I have always loved to cook and now I particularly love seeing people enjoy what I create. Sharing with friends is what it is all about. I still remember when I was 4 years old and I would jump out of bed early, make toast with peanut butter and marmite and then proudly take it to mum in bed.
A recipe that sticks in my mind as a favourite dish from childhood is my mother’s sultana cake (which was actually passed down from my grandmother). It’s not a secret recipe though, I’m always happy to share recipes and see others creating and enjoying my dishes.
For me cooking has a sense of realness, it comes straight from my heart. I draw on things from my family heritage and New Zealand as a whole – I like to create dishes that I would consider iconicly kiwi, as that’s what I am.
While sharing ideas and drawing upon my heritage are important for me in my cooking – I also place a huge importance on sustainability. And I believe it will become even more important in the future.
Chefs need to be conscious of where their food is coming from but also how they are disposing of rubbish, which detergents they are using, does the product have recyclable packaging. Just today I was contacted by National Geographic to speak to me about sustainability in our restaurant, and I am immensely proud that this large international publication has recognised us as being a sustainably aware restaurant.
Quality product is always going to be important, but other things will also come into play, like where the product is from, it is a sustainable product, is the environment looked after while producing this. New, young chefs need to be taught these things and informed of the importance going forward. I still can’t understand why we produce fantastic scallops in the Nelson region but the majority is exported and we have to utilise imported scallops – seems crazy!
Popularity of salmon is increasing and it is always a popular dish on our menu (regardless of the season). It’s a mainstay menu item for us and Ōra King has promoted the idea of using all parts of the salmon, rather than throwing parts of it away, which many chefs are now picking up on. Each part is suited for different dishes, as they have different flavour/oil content and eating experience. Again it is all about being sustainably minded right through from producer to plate, and it’s great when my food values align with that of my suppliers.
It is so good to get together with like-minded people, chefs and producers alike. We don’t get the opportunity to come together very often, as we are all so busy, but when we do, it’s great and we all enjoy sharing ideas and having a laugh.
Shaun Clouston.
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