Why did you become a chef?
I started my journey as a chef at a young age after I dropped out of school. By age 17, I had completed an apprenticeship in 1999 at Cibo in Parnell, Auckland.
Tell us about your career.
After I completed my apprenticeship, I went on to work at most of Auckland’s top restaurants at the time. I spent about a year or so in each — as a standard chef does — and these restaurants included The French Cafe, Kermadec, SPQR, Rocco Bistro, Prego and Antoine’s. Eventually I grew tired of Auckland and decided to head up north to Russell where I was sous chef of Kamarura and, later, the spectacular Eagles Nest. After a while, the same thing happened up north and so I decided to take on Asian fusion cuisine for Chow in Wellington.
The next step on my journey was as head chef in Auckland, running two sites on the Viaduct and one in Takapuna. I then headed to Queenstown to take over The Bunker before immigrating to Australia to try something completely new and challenge myself in a new market.
However, the food scene I walked into there wasn’t very inviting and I found many of the chefs to be poorly trained. I started to consult for restaurants in Perth instead and opened three restaurants there where I designed and trained teams, menus, systems, and operations.
After that, I moved to Broome and opened 18 degrees, a refined Tapas-style restaurant. We were easily the best in the west!
I have also worked in Southeast Asia when I spent a year travelling through the area and in Japan for a season. I’ve been lucky to travel all over the world tasting food to refine my palate and imagination. From Michelin 3-Star restaurants to small street food stalls, I love getting a taste of everything.
What is your food philosophy?
I cook for love of produce and sustainability. I respect what I take from this earth and use every possible part with no waste.
How long have you been in Queenstown?
I headed to Queenstown in 2008 when I started to miss the fine dining style of cooking. At this time, I decided to take on head chef of The Bunker with a local hospitality legend, Cameron Mitchell. We worked seamlessly together like a well-oiled machine. At the time The Bunker wasn’t very busy, and we set out to change that. We spent nearly three years on our mission but once I felt I’d done the best I could with The Bunker I headed to Australia to try something new. I moved back to Queenstown in 2017.
When did you buy The Bunker?
Cameron offered me an amazing opportunity to be an owner and chef at The Bunker. The time we had worked together previously was a time that I cherished so when it felt right, I made the decision to move home and have been here ever since.
What is your goal for the restaurant?
The Bunker has always been my baby. I have loved the freedom to cook and create with an abundance of amazing locally sourced produce, specialty game and southern seafood. I love the service, the style and the atmosphere. Cameron has always had a keen eye for detail and the food so working at The Bunker has always been enjoyed rather than worked.
What is involved in matching food to wine?
I am always keen on new events, creations and opportunities to showcase what we do best here. And working with one the most iconic wine makers in New Zealand is always a pleasure.
I plan to bring to life the sensory experiences with some of the best dishes we have here such as my paua tortellini and venison loin which are two dishes that will be great winners for this experience. Of course, I will be adapting all dishes to work best with the Church Road wines that are on offer that night.
TO SEE
Church Road’s The Feast of Five — five senses, five courses, five ways to rediscover wine to celebrate the winery’s 125 years, The Bunker, Queenstown, August 24, 2022.
GIVEAWAY
Fresh has two tickets to The Feast of Five in Queenstown on August 24 which features Church Road chief winemaker Chris Scott and multisensory explorer, Dr Jo Burzynska along with chef Ben Norfolk’s five course dinner. Send your contact details to playtime@odt.co.nz by August 20 to be in the draw.
Paua tortellini
Serves 15-20 people
Ingredients
Pasta:
15 yolks free range eggs
2 whole eggs
½ teaspoon salt
30ml extra virgin olive oil
500g-550g OO flour, dependent on size of eggs.
Paua mix:
300g whole fresh paua .
200g finely diced shallots
60g confit garlic
500 ml of heavy cream
100g finely chopped Italian parsley.
25g finely chopped coriander.
Zest of 2 lemons
Seasoning
Kina cream:
2 large leeks, finely sliced
3 onions, finely diced
120g kina
1 litre of clear fish stock
Seasoning
Method
Paua
Sousvide at 84degC for 36 hours, then finely dice.
Sweat shallots until sweet. Squash garlic into a paste.
Add cream, herbs and zest and heat until thick.
Pasta
Cut the pasta (this makes it easier to work with) into two and keep one piece under a tea towel so it does not dry out.
Roll the pasta gradually through a pasta machine to a thickness of 1–2mm (the thinnest setting) and flour the work surface liberally.
Use an 8cm pastry cutter to cut out circles of the pasta. Keep the pasta you are not using covered by tea towel.
To make the tortellini, place a teaspoon of your filling in the centre of a circle and moisten the edge with a very small amount of water using a pastry brush.
Gently fold the pasta over and seal at the top. Work your fingers down the edges to seal, pushing out any air bubbles as you go.
Take the corners of the pasta and bring together around your little finger and press together to seal.
Repeat until have used all the pasta and filling, storing them on a floured tray until you are ready to cook them.
Kina cream
Saute leeks and onions until soft but not brown. Add kina and fish stock.
Reduce all ingredients together by half.
Bind with heavy cream, reduce again by half, then blend in a food processor or upright blender until smooth and season.
To finish
To cook the tortellini, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, gently stir the water to create a whirlpool and drop in the tortellinis. Don’t overcrowd the pan and cook in batches if you need to
Cook for 3–4 minutes then drain and toss in a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking.
Add to kina cream and finish with grana padano and micro coriander.
Recipe from Ben Norfolk, The Bunker
