When I first met Katie – it was at Hello Beasty — I was with one of my favourite lunching sidekicks, Courteney Peters and we both felt sure we’d met her before. Turns out we hadn’t but instead, had just witnessed what true hospitality looks like. That sort of soft but confident, personable service that makes you feel right at home and cared for in an absolute instant. Sort of like if your Mum has grabbed your onesie from the dryer and popped you into a bed made of freshly cleaned flannel shee...

For this chat, Pete and I had the distinct pleasure of sitting across the table from wine folk Pen Naish and Nicholas Brown of Black Estate. The monochrome cool of black and white might underpin this winery but colour oozes from every corner. Neither of these two started out destined for a job in wine but, like most vignerons in Aotearoa, wine found them. When Pen’s Dad stood in a paddock in North Canterbury, the vibes felt right and a deep, honest discussion ensued around establi...

For regular listeners to this channel, you’ll know the city of Hamilton features frequently in our Not Serious Chats. I’ve threatened to record a chat here for a while and the lads behind some of the best eateries in the joint generously swapped a management meeting for a sit down with me — and boy did they bring it. Mat Pedley, Alex Hudson and John Moughan are the three musketeers intent on delivering humble hospitality to Hamilton like no one else. The brains behind a number of...

Succession — it’s not just one of the best tele shows ever created, it’s also something of a challenge when it comes to the wine world of Aotearoa. I recently wrote a piece on how the future of NZ wine might need to look a lot more collaborative as opposed to inherited, and as if to really double down on the idea, our guests for today have embraced both. They’ve only gone and collaborated to make a really special, actually quite spectacular, wine together from the magical fruits of the Two Te...

I had never met Dave but he was born in Dunedin, Otago — and so was I. We bonded quickly over Mosgiel’s Hollywood sign. If you’re from Melbourne, Dave probably needs no introduction. He’s the chef and co-owner of Embla, a wine bar that’s not just popular but cult-following popular. A lot of Not Serious chats seem to involve our guest being in the right place at the right time and Dave is no exception. After a couple of years of kicking off kitchen life in Wellington, Dave meet Che...

Ashleigh Barrowman and I first met in Marlborough — Waterfall Bay to be precise. We were hosting hospo folk and wine retailers for a few days foray into MANA Winegrowers — a Marlborough collective of like-minded producers hell bent on sharing the love of the region through the lens of organic farming. At that time, Seresin was still a MANA member, which meant we had the very good fortune of kicking back in the bach of winery owner and Hollywood famous DOP, Michael Seresin (If you’ve watched D...

The funny thing with social media is you can have these online relationships with people but never ever physically meet them. Paul Pujol was one of those blokes for me. Almost every restaurateur I knew raved about the man and couldn’t believe I’d never met him. Thanks to that raving, voyeuristic portal that is Instagram, to be honest, I sort of thought I had. Turns out I hadn’t — until we had this not serious chat. There are some people you should never meet. You know the saying, “neve...

Today on Not Serious Wine Chats, Pete and John and I sit down with Jannine Rickards (Ngāpuhi & Ngāi the Rangi) from Huntress Wines. I first met Jannine when she was the winemaker at Urlar in Gladstone, a sub-region of the Wairarapa. This part of the country clearly resonates for Jannine as Huntress shifts from a side hustle to the main act. This wonderful wahine still sources fruit and makes wine in this North Island neighbourhood. The name Huntress comes from an extremel...

I recently had the pleasure of parking up in the Cabana at Black Barn in Hawkes Bay and riffing on wine life with wine writer Elaine Chukan Brown. I say wine writer but actually they are much more than simply that. Elaine’s wine journey started in earnest in 2011 but it’s the life they had in the lead up to then that brings a richness and depth and, at times great humour, to this chat. Originally from Alaska, Elaine now calls Sonoma, California home and to spice things up they roc...

Once again we step outside the winery and step up to the pass to grab a plate of goodness with two of Aotearoa’s finest hospo folk, Rebecca Smidt & Dariush Lolaiy of Cazador Restaurant & Deli and San Ray all day eatery. I’ve had the privilege of calling Bex and Dariush pals for a number of years now and it was a special treat to get them in the hot seat to hear how hospo life brought them together, first as teenagers and friends and then onto lovers, restaurant co-owners and the...