with Caramelised Mandarin Sauce and Penang Curry Beef Cheeks.

It's not just the food that sets King of Snake apart.

The cocktails are exotic and playful, with names like Hikaris Flight and Fire Lotus and decadent dessert cocktails like Siliso punch with clarified yoghurt.

Ingredients are fresh and locally sourced wherever possible. Duck comes from Canter Valley Farm in North Canterbury, beef from Tamar Beef in Mid Canterbury, and some produce and dry goods from Christchurch-based Service Foods. Salmon is sourced from Akaroa Salmon, fresh market fish from the Little Fish Co. and venison comes from Premium Game in Marlborough.

"We are in the pursuit of excellence. We are constantly developing what we are doing,” Langsford said.

If King of Snake is the jewel in the crown of Christchurch cuisine, then Stuart Langsford is Canterbury culinary royalty.

Langsford's CV includes work at some of Christchurch's most esteemed restaurants, creating a legacy that has seen the chef raise the standards of the city's dining experience over three decades.

Langsford moved from the U.K. to Christchurch as a teenager and landed a job as a kitchen hand at the Christchurch Gondola.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do.

"In hindsight, I was reasonably lucky to work where I worked at the time, but I didn't know it then."

Langsford spent a stint in Queenstown before returning to Christchurch to work as a part-time chef at Morley's Lodge in Hornby, creating "elevated pub restaurant food."

Langsford then worked at Misceos, one of Christchurch's most popular cafes.

"It was an amazing team, amazing food, and cool people. I still remember some of the stuff on the menu from when I started."

From there, Langsford landed a job at the Cocoa Club, with a menu of provincial French cuisine with Pacific Rim influences.

"It was the steepest learning curve of my career, but that is where my passion for food came from.”

Langsford worked his way up to head chef in a kitchen environment he describes as "brutal."

"It was intense, and I was proud because chefs came in with ten years' experience, and two months later, they were gone; they couldn't handle it.”

After two years at Cocoa Club, Langsford took a break to travel before taking the position of head chef at Indochine, a restaurant with an Asian influence,  in 2003.

Langsford went on to work at other iconic Christchurch restaurants, such as the Bicycle Thief, Pedro's and Pegasus Bay Winery in Waipara.

These days, Langsford presides over King of Snake, Roca, Mexicanos, and cocktail bar Monarch, all owned by restaurant entrepreneur David Warring.

"Mexicanos is Mexican Street Food; it's cheap, cheerful, tasty and fresh.

"Roca has been open about eight or nine months and is slightly more elevated. It's still casual dining but at the upper end of our restaurants."

In a thirty-year career, Langsford has left an indelible mark on the Christchurch restaurant scene and shaped the city's food culture.

He attributes his success to hard work rather than talent.

"I'm not naturally gifted; I just have an excellent work ethic."

By Claire Inkson