Fleur De Lyse Ross Sullivan (born )Brookes, E.,
Iconic restaurant Fleur's Place, shut since Covid, closes for good
''

stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). As of early 2024, it is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff ...

'', 20 June 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024. is a New Zealand restaurateur and author. In 1999, Sullivan was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to tourism, and in 2013 she was promoted to Companion of the same order, for services to the food industry.

Life

Sullivan grew up on her grandparents' farm on the banks of the

Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast. It starts at the confluence of the Ōhau Ri ...

. She first worked in hotels and restaurants on the West Coast of the South Island, and then in

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

. In 1967, she bought the Dunstan Hotel in Clyde, and ran it as a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

. She became a local councillor and founded the Clyde Promotion Group to help preserve the town's history and promote it as a tourist destination. After the breakdown of her marriage, Sullivan moved to Queenstown with her three children, before returning to Clyde in the late 1970s. Sullivan and her partner converted the general store into a restaurant, named Olivers, which she ran for twenty years. After a diagnosis of, and treatment for, bowel cancer, Sullivan retired to

Moeraki Moeraki is a small fishing village on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was once the location of a whaling station. In the 1870s, local interests believed it could become the main port for the north Otago area and a railwa ...

. She and her family started selling seafood chowder from a van, and then she opened a restaurant, Fleurs Place, in 2003. Fleurs Place attracted worldwide attention when the English celebrity chef

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

chose it to visit in 2006. Sullivan later opened the Loan and Merc restaurant and bar in the heritage precinct in

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

. Sullivan closed Fleurs Place temporarily in 2021, finally closing permanently and selling her fishing quota in 2024. She wrote an autobiography, which was published by Random House in 2011. She was also featured in the book ''Grow – Wāhine Finding Connection Through Food'', by Sophie Merkens, documenting 35 New Zealand women connected to food.

Cavalcade

Sullivan had the idea to establish the Otago Goldfields Cavalcade, to boost tourism to small Otago towns. The first cavalcade was held in 1991, and attracted 220 people. The 25th anniversary cavalcade attracted nearly twice as many participants, including horseriders, wagon drivers, walkers, and bikers.

Honours and awards

In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sullivan was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tourism. In the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, she was promoted to Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the food industry.

References

External links

*
Twelve questions with Kiwi restauranteur Fleur Sullivan
', Woman's Weekly, 24 August 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Fleur Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Otago New Zealand women writers New Zealand restaurateurs Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand councillors