Staff Profiles

Jackie van der Voort & husband James Russell purchased the business (formerly known as Fruitlands Cafe & Lodge) in August 2009. Within 2 months of taking ownership, the business has reopened its doors with an up market cafe offering quality local country fare & boutique accommodation for passing tourists. Jackie has an abundance of expertise in tourism and horticulture. She manages the CAJ van der Voort pack house that oversees a large percentage of Central Otago’s pip fruit exports. She also recently finished her tenure as Ski Area Manager of the popular Wanaka ski field, Treble Cone, including overseeing its award winning alpine cafe.

James Russell owns George Creek station farming sheep and cattle in the Fruitlands district.

Joel Cowley (Head Chef) & Rebecca Cowley (Restaurant Manager) have enjoyed a love affair with food and cuisine throughout their careers.

American born, chef Joel is classical French trained and moved to Wanaka in 2004 as Sous Chef at the awarding winning Edgewater Resort, where he met his future wife Rebecca.

Joel and Rebecca have travelled extensively throughout New Zealand and the United States, refining their knowledge and skills in cuisine and wine, weddings and private functions, and hotel management. They recently returned to Central Otago to take on the Head Chef & Restaurant Manager position at the newly remodelled Speargrass Inn.

The Inn is a great venue to showcase Joel’s ability to hand craft great food with fresh local ingredients.