Good will Gordon 'THE MEAL I'M MOST PROUD OF

The Kiwi chef's delectable dishes are literally saving lives

- Rebekah Hebenton

For most of his career, acclaimed Kiwi chef Peter Gordon has been on a mission to promote Aotearoa’s produce on the world stage. But after watching our local food industry crumble under the strain of Covid, Peter has returned to help remind Kiwis of the delicious kai in our own backyards.

“I thought about what I wanted to do now I’m home and I knew it had to be something to help the country,” he asserts.

After 31 years of living in London, Peter, who started the popular Sugar Club restaurants, decided at the end of 2019 it was time to come home to be closer to his family.

When the pandemic spread around the world, he rushed back to our shores, arriving two days before the borders closed in March 2020. Peter and his partner Alastair Carruthers, who was recently appointed the Chair of the NZ Film Commission, spent their first weeks here glued to the news, watching as the local food and hospitality industry became crippled.

They knew they wanted to help rebuild, so the idea of Homeland was born. Based in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, it’s a restaurant and community hub that hosts cooking classes, and a retail space to bring the best produce from around the country to customers.

“I said I didn’t ever want to do another restaurant because they’re just too hard – and we’ve ended up setting up the largest restaurant I’ve ever had,” Peter laughs. “Our aim with Homeland is that within two years, we won’t use any ingredient that’s not from Aotearoa or the Pacific. It’s about helping our whānau, the team of fi ve million.”