Pete’s philiophsy is deeply rooted in his relationship with nature and experiencing other cultures through a lifetime of travels
Peter began his career as a chef by training at Regency Park College in Adelaide, South Australia, during the late 1970s. For three years, Peter worked under acclaimed chefs Max Fuss, a tutor at Regency park College and Nigel Bateman, formerly of 'La Gavoroche’, the London Michelin three star restaurant made famous by the Roux brothers. He followed this formal education by spending 18 months travelling through south east Asia, exploring and developing his own understanding of Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine.
After working extensively in Sydney, Peter moved to Queenstown, New Zealand with his young family. International recognition quickly followed after the launch of Saffron in 1999, within a year Condi Nast magazine voted Saffron as one of the top hundred new restaurants in the world. Following the success of Saffron, Peter went onto open The Blue Door, a wine bar ,and Pesto, the sister restaurant to Saffron.
The road to establishing Saffron as a local institution involved regularly hosted leading lights in various fields, including local and international stars of the entertainment industry, the 3 past prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, foreign diplomats and heads of state, as well as royalty and visiting dignitaries.
Whilst running the Saffron Restaurant group, Peter found it imperative to stay abreast of contemporary trends whilst immersing himself in a deeper understanding of various ethnic cuisines. He travelled for research often, taking him to Delhi where he worked as a guest chef at the Taj Mahal Hotel. He visited Morocco and worked under chef Mohad Fidel at Mohad’s Restaurant near the Grand Souk in Marrakesh, acclaimed by many as one of Morocco’s leading chefs. Following the Nordic food movement, Pete staged at Villa vest in Denmark.
To further his mastery Pete studied at the Chengdu Institute of Higher Cuisine in Southern China’s Chengdus’ Szechuan province. After enlisting a private translator, he became the first westerner to do so since the acclaimed American chef Fushia Dunlop.
In 2017, Pete and his partner sold the Saffron Restaurant Group after a commendable 17 years owner-operating the successful businesses. Now, Pete focuses on private dining and is the Executive Chef at The Headwaters Lodge.
During his career, Random House suggested Peter write about the evolution of his cuisine in the south island of New Zealand, and over several years, he wrote two beautiful cookbooks. the first ‘Saffron’ , upon its release, became a best seller.
It was by ‘The Taste of Central Otago’ these books captured in print his passion for fossicking the local country side for wild and organically grown produce, while illustrating how the stark seasonal variations made cooking in Otago, New Zealand both challenging and rewarding.
