Chef & Sommelier Giulio Barducci

Giulio Barducci along with four colleagues and his wife Nathaly Behne, have recently opened Toast & Oak, a wine bar with gastronomic flair in Queenstown.

Located upstairs, in Shotover Street, the Wine Bar’s motto is Drink wine not labels. Their goal is to create a unique wine destination for Central Otago fashioned around a gastronomic offering of European inspired cuisine.

And Giuilio is front and center of the kitchen and the service. ‘On the menu we list two or three hero ingredients. And then experiment. There is nowhere to hide.'.

'Pasta is in my blood. It’s part of me.'

'I like the open kitchen and here I am plating, checking, talking, looking towards my guests. That is why I am in the front – I want to be involved in the whole experience,' comments Giulio.

The menu features this extraordinary pappardelle with a strips of charcoal infused pasta and transformed into different compositions. Giulio sources a selection of locally grown, exotic mushrooms from Remarkable fungi.

'We have a team that supports me and they also have ideas that are represented in the cuisine and wine list. I want our team to learn and be passionate about what we do.'

'I never thought that I would have a place like this just yet. It's a dream and the reality has not really clicked,' says Giulio.

Wine Bar

'With our wine list, we want to focus on all the classic wine regions of the world and source mature wine and older vintages that New Zealand has not seen,' says Giulio. The wine list of Toast and Oak is impressive and extensive. They have started keep bottles with a tag, written by the customer, as a memory of their visit.

Nathaly Behnein the wine cellar features a huge slab of Central Otago Schist as a table.

Originally from Florence, Giulio Barducci studied architecture at university for 3 years while working part time at the famous Biscuit factory, Antonio Mattei before opting to work full time. Wanting to improve his cooking skills he enrolled in a 3 month Cordon Bleu programme where he met his future wife Nathaly, an international student from Brazil. For his work placement Giulio gained a position at Il Palago, the Michelin-starred restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel. He completed 6 months stage and went on to work there for six years.

Giulio and Nathaly decided to travel overseas and ended up in New Zealand in 2018. Giulio got a CDP chef de partie role working under chef Nobu Lee at Clooney while Natalie became assistant sommelier. Once Clooney closed, the couple moved to Queenstown where Giulio, who also likes to work on the floor and as a barista, gained work at Jacks Point. He headed back into the kitchen in 2021 at Amisfield with Nathaly becoming assistant restaurant management.

A call from Chef Ben Bayley saw the couple head to Aosta in Arrowtown where Giulio became senior sous chef and over three years progressed to General Manager. During this time Nathaly and Giulio commenced the Court of Master Sommeliers programme with Giulio gaining the Certified and Nathaly gaining the Introductory certification.