27 Dec 2017

Best features of 2017: the chefs

10:02 am on 23 February 2023

The language of food.

Rick Stein: the marvels of Mexican food

The Mexican city of Monterrey, 1968… a 21-year-old Englishman named Rick Stein orders a taco that is to change his life.

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Photo: James Murphy

Kelda Hains: 'I'm not into 'art on a plate'

Kelda Hains is part of the team behind the new Wellington restaurant Rita. She also has a cookbook out, named after the popular cafe she co-owns, Nikau.

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Photo: Supplied

Yotam Ottolenghi reveals his sweet side

The Israeli-British chef and restauranteur worked with one of the best bakers he knows, Helen Goh, on the new cookbook Sweet, which includes recipes for 'Ottolenghified' Anzac biscuits and pavlova.

Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh Photo: supplied

Sam Kass: the activist chef

Sam Kass cooked for the Obamas in the White House for six years and served as President Obama's senior adviser for nutrition policy.

Chef, Sam Kass

Chef, Sam Kass Photo: twitter

Robert Oliver: The Pasifika food revolution

With Auckland's first downtown Pacific restaurant Kai Pasifika now up and running, chef Robert Oliver is planning his next move - a Pacific Islands food campaign which will include a reality TV cooking competition.

Robert Oliver is being honoured for his services to the food industry and Pacific communities.

Robert Oliver is being honoured for his services to the food industry and Pacific communities. Photo: Supplied

Al Brown revisits Kiwi food classics

Shepherd-turned-chef Al Brown shot to prominence on the local culinary scene in the mid-1990s with his Logan Brown restaurant in Wellington. He tells Kim Hill New Zealanders should be wonderfully proud of our traditional food culture.

Al Brown by Josh Griggs

Al Brown by Josh Griggs Photo: supplied

Charcuterie queen brings Italy to the Wairarapa

Rachel Priestley had a successful career in Europe as a chef and restaurateur and it was while working in Italy that she developed a passion for traditional curing.

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Photo: supplied

Maria Parsons

Maria Parsons, 58, is a retired chef who lives on the Otago Peninsula with her dog Carlos and cat Socks.

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Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

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