Gwyneth Paltrow reveals her crush on Kiwi chef Josh Emett

New Zealand chef Josh Emett and Gwyneth Paltrow have connected over a shared love of food. Photo / New Zealand Herald; Getty Images

The two stars got together in the kitchen, rustling up steak, squash and hasselback spuds. The Goop founder divulged all in a recent newsletter, also dishing about her ‘crush’ on the New Zealand chef.

Leading New Zealand chef Josh Emett has built a food empire – recently opening Gilt with wife Helen, which joins Onslow and The Oyster Inn – and fed an array of stars along the way, cooking for big names David Beckham, Kate Moss and Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart, and rubbing shoulders with celebrities like US singer Khalid. And now there’s another A-lister in their midst: Gwyneth Paltrow.

The wellness entrepreneur is a famous foodie and has released five cookbooks – two of which, It’s All Good and It’s All Easy, Emett has said he uses – information he revealed in an exchange on Instagram early last year.

Though their friendship isn’t new – the bourgeoning admiration was revealed last year – Paltrow shared more about it in a recent newsletter from Goop, the expansive lifestyle and wellness company she founded in 2008.

“I’ve had a chef crush on Josh Emett for a little over a year,” she wrote in the dispatch, detailing a meal she had with Emett and his family recently.

Paltrow explained that she hosted him for a family dinner when Emett was visiting the US and, in what for many people would be an intimidating experience, she also welcomed him into the kitchen.

“Josh showed me the reverse-sear method he likes to use at home for prime rib, and the key to his go-to steak sauce,” she shares. “I contributed a butternut squash from my garden, which Josh immediately had an elegant vision for roasting and garnishing. Every bite was outstanding.”

Josh and Helen Emett outside Gilt on Auckland's O'Connell St.

And in a full-circle moment from their initial connection, Paltrow told readers that they also made Emett’s hasselback potatoes recipe, which she says made her “fall for” his cooking in the first place.

The dish in question traces back to March 2023, when Paltrow took to Instagram to share a meal she’d made from Emett’s recipe. “Last night’s hasselback potatoes from this cute chef I found here on Instagram,” she wrote in the post.

Emett, ever the savvy celebrity chef, quickly noticed and reposted Paltrow’s work, even giving feedback (he was a MasterChef judge after all): “I’d give those a solid 10/10 @gwynethpaltrow.”

Coast Breakfast host Toni Street quizzed Emett about the exchange on air, and he said he’d noticed Paltrow had started following him on Instagram a few weeks prior. “She’s into all sorts of food,” he said. “For her to post something was fantastic.”

And with both foodies having multiple books and television appearances behind them, can we expect them to team up on a more public collaboration?

Perhaps they’ve got something cooking.

Emma Gleason is the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers entertainment and culture.