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I started my hospitality career just down the road in the Parnell heydays of the mid 90’s and have never looked back. I fell in love with the food side of the industry and have taken that passion from the plate to running the entire business.
Working in the Michelin environment is definitely not for the faint hearted – you are surrounded by a team of chefs and wait staf that are committed to delivering the very best they can on a by the minute/hour/daily and weekly basis. The kitchens are hard and you have to be strong to survive. I found this very inspiring and excelled here.
I first visited Peru in 2012, as I was on a food research trip. With the Japanese Nikkei link, it felt like a very natural progression for my culinary style.
The interior design was worked through with the fantastic team from CTRL. The earth wall and color tone come from the famous rainbow mountains of Peru.
The hospo game is tough and you have to really do your research and development when you launch a completely new concept. You have to be completely prepared to put your all on the line in a public arena. Not many have the courage or depth for this.
It’s hard to pick a proudest moment. Seeing my young daughter make a perfect cofee behind the machine at the tender age of 10, or having the privilege to mentor younger hospitality professionals is pretty inspiring. Milestones are easier to place - taking the Executive Chef role at Huka Lodge at 29 years old would have to be one for sure.
I fnd it hard not to order the Ceviche Classico every time - line caught fish, the freshest lime leche de tigre marinade,, red onion, sweet potato, cancha corn. It’s seriously delicious.
I would love to cook for a table of the world’s best chefs - Heston, Marco Pierre White, Virgilio Martínez, Joan Roca, Alain Passard - in my restaurant, family style, then join them and talk shop for hours.
Parmigiano Reggiano, seasonal greens (right now big leafy ones), coconut water, Dijon mustard and wasabi paste.
Wow, that’s an almost impossible question. Annually, Great Barrier Island, otherwise internationally it tends to be food, sand or R&D driven – I had an amazing 4 days in Bali recently for the quickest of research and development.
MASU by Nic Watt of course.
I will always cook whole joints of pieces – I have enjoyed cooking ducks in my wood-fired earth oven.
If you want to be a hospitality professional – like anything, do your homework, know your products, love what you do… it’s one hell of ride.
I would stay that Kiwis can sometimes still be a little too focused on meat and three vege. We have some incredibly diverse cuisines here and we should be supporting them all.
Flea “Acid for the Children”.
I still think the rooftop terrace – we have to get the word out there far and wide.
Hopefully swimming around the back of Waiheke, after a morning coffee.
I would love to see more support of small owner operator outlets, people putting it all on the line and giving it a crack. There are some brilliant operators out there that would love your support.
Freedom of speech is required – but I do not appreciate people that are not constructive, informed and yet feel they need to be negative on public domains.
Next for me is to continue to develop INCA and the team. We have a couple of ideas up our sleeve - come see us and watch our space.
Level 4, 309 Broadway
09 213 4463
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