June 2008. Ajr.Another in the series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders Doing Interesting Things - Larry and Joan Blume are new New Zealanders – two Americans who decided this country offered the perfect retreat from big city bustle – and as owners of the very delicious Master’s Lodge in Napier, they’ve lavished comfort and hospitality upon hundreds of guests since they bought the historic property in 2003. Larry, a successful international lawyer who spent most of his adult life in Washington DC, San Francisco and New York, met Joan, a successful New York dentist in NYC. They married at the beginning of the new millennium and came to New Zealand on holiday in 2002. A year later they were back after purchasing The Master’s Lodge – a beautiful residence designed in the famed ‘Australasian bungalow’ style in the late 1800s. It was later expanded and retro-fitted in Art Deco style in the 1930s by New Zealand architect, Louis Hay for the wealthy entrepreneur, Johann Gerhard Husheer, founder and director of the National Tobacco Company. Larry and Joan’s joint passion for food and wine is good news for their guests. Larry is a great cook and wine connoisseur and Joan is an avid pastry chef and chocolatier – a combination that can only mean good things for everyone - and not surprisingly they’ve received rave reviews from around the world. www.masterslodge.co.nz
