The Kitchen
Meet Chef Elena Marlow
The culinary force behind Epic Urean Dining's modern New Zealand menu, where precise technique meets the warm, unhurried character of a great room.
Culinary Journey
From Marlborough Kitchens to Ponsonby Road
Early Inspirations
Elena Marlow's passion for food began in Marlborough, where long family lunches around a wood-fired table taught her that a meal is never only about what is on the plate. Her grandmother's garden, heavy with tomatoes, herbs, and late-summer stone fruit, became her first classroom. Those early lessons in seasonality and patience still shape the way she writes a menu: start with what the land gives, then add heat, acid, and time.
"A dish should feel like a conversation, not a lecture. The best ingredients already know what they want to say."
Professional Training
After leaving Marlborough, Elena trained at a leading Auckland culinary school before staging in Wellington and Melbourne. Apprenticeships under chefs known for nose-to-tail butchery and restrained saucing gave her the discipline to remove anything that did not earn its place. A two-year role as junior sous chef at a small coastal restaurant taught her how to run a calm, focused pass and how to listen to a dining room.
- 2012 Graduated with distinction, Auckland Culinary Institute
- 2014 Chef de partie, Wellington fine-dining kitchen
- 2017 Junior sous chef, Marlborough coastal restaurant
- 2020 Head chef, Epic Urean Dining
Arrival at Epic Urean Dining
Joining Epic Urean Dining in 2020 allowed Elena to blend fine dining with the relaxed sophistication of a poker lounge. She rebuilt the menu around a smaller, sharper list of dishes that could move easily between a formal dining room and a late-night card table. The result is food that feels precise but never precious, designed for people who want to stay for another course and another hand.
Culinary Philosophy
Respect, Balance, and a Sense of Occasion
Respect for Ingredients
Elena prioritizes locally sourced, seasonal New Zealand produce, treating each ingredient with minimal intervention. She works directly with growers in Pukekohe, fishers out of Leigh, and a small-batch dairy near Matakana. The menu changes every six to eight weeks, not for novelty, but because the best produce has a short, brilliant window. If an ingredient needs to be hidden under three sauces, she would rather leave it off the menu.
- Horopito and kawakawa from Northland bush blocks
- Regeneratively farmed beef from Hawke's Bay
- Line-caught snapper and trevally from the Hauraki Gulf
- Heirloom tomatoes and leafy greens from Pukekohe
Balance and Restraint
Dishes are composed with balance in mind—flavors, textures, and temperatures—without unnecessary embellishment. A seared fish might arrive with nothing more than a burnt citrus dressing, a spoon of herb oil, and a few leaves that belong to the same season. Simplicity is not the absence of technique; it is the result of enough technique to know when to stop.
Dining as Experience
Elena views each meal as a narrative, from the first bite to the last, complementing the lounge's atmosphere. The dining room and poker lounge share the same forest, cream, and copper language, so a plate of charred vegetables and a rack of chips feel like they belong to the same evening. Pacing matters as much as plating: a good menu leaves room for conversation, for a second drink, and for the next hand.
Signature Techniques
Fire, Ferment, and the Quiet Art of Plating
Fire and Smoke
Elena employs open-fire cooking and smoking to add depth to meats and vegetables. The kitchen's charcoal grill runs on a mix of mānuka and oak, giving beef short rib, whole carrots, and even butter a slow, savory edge. New Zealand's long barbecue culture taught her that smoke should be a seasoning, not a mask—present enough to notice, gentle enough to let the ingredient speak.
Preservation and Fermentation
House-made ferments, pickles, and preserves add acidity and complexity. The pantry holds jars of fermented green tomato, pickled kohlrabi, and a two-year-aged fish sauce made from local anchovies. These bright, sharp notes cut through rich dishes and give the menu a sense of time that cannot be bought in a hurry.
Modern Plating
Plates are composed with an eye for negative space and color, echoing the restaurant's interior design. Cream ceramics, dark wood, and the occasional flash of copper mirror the room itself. A dish should look like it was made by the same hands that built the tables and dealt the cards—deliberate, warm, and entirely without clutter.
Kitchen Leadership
A Calm Kitchen Is a Confident Kitchen
Team Culture
Elena fosters a collaborative environment where young cooks are encouraged to experiment and grow. Every week, one cook presents a new dish idea to the team, and the best version may appear as a special. Mentorship is built into the roster: senior chefs rotate through every station, and junior cooks are given real responsibility as soon as they show they can hold it.
Quality Control
Every dish is tasted and approved by Elena before service, ensuring consistency. She arrives at midday to check deliveries, walk the line, and taste the day's sauces. During service, she moves between the pass and the grill, adjusting seasoning and pacing. If a plate is not right, it never reaches the dining room.
Collaboration with Front of House
Elena works closely with the service team to tell the story of each dish. Before every service, the front-of-house staff taste the new menu and learn where each ingredient comes from. That knowledge turns a simple description into a short, useful story—where the fish was caught, why the sauce is fermented, and what to drink alongside it.
"We are not just feeding people. We are giving them a reason to sit down, slow down, and stay a little longer."
Chef's Table Experience
An Intimate Encounter
Guests can book the chef's table for a personalized multi-course menu with direct interaction with Elena. Seated at the pass, you will watch the kitchen move through service while Elena explains each course, the produce behind it, and the technique that brought it together. The evening is limited to six guests, includes matched New Zealand wines, and can be tailored to dietary needs with advance notice.
Reserve the Chef's TableConnection to Poker Lounge
The Same Craft, a Different Table
Shared Craft
The same attention to detail applies to the lounge's small plates and cocktails, designed to complement the poker experience. The lounge menu includes smoked lamb ribs, fermented chili butter on grilled bread, and a dark chocolate and horopito tart. Flavors are bolder and easier to eat with one hand, but they are built with the same discipline as the dining room menu.
Design Harmony
The lounge's felt and copper accents mirror the kitchen's plating aesthetics, creating a cohesive brand. A copper-rimmed plate of charcuterie and a stack of copper-toned chips belong to the same visual world. Copper is the only metal in the room, and it appears in the food, the lighting, and the details of the tables—never loud, always present.
Reserve Your Table
Join Us for an Evening of Exceptional Food and Refined Play
Book a table in the dining room or explore the menu that Elena and her team have built for the season.