Auckland Chefs Shake Up the Pans

“Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland gets the glutton’s share of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most talented chefs,” Joanna Bates writes for the Australian Financial Review. “And in 2020, they rose to new culinary heights with a run of openings that gave locals more options than chefs have tattoos.” Bates visits eight of the city’s “hottest” new eateries, interviewing the star chefs, including Onslow’s Josh Emett.

“Emett comes as close as you can get to celebrity status in the relatively humble cheffing world of New Zealand,” Bates writes for AFR. “Following a decade working with Gordon Ramsay in London, Emett returned to realise his own culinary dreams and carve out his profile.

“His most recent venture, Onslow, offers a politely sophisticated dining environment where you’d be comfortable hosting the in-laws, or clients. Emett’s high-end bistro fare introduces Kiwi classics he has given a French polish.”

Some other mentions include, former New York City-based chef Matt Lambert, of The Musket Room fame; Ahi; The French Café; and Ed Verner chef-owner of Pasture and Boxer bar.

Original article by Joanna Bates, Australian Financial Review, October 12, 2021.