By Jesma Magill

Executive chef at Auckland SkyCity’s dine and Bellota Peter Gordon was back in New Zealand recently working on seasonal menu changes at both restaurants; introducing two special seven-week menus for the duration of the Rugby World Cup, as well as hosting a number of the South Pacific Forum dignitaries in town last month at dine.

Add to that: officiating at the Good Egg Awards; holding cooking demonstrations around the country; a quick trip to Australia; promoting his Beehive Craft Series in partnership with Beehive Carterton; producing premium pork products for home chefs and working on a new range of chutneys and relishes with Sabato in Auckland. Despite the full diary though, he was calm and relaxed at the time of interview – there were no celebrity hissy fits here.

Planning the RWC menus began earlier this year with his local team, head chef Mark Harman and sous-chef Mark Arunsaphai, formulating how best to present their Asian, Pacific and European fusion-style menu to international visitors and local diners.

Given the success of his London restaurants, The Providores and Tapa Room (now both 10 years old), it was decided to celebrate the best of both worlds with a fusion of dishes from the London and New Zealand restaurants until the end of the tournament on October 23. Half the dine menu is featuring signature dishes from The Providores, and across the road at Bellota, the contemporary Spanish menu shares equal billing with popular offerings from the Tapa Room.

Already well-publicised additions to the Federal Street dining scene have changed the landscape for dine and Bellota. In the formerly quiet street that runs between the SkyCity casino and the Grand Hotel, Gordon now has company - and competition. Three hospitality high rollers – Sean Connolly of The Grill, Al Brown at Depot and Luke Dallow’s Red Hummingbird gastropub – were invited by SkyCity to join dine and Bellota in what is now a vibrant and bustling gourmet precinct.

“Federal Street is now a destination and that’s exciting,” Gordon says.

“World Cup has meant an increase in the market and an increase in competition too and that’s good. It’s given us a kick in the bum and we’ve also been looking at ways to refresh dine and Bellota when RWC is over.”

In Gordon’s book A Culinary Journey (published in 2009) he describes this country’s produce as “first-class, with fantastic flavour” and applauds the passionate growers and producers. And that’s still the case, he says.

“There’s better variety of produce here and the growth in farmers’ markets is exciting. We source our fish from Leigh through Yellow Brick Road and the quality is brilliant. New Zealand meat used to be just a commodity but now there are celebrated, quality products. At dine, we have Wakanui beef from Canterbury on the menu, First Light grass-fed Wagyu beef from Hawke’s Bay, Whanganui poussin, roast Cambridge duck and Hawke’s Bay lamb.

The quality and richness of some of the local products has caused a few headaches for the combined menus, though.

“We’ve been working on the London recipes here and some of the ingredients don’t transfer so well. It took a couple of attempts to perfect the chocolate terrine from The Providores menu; the eggs, butter, cream and chocolate – they’re all different here.”

Considering possible threats to New Zealand’s quality produce, Gordon recognises the challenges for organic producers.

“It takes effort to remain that way.”

And for those not yet organic, it’s challenging as well.

“I cleared a room here once at a meeting of fruit and vegetables growers when I talked about when the industry might be fully organic.”

Often called the father of fusion, Gordon explains how the label came about.

“At the Sugar Club restaurant in London in 1996 we won two awards in one week for Best Modern British Cuisine and best Pacific Rim Cuisine. But the awards didn’t describe what we were doing.

“I looked to American chef Norman Van Aken. He founded New World cuisine when he blended Latin American, Asian, African and American styles and in 1988 he coined the phrase fusion and that was much closer to what I was doing.”

An unofficial ambassador for New Zealand products wherever he travels; Gordon has the largest European selection of New Zealand wines on The Providores wine list and in the carbon footprint debate, he regularly takes on the locavores. They’re promoters for only using locally sourced produce, often within a 100km radius, and he publicly made the case that some New Zealand goods are more sustainably produced than their English, Canadian and American counterparts.

Last year, Gordon found himself in hot water here when he wasn’t selling New Zealand lamb at The Providores all year round.

“Providores focuses on top-quality, seasonal produce and when New Zealand lamb is at its prime, it truly is the best in the world. When it’s not in season, we need to get it from somewhere else.”

Kopapa Café and Restaurant, the Covent Gardens venue which Gordon opened last year with three other New Zealanders, has a different focus to Providores.

“It’s casual, contemporary fusion and New Zealand lamb has been on the menu since day one.”

Spending five days in Israel with Yotam Ottolenghi, the Israeli chef and restaurateur now based in London, has been Gordon’s most exciting recent food experience.

“As a young country, Israel has a fusion-based cuisine. I love the mix of Arab and Jewish food and the young chefs are really keen.”

And his favourite meal of the trip was whole roast cauliflower with tahini sauce.

Nordic cuisine – based on local, sustainable and seasonal produce – is still hot in the Europe and UK dining scenes, thanks to Danish restaurant Noma winning Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant magazine in 2010 and 2011.

“Seasonal is great if the surrounding environment supports it, but I know of people who have dined in Scandinavian restaurants during the winter and there’s not a lot of exciting produce around.”

When Gordon’s back in New Zealand, “café moments” are a priority. Dizengoff in Ponsonby is always on the list and lately he has been introduced to Zus & Zo in Jervois Road – known for its knockout sandwiches.

He’s the founder and a keen supporter of what is known as the Modern Apprentice of the Year Competition, which originated in the UK seven years ago. In New Zealand it is run by the Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI), and in the UK by the Craft Guild of Chefs. The reciprocal programme, open to 18 to 25 year olds, awards two chefs each year, one from each country, the chance to work in top restaurants in the other country.

“It’s about helping young chefs blossom; taking a long term view of their career and hopefully in six years or so the New Zealanders will come back and share their experience with the industry.”

Keeping his established restaurants humming on opposite sides of the globe, and as consultant chef to two restaurants in Istanbul – Changa and Muzedechanga – Gordon’s pace is frenetic but he wears it well.

There are no thoughts of coming home for this Wanganui-born lad, and opening a small café somewhere. He’s not going to let the locavores spoil his party, either.

“I love the world of food – sourcing new and exciting ingredients from all over the world. It’s what inspires me.”