Peter Gordon

Peter Gordon is perhaps New Zealand’s most internationally recognised chef. Born in Wanganui Peter started collecting recipes from the age of four and began cooking not long after. After completing a chef’s apprenticeship in Melbourne in 1985 he travelled throughout South East Asia, India and Nepal for a year before setting up the kitchen at The Sugar Club in Wellington in 1986. Peter moved to London in 1989 and worked at various restaurants until he established his name as executive chef at Mayfair’s Green Street Restaurant then at the Notting Hill and Soho branches of The Sugar Club. Peter opened his current restaurant The Providores and Tapa Room with his partners in August 2001.

www.peter-gordon.net
www.theprovidores.co.uk

Slice of Life 2007

By Peter Gordon - December 2007

I’m sitting in my office at home with the sun streaming in the window, which makes a lovely and much needed break from the weather we’ve been having lately. After Autumn’s floods and winds, we now have Winter’s sun rising at 7.30am and setting around 3.30pm. But then, that’s how it should be, and so it looks like we might actually have a snow drenched Christmas this year which would be great – just like the one in this months photo back in 2005.

As I type, there’s a photographer from UK Homes and Gardens magazine shooting our kitchen for a feature on appliances for next year some time. As our kitchen is kitted out solely with Fisher and Paykel, it’ll be another small plug for New Zealand industry and produce, which seems to be the flavour of this week for me.

Over the next two days I’ll be filming 5 episodes of Market Kitchen, a tv series that focuses on seasonal, regional British food and produce. I appeared on it recently hosting 3 Master-classes, doing my usual Fusion food using ingredients from all over the world. I also managed to have a wee debate with a member of the Soil Association regarding air-freighted organic produce. I’m for it, she wasn’t. So it’s great that they’ve got me back as the Feature Chef for 5 shows, in which I’ll be showcasing New Zealand produce, from wine and avocado oil through to Manuka Honey, Firstlight Wagyu beef sirloin, lamb, venison and anything else I can get included. No doubt the debate on Food Miles will surface again, which is good as I really feel we need to wipe that term out from any informed debate. This week I also spoke to the Dominion Post regarding Food Miles – you can see that article here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4317946a6479.html

The other lovely bit of press of late was an article I wrote for the Financial Times regarding turkeys at Christmas. It was a real thrill to be contacted by the paper to write my version of the Big Day’s meal. It was edited down somewhat, but you can read it at:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3569a248-a46c-11dc-a28d-0000779fd2ac.html

The other great thing that came out of it was that I met with the food editor who’d like me to write 4 to 6 articles a year, on anything that takes my fancy. As I’m off to Istanbul for New Year (and to film a pilot on a Spice programme), and then to Kyoto and Tokyo in April, it seems I’ll have a few good stories up my sleeve.

Much as I love the buzz of the kitchen and the manic chaos that can ensue, I also love the quiet of sitting at home with a cup of tea and my computer in front of me, trying to get ideas and words in a sensible order on the screen. As someone who got just 50% in School Certificate, I always feel good when I’m asked to write something – anything.

Anyway, I need to head into The Providores and get my confit rabbit legs on the menu. It’s the time of the year when the guests are either really happy and full of the Festive Spirit, or incredibly miserable, over-spent, over-drunk and under-appealing.

I hope you all have a great Festive Time, enjoy some of NZ’s lovely wines and top produce. I’ll have a hot toddy for you, and you can have a chilled Riesling for me.

Cheers, Peter