Peter Gordon Is Opening a Cooking School, Dining Room and Community Space in Auckland
Learn how to create the perfect Sunday roast and try the chef's famed Turkish eggs at this new 'food embassy'.
2020 has certainly seen its fair share of new restaurants. In line with their move back from London, restauranteur Peter Gordon and his partner Alastair Carruthers are putting their names behind a new Auckland opening — but rather than plunking more seats in a dining room, the pair are launching what is being called "New Zealand's first food embassy."
The idea for Homeland came to life as the hospitality power couple saw how many small independent growers and producers were struggling in the thick of the COVID-19 outbreak.
"We knew we could use our skills and networks to connect those producers with markets at home and overseas," says Carruthers.
The overarching goal of the social enterprise is to connect food and people — and boost local trade. The result is a cooking school, dining room, food innovation hub, film studio and community space in Wynyard Quarter. The cooking school, which will open to the public in January, will focus on "tummy-hugging food you would eat everyday," with chef masterclasses on the side.
That might mean learning how to make the famed cheese scones from Gordon's The Providores in London, plus a couple of sweet treats from his hit list. Further, you might be interested in learning how to make salads from seasonal produce, how to add more pulses and grains into your cooking, how to slap together the perfect Sunday roast, or how to handle fresh fish. On weekends, the classes will encourage families to come and cook together.
The waterside dining room, which is scheduled to open on Thursday, 19 November, will spotlight different producers every four to six weeks. There'll be clams by way of Cloudy Bay, vegetables from Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae and raw milk paneer from MooDew. Diners can also experience 'greatest hit' dishes from Gordon's repertoire, like Turkish eggs and a paua toasted sandwich.
Innovation days for producers will workshop recipes and food technology, and there will be community days where different migrant communities share recipes and food culture.
"We always wanted to do something like this, and now seems just the right time. We're very excited about the launch of the dining room, innovation hub and community days this month and the cooking school in the new year. We've had an incredible team who have moved fast to help make a concept a reality and we can't wait to share it with Aotearoa and the Pacific."
Homeland can be found at Pier 21, 11 Westhaven Drive, Auckland. The dining hall will open on 19 November, 2020, and the ribbon will be cut on the cooking school on 6 January, 2021. For more information, visit homelandnz.com.
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