Cream of the crop

Brandon Lela'ulu from Prego. Photo / Babiche Martens

Outstanding maitre d'

Brandon Lela'ulu

Brandon has worked at Prego restaurant for the past 10 years as a maitre d' and, for the past 15 months as restaurant manager. A certified sommelier, he also writes the wine list. One of his first hospitality jobs was making sandwiches and muffins in a food hall. "Amazingly, some of my first customers from the sandwich bar are now Prego regulars, so I've been looking after them for about 17 years.

What's the best thing about your job? I love being part of a place where people come to relax, celebrate and be themselves and leave feeling that their day has been improved by this experience.

What's the worst thing? As Leonard Cohen once said "I ache in the places that I used to play."

What are the most important traits for a good maitre d'? You need lots of personality, a sense of humour is essential. Understand each customer's individual needs. The ability to control the dining experience of your diners. Think quick and have a back-up plan. Give support and encouragement to the people that you rely on, it cannot be done alone. Handle complaints as a gift from customers.

The best advice you have ever been given career-wise? Kelvin Gibson (Prego owner) quite simply said "A great maitre d' needs to be memorable" and entrusted me to develop my own style.

Who would you most love to walk through the doors to dine at Prego and why? I am always delighted when my partner walks through the front door.

Whose establishment would you most like to dine at and why? Take me back to Vue du Monde in Melbourne any day. The only time a dining experience was so great that it brought tears to my eyes.


Innovative chef

Sid Sahrawat

Sid Sahrawat trained as a chef in India and worked in the Middle East before coming to NZ eight years ago. He worked at restaurants such as Anise in Wellington, The George in Parnell and, for the past two years, at The Grove in the central city. In this remarkably short time he has made an impressive mark on the local food scene.

What inspires your innovation? The hunger to challenge myself constantly and customers; their palate as well as mine.

What's the most innovative thing you have done recently? Roquefort cheesecake. In the tasting menu, we always struggled to come up with something different for the cheese course. Roquefort icecream with a hint of truffle is served with red wine gel, cheesecake crumbs and a red wine syrup.

What is the Sid Sahrawat signature trade mark? Retaining an element of mystery to food. Less is more; the menu reads simple but the details lie in the food and its execution.

The best advice you have ever been given career-wise? Never be scared to dream and to turn those dreams to reality.

Who would you most love to walk through the doors at The Grove? Grant Achatz from Alinea (in Chicago) because I admire his food and would like to know what he thinks of mine.

Plans/dreams for the future? Owning my own restaurant some day...


Outstanding sommelier

Julien Le Quere

Julien Le Quere moved from Versailles to Bordeaux with the plan to play golf full-time but instead ended up studying wine. He worked as wine broker for a Saint Emilion Negociant before moving to NZ where, three years ago, he saw a gap in the market and opened winebar Winehot.

What's the best thing about your job? Making people happy by helping them discover something new.

The best advice you have ever been given career-wise? Be open-minded wine and food wise, taste everything you can...

What are you personally enjoying drinking at the moment and why? The last bottle that blew me away was a Cote-Rotie from Rene Rostaing. And a straight merlot from central Otago, which I tried for the first time in the vineyard owner's living room in Bannockburn.

How do NZ wine drinkers compare to Europe? Kiwis tend to focus on grape variety... because of the way NZ wine is marketed. But unfortunately they then tend to stay with the varieties they know.

When did you first come to NZ and how has the wine scene changed in that time? I arrived a bit more than four years ago and since then I have the feeling that vineyard and winemaker are more and more understanding of their terroir and what grape variety work best on their land.


Outstanding waiter

Marie Colosimo

Marie Colosimo worked in restaurants from a very young age, with her first serious position at One Tree Grill when she was 15. From there she moved to The Grove for a couple of years before running some family restaurants in Melbourne. She returned to NZ and worked at The Goven, Molten and then at Meredith's, where she has been since it opened. She has just opened her own restaurant, Scalini's, in St Heliers.

What's the best thing about your job? Having a job which involves everything I love and am passionate about.

What's the worst thing? Right now I would have to say the want for a bigger challenge, it's easy to work comfortably as a waiter once you have been somewhere for a while, there is always learning but sometimes the need for more stimulation gets the better of you, then you make crazy decisions!

What do you think are the most important traits in a good waiter? Personality, knowledge, care for the job and the ability to read customers, whether they want a laugh, chat or to be left to themselves.

Who would you most love to sit at one of your tables and why? Myself, because I always wonder if I'm an annoying customer!

Plans/dreams for the future? Keep this restaurant going for a couple of years then have a big holiday in Europe!