Top New Zealand chefs

Kiwi celebrity chef Peter Gordon has spent over 20 years ensuring New Zealand cuisine is on the world stage. Now based in Auckland, Peter and his partner Alastair have established what is known to be a New Zealand food embassy. The pair started Homeland(opens in new window) to support New Zealand producers, teach people cooking skills, support local food producers, share recipes from their homelands, and tell food stories to the world.

Arguably, New Zealand’s best-known chef, Peter Gordon, became known as ‘the father of fusion cuisine’ after pioneering the blend of Eastern and Western cuisine styles in the eighties. Gordon, who is of Māori descent and hails from Whanganui on the North Island’s west coast, lived in London for 20 years before moving home to New Zealand in 2020. While in London, he worked with a string of critically acclaimed restaurants around the globe, including the famed The Providores and Tapa Room.

Visit Homeland

New Zealand chef Josh Emett has 30 years of experience and impeccable credentials, working in London, New York, Los Angeles and Melbourne with Gordon Ramsey. Emett's rise to chef stardom has taken him on a global journey to some of the most famous and highly acclaimed eating establishments, where he’s worked with top international chefs, judged MasterChef New Zealand and wowed the rich and famous with his culinary talents.

In February 2020 The Emetts took the reins of The Oyster Inn, the Waiheke institution that’s their first solely-owned restaurant in New Zealand. In October 2020, Josh and Helen opened Onslow, on the ground floor of the International residential building. Situated in the heart of central Auckland, Onslow(opens in new window) is a must-do dining experience that showcases Emett's culinary journey from New York to London and back to Aotearoa.

Dine at Onslow

One of New Zealand’s most celebrated chefs with many cookbooks and awards to her name, Langbein promotes a healthy, less complicated way of living, sustained by home-grown, fresh food that is easily prepared and lovingly shared - an example of how life ought to be.

Few cooks can perfect the garden to table cycle as effectively as Annabel Langbein – the New Zealand television chef whose fresh, simple approach to food and life has created an international following.

Learn more about Annabel

Alister Brown (better known as Al Brown), is a chef, TV presenter, writer and restaurant-owner and he is one of the best known faces of New Zealand cuisine. 

Since co-founding an iconic Wellington restaurant in 1996, Al Brown's career has diversified into writing cookbooks, television cooking shows, producing food products and, most recently, the establishment of new eateries and food outlets in Auckland.

Now based in Auckland, Brown can be found in any one of his three trendy city centre establishments,  Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar(opens in new window), Best Ugly Bagels(opens in new window) and Federal Delicatessen(opens in new window). Depot and Federal are located in the Federal Street entertainment precinct adjacent to the Sky Tower, and Best Ugly is not far away within the new cafe hub at City Works Depot.

Al Brown and Company

Away from the television cameras, Masterchef judge Simon Gault is an entrepreneurial chef whose name is associated with a string of top New Zealand restaurants.

As executive chef at Euro(opens in new window) - one of the culinary stars on Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour waterfront strip - Gault saw his establishment included in prestigious US Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s list of top 50 restaurants in the world.

He is executive chef to the Nourish Group which includes day-to-day running of Euro Restaurant and Jervois Steak House(opens in new window) (Auckland); Bistro Lago(opens in new window) (Taupō); and Shed 5(opens in new window) and Pravda(opens in new window) restaurants (Wellington).

Read Simon's story