Peter Gordon (chef)

Early life

Born in the coastal town of Wanganui, New Zealand, Gordon is of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tahu descent. After moving to Melbourne in 1981, completing a four-year cookery apprenticeship and working as a chef in various restaurants, his spirit of adventure and culinary curiosity led him to travel through Asia for a year from Indonesia through to India. This life-changing experience was to become a major influence on his culinary style, which is now called Fusion. In 1986, he moved back to Wellington, New Zealand to become the Head Chef at the original The Sugar Club. The restaurant was an unprecedented success and the role cemented Peter’s career as a chef. In 1989 Peter moved to London where he gradually introduced his eclectic cooking style, and won wide acclaim for his food at the two London branches.

Career

Gordon set up the kitchen of the original "Sugar Club" restaurant in Wellington, New Zealand in 1986. After two years running the hugely successful outlet, Peter made the move to London. Working in several UK restaurants, a private country home and event catering, he set up the British kitchens of The Sugar Club in London's Notting Hill (1995) and West Soho (1998). In 1996, the Notting Hill restaurant won a Time Out award for Best Modern British Restaurant, and an Eros award from the Evening Standard for Best Pacific Rim Restaurant. The Soho restaurant was voted Best Central London Restaurant in 1999 in the Time Out Restaurant Awards.

On 11th December 2016, Chef Gordon presented the "Food Hour: Southern China" episode on the U.S. series Globe Trekker, a travel and adventure programme which aims to offer exotic locales, peoples, foods, traditions, and customs. Globe Trekker airs on the American non-profit, viewer-supported TV network PBS. The episode centered on the cuisine of southern China's Guangdong Province and very large provincial capital city of Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, which gave the world its beloved Cantonese cuisine.

In 2001, he set up The Providores and Tapa Room Restaurant on Marylebone High Street with his current business partner Michael McGrath and two other partners. McGrath and Gordon are now sole owners of the business, which celebrated its 15th birthday in August 2016.

In 2004, he set up the "dine by Peter Gordon" restaurant in the SKYCITY Grand Hotel in Auckland followed soon by the Bellota tapas bar in 2006. In July 2013, dine by Peter Gordon was closed to make way for the fourth iteration of "The Sugar Club" in the SKYCITY Hotel in Auckland, at the top of the SKY Tower.

Peter is also a co-founder of artisan doughnut company Crosstown Doughnuts, which launched in London in April 2014.

He has appeared on British television, on programmes such as Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch and Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver’s Channel 4 food series, as well as being a guest judge on MasterChef New Zealand. Most recently, he presented and was the executive producer of Native Kitchen (TV3 and Māori Television in NZ), a 10-part TV series in which he mentored a group of aspiring, young Māori chefs through a 10-day culinary boot camp. Peter has written eight books and contributed to a dozen others. His latest book, SAVOUR: Salads for all Seasons, was published in April 2016 by Jacqui Small.

In 1999, Peter was the first to receive the New Zealander Of The Year award from The New Zealand Society in London. In the 2009 New Year Honours Gordon was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the food industry by HM The Queen .

Commonly credited as the 'Godfather of Fusion' Peter resides in Hackney, London and travels back to New Zealand frequently.

Restaurants