The annual Ora King awards celebrate the best culinary uses of this fabulous fish.
Kiwi chefs who venture overseas may be a loss to our local dining public, but we can all bask in the glory as their success resonates around the world. They become culinary ambassadors for the fine New Zealand ingredients we grow, process and export around the planet. Peter Gordon has done an immeasurable job educating diners in his London restaurants by serving our food and wine. And now there’s Matt Lambert in New York – a tough food city to succeed in – who serves up innovative dishes and superb New Zealand wines nightly at his Musket Room restaurant, which has just retained its Michelin star for a second year.
Local company New Zealand King Salmon recognises the work of these chefs with its annual Ora King awards. At a recent lunch at Woollaston at Mahana, Nelson, the best salmon dishes in New Zealand and international categories were announced, along with the names of Ora King ambassadors.
Los Angeles chef Ray England created a selection of canapes to accompany craft beers from the Nelson region and, even though he hadn’t visited our country before, his use of local product was exemplary: oysters in a panna cotta; snapper ceviche prepared Mexican-style on kumara crisps; sandwiches made with his venison bologna and lamb tartare.
The main courses were prepared by local chefs. The effervescent Makoto Tokuyama of Cocoro, Auckland, showed his unequalled skill with platters of sashimi and sushi that included salmon and also showcased fresh seafood from our coastal waters.
He explained his theme was “from a monastery childhood in rural Japan to modern-day New Zealand”.
Mark Southon of Auckland’s The Foodstore served a refreshing cucumber gazpacho with lightly cooked salmon, inspired “by summer travels in Germany this year”.
Lambert, who won the ‘Best International Ambassador’ title for the second year, served wood-fire roasted sides of salmon with stunning salads and barbecued carrots. His theme: “remembering shared family meals over the years”.
Speaking to Lambert after the lunch, it was a thrill to learn he was truly humbled to be recognised at home by his peers. “I grew up aspiring to be like chefs Martin Bosley, Geoff Scott and Michael Meredith, so years later to cook for them and other chefs is special and amazing to me. We are a small country and this profession is one of family and camaraderie, so sharing time and food in this setting is just outstanding.
“We are all one, really, and I wouldn’t be able to do what I do in New York if I hadn’t been shown the way by these legends back home.
So for me when I shine, we all shine together. I love my country and my journey, which is all by way of New Zealand. Showcasing the motherland and using amazing Kiwi products has become my special move so to be rewarded for essentially doing what I love is joyous.”
On cooking back here, Lambert explained he’d had to adjust much of what he did, as our products are so flavoursome. In his words, “I think in the future, New Zealand will be a real force to be reckoned with in terms of food globally. We chefs, especially the guys back home, are actually writing history in a very new food culture.
One hundred years from now, people will be making Bosley’s signature dishes, Meredith’s venison tartare, Scott’s salmon and Al Brown’s Mum’s ginger crunch. So enjoy the moment because we are shaping the future. And support your local talent!”
“What the company has created with this event is legendary,” says New York-based Kiwi chef Matt Lambert. “It’s genuinely striving to drive the whole industry forward. Was there any business discussed while we were cooking? No. It’s about people, place and community. These are passionate people who also love what they do; it’s not simply about selling fish. I’ve got some tough work this year to outdo last year, but I want to be the Michael Jordan of salmon!”
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