Someone once said to Marie Penny as a teenager that the best career choice is finding something you are good at and doing it every day. Whilst growing up in Carterton, Penny was heavily influenced by her Mother’s work in the kitchen.
“My mother is such a wonderful cook and baker, and she would patiently teach me basic cooking techniques from a young age, and I soon began baking on my own on weekend afternoons after netball or soccer and cooking the family dinner on occasion.”
She moved to Wellington once qualified and worked in several fine dining restaurants before spending two years aboard, first working backstage at festivals in England such as Glastonbury and Reading, and then touring with bands as personal chef backstage to Coldplay, Duran Duran, KT Tunstall, Take That and Snoop Dogg.
Upon her return to New Zealand, Penny became the Head Chef at the White House restaurant, and in 2014 became Head Chef at Dockside, a larger venue on Queens Wharf. A few years later, she became the Executive Chef managing the kitchen at Bin44. When the Waterfront Bar & Kitchen was purchased in 2022, where Penny is now Executive Chef over three venues.
“I spend some of my week on admin tasks and the rest in the kitchens working with my talented and hardworking teams to develop new dishes and provide training and upskilling for new chefs. I still love the challenge of running a busy service on a Friday night too,” added Penny.
“We’ve taken some of our favourite dishes from Dockside and Bin44 and built these into our offering in Raumati. We have been warmly welcomed to the Kapiti Coast by the local community and look forward to revealing each stage of renovations as they happen.”
Penny said although it’s hard for her to choose, she loves Italian, Thai, and French cuisine. On her menu at Dockside is a handmade Chevre ravioli which guests won’t let her take off the menu. Penned added that she can get inspired by what’s in season and by following new food trends and cooking techniques.
“I can create a new dish from just one new exciting seasonal ingredient or new product. I really enjoy creating new dishes for the three different styles of venues and for our customer's different tastes.”
Penny said that there are fewer chefs entering the industry, partly due to some classes being unable to be run as they were in pre-covid times, but said that the most important thing is that staff are still well trained and knowledgeable.
