Peter Gordon

Born in Whanganui, in 1963, Peter was schooled in the art of cooking by both his mother and grandmother, two people he often cites as personal heroes.

“Mum made the best slices, pav, slow roasts – all kinds of things. But when I was younger, it was my grandmother, my dad’s mum, who I learnt from. My parents divorced when I was four so we spent a lot of time with Gran. She always had full biscuit tins!”

Wishing to become a winemaker, Peter began a horticultural science degree at Massey University aged 17 but halfway through the year he moved to Australia, where he’d been told he’d find a better course – it was 1981 before New Zealand offered targeted viticulture. Plans changed and he embarked on a four-year apprenticeship through the Catering College of the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne, Australia. There, he honed his skills as a chef, learning the basics of French and European cuisine, and always questioning why he wasn’t taught other, more exotic cuisines. After completing his training in 1985, he spent a year travelling overland though Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. He credits that year with being “the greatest influence on my food philosophy”.

Peter returned to New Zealand in 1986 to set up the kitchen at the first iteration of The Sugar Club restaurant in Wellington, which was a huge success.

But it was his move to London in 1989 that marked the beginning of his meteoric rise to fame. After stints at Launceston Place, Frith Street, First Floor and Green Street, he once again set up the kitchen at The Sugar Club, in the bustling Notting Hill neighbourhood, in 1995.

The Sugar Club was unlike anything the London dining scene had seen before. Peter’s daring and eclectic menu featured a mix of European, Asian, and Pacific flavours, blending ingredients and techniques in exciting and unexpected ways. The restaurant was an instant hit, earning critical acclaim and a loyal following among food lovers and celebrities alike.

Over the years since, Peter has continued to push the boundaries of fusion cuisine, opening several successful restaurants, such as The Providores and Tapa Room in London, and Dine by Peter Gordon and Bellota in Auckland. Each of these restaurants has its unique character, but they all reflect Peter’s passion for combining flavours from different cultures.

In 2020, Peter and his partner, Alastair Carruthers, returned to New Zealand. After more than 31 years of Peter living in London, they found a food and restaurant industry quickly buckling under the pressures of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“We thought about what we wanted to do now we were home, and we knew it had to be something to help the country.”

In November that year, they opened Homeland, on Auckland’s beautiful waterfront – a restaurant they describe as ‘a food embassy to support New Zealand producers, teach people to cook, buy local, and share recipes from their homelands – and tell trade stories to the world’.

They offered exquisite dining and cooking workshops that celebrated and promoted the very best of Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique produce, providing a community hub for local producers to sell their wares.

“Our aim is that, within three years, we won’t use any ingredient that’s not from Aotearoa or the Pacific. We’re trying to wean ourselves off soy sauce because they don’t make that here. We have sunflower and rapeseed oils from Canterbury, salt from the Karikari Peninsula, coconut oil from Fiji, peppercorns from Vanuatu, chocolate from the Solomon Islands, vanilla from Tonga, pine nuts from Marlborough. It’s nothing to do with lining our own pockets, it’s about helping our whānau, the team of five million.”

As well as his work as a chef and restaurateur, Peter is also an accomplished author, having written eight popular cookbooks, including The Sugar Club Cookbook, Fusion: A Culinary Journey and Savour.

Peter’s contributions to the hospitality industry have not gone unnoticed. In 1999, he was the first person to receive the New Zealander of the Year Award from the New Zealand Society in London. In 2009, he was made Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the food industry (awarded at Windsor Castle by Her Majesty the Queen, no less).

Peter is also a committed advocate for sustainable food practices, serving as an ambassador to KiwiHarvest, ensuring no-one goes hungry.

Peter has supported many charitable, arts, culture and nationally significant causes. He conceived the annual culinary event ‘Who’s Cooking Dinner?’ in the UK to raise funds for blood cancer research. That and its Auckland equivalent ‘Dining for a Difference’ have since raised over $17 million in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Peter Gordon’s impact on the food industry in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the world is hugely significant.

He has inspired many chefs and home cooks to explore the limitless possibilities of blending different culinary traditions, and his influence can be seen in kitchens around the world. Despite his impressive list of accomplishments, Peter remains humble, committed to creating delicious food that brings joy to people’s lives. For Peter, cooking is not simply a job but a passion, and his dedication to his craft is evident in every dish he creates.