There are changes afoot at the NZChefs organisation as new Auckland president Grant Kitchen slips into the role. Not only is he passionate about the industry, he has a drive to encourage youngsters into the culinary business and broaden the scope of the organisation.
“It’s critical that we get a much broader range of chefs back on board but we have to give them a reason and a purpose to join up. There is plenty of both established and young talent out there and our organisation needs to nurture them,” he said.
Kitchen believes there are plenty of good people in the industry including the top-drawer celebrity chefs who could contribute as mentors and this networking with them is already underway.
NZChefs is currently undergoing its first real changes in many years with the prospect of a new secretariat, new offices and fresh ideas that will further encourage youth development.
The Feilding born and bred Kitchen originally targeted the law as an occupation but soon moved to Wellington where he began hospitality training at the Park Royal. After a series of cheffing roles in the capital, it was back to Palmerston North where he opened his first restaurant, the old Salvation Army premises called The Citadel.
With a growing family, stability was the key and he began teaching at UCOL before being headhunted to the Army kitchens at Waiouru for a couple of years. From there to the Novotel in Rotorua where he was F&B manager followed by a stint as executive chef at the Novotel back in Palmerston North.
The moves continued to Napier for three years, to Ohakea airbase as catering and hospitality manager and finally to Auckland in 2009. Kitchen had prominent roles at a number of Auckland establishments including the Marble Grill, the Empire Tavern, Pinot Plus, No 5 and Le Chef.
He recently sold his own historic Lakehouse Café in Takapuna and in the past month has devoted his time to running the Hospitality Championships as salon director for the third year in a row.
It is this role where the focus is on youth that he is directing the future of NZChefs. He believes the industry needs a positive shake-up and fresh people to drive it forward.
“There is plenty of young talent out there but our current problem is resolving the low intake into training establishments. There has been a lot of talk but we need action to solve this problem.”
“Good things are happening out there such as the Kids Can Cook programme but more mentoring in secondary schools is vital. There are some great ideas but we just need to get on with it – certainly it is the major industry challenge,” he said.
