Over the last 29 years, Andrew Brown has operated at the peak of the hospitality industry. Brown’s career has seen him work at the Dunedin Club and the Nor’Wester as Head Chef, and at the George Hotel and Millennium Hotel as Executive Chef. “In recent years my focus has been fixed on developing personal business and brand development with shared invested interest through gourmet burger outlets,” he said. The burger joint in question is Burgers and Beers Inc, on Christchurch’s Colombo Street, a company for which Brown served as director. “At the end of 2015 we also opened Dragons Den Social Lounge, which offered a premium tier to the portfolio of businesses.”
Throughout his career, he has catered for royalty, the US Secretary of State, musicians and film stars, and has also appeared as a guest chef on Masterchef NZ. He was twice named Beef and Lamb Ambassador, was a top 3 finalist in the Hotel Catering International Management Association’s Young Hotel and/or Catering Manager of the Year Award, and was named Outstanding Canterbury Chef.
However, alongside his stellar career as a chef, he has also worked behind the scenes in a number of roles. He has worked as an industry consultant in kitchen management and food assessment, helping restaurants develop recipes, train staff and menu rollout training with front of house. He has also worked in food production. “I returned from America with the idea of developing a product that was readily available in the US but had not been available commercially in New Zealand,” he said. “So I developed the concept of growing microgreens with a hydroponic capsicum farmer (Kipp’s Patch) in Christchurch, who took it from concept to production.” Brown also assisted in brand promotion, and Kipp’s Patch is now one of New Zealand’s premier microgreen producers.
His most recent role is Product and Brand Development Manager at United Fisheries, a family-owned fisheries business in Christchurch. After humble beginnings as a fish and chip shop, United Fisheries has gone on to become one of the country’s largest fisheries, complete with processing plants, quotas, farms and a fair few people. With United Fisheries, Brown has been developing recipes and aiding in food styling and image production.
