It’s not news that it’s a tough time to be in business and hospitality has had more than its share of woe, but Tom Hutchison of Capitol in Wellington is feeling hopeful. “I’m starting to see some young people coming through that are choosing hospitality, that haven’t fallen into it by mistake, but have decided that this is what they want to do.”

And Kate Hutchison – front-of-house host extraordinaire (in fact, Cuisine’s Restaurant Personality of the Year in 2025) and the other key part of this partnership – is adamant that we should applaud this commitment. “It’s actually a really important job. It’s an extremely important contribution to society and to community, and I feel quite fervent about that. People should understand the generosity of chefs and waiters and bartenders who choose to lead less affluent lives in order to make the world a better place. It’s a big thing and I think it needs to be valued.”

With Capitol now powering through its 23rd year – and picking up the Long-term Player award at the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2025 – newcomers to the industry need only look to Tom and Kate for proof that doing what you love is a blueprint for a successful restaurant. Indeed, Kate says that she fell in love in hospo and fell in love with hospo.

She and Tom met while both working at Sourdough on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road and, after feeding their mutual fascination with food while working in Melbourne, France and London, they returned ready to make their mark in Wellington. Built on the couple’s dream to bring modern Italian café food from Melbourne to Wellington, Capitol opened on Kent Terrace in 2002, its popularity rooted in Tom’s talent for fresh, unfussy, modern European fare and his unerring ability to nail flavour.

Of course, Capitol has evolved since its inception, with the menu moving to lighter Italian flavours, nudging into Spain, a little bit of Northern Africa, France and, influenced by Tom’s interest in Thailand, incorporating the Asian approach to using herbs and freshness, sharpness and heat. That’s how Capitol has retained relevance in a busy market easily dazzled by the latest hotspot or flash new concept. New restaurants in their area have brought a younger generation to refresh the dining landscape and Capitol stands proud among them. “Increasingly we have a lot of young people coming in on frightening and scary first dates at a fancy restaurant,” says Kate. “And they really love the food. It’s new to them. Whereas we used to feel that what we did was so traditional, it’s not boring to them because we’re seeing a whole generation that hasn’t been raised on ‘traditional’ food.”

Underpinning it all is the couple’s undoubted respect for each other’s instincts. “We both understand each other better than anybody else,” says Tom, as Kate adds, “I know what Tom is looking for.” For wellbeing reasons, Kate largely follows a vegan diet these days, which she admits could be problematic were it not for their mutual trust. “Luckily, because I’ve been with Tom for so long, I know most of his flavours, but if something new comes on, I’ll have the tiniest little taste of it. If you don’t have that absolute belief in the food and that love for the food, you can’t communicate it. To be good at what we do, you have to really believe that the food is some of the best you’ve ever tasted.”

So, back to people actively choosing a career in hospitality: for Tom it was always going to be. “I was always going to be cooking. My grandfather was a chef. And I cooked from a very young age.” For Kate, though, hospitality jobs supported her through degrees in medieval history, marketing and management, and literature. Then came a corporate management traineeship in a major hotels group. “Then I fell in love with Tom and we spent the rest of our lives traipsing around the world doing food.” She reflects, “You know how you can climb a ladder and then you get to my age and you realise your ladder is on the wrong wall? It would have been the wrong wall because I love people. I just adore people and food and Tom. And so I’m definitely in the right place.”

If you think of hospitality as creating an energy where guests feel welcomed, comfortable and valued, Capitol has it in spades. Kate says, “We treat guests as if they’re coming to our own front door, and when they leave, they leave with the gratitude that we made them feel as if they had come to our home – that is the real essence of Capitol.” — TRACY WHITMEY