Food and wine friends

Josh Emett and Blair Walter both grew up on farms in rural dairy country in the Waikato. Two boys whose childhoods taught them to love and respect the land and all that it had to offer. Thirty-odd years later and they're both making their mark on the international scene. Josh as a leading chef, Blair as a winemaker. Here they share all that inspires them and their unique journeys which, next month, sees their paths cross for the first 2010 Winter Food and Wine Weekend at the luxury lodge The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay.

THE CHEF

Josh Emett is the man-of-the-moment on the ever-changing and dynamic Melbourne food scene. The 36-year-old heads the recently-opened kitchens of Gordon Ramsay's Maze and Maze Grill at the exclusive Crown complex on the South Bank. Here he oversees 40-50 chefs, looks after the hotel's food and beverage, runs the two restaurants and a section dedicated to pastries.

No walk in the park, but Josh's career has been an impressive ride. It has taken him from training in Auckland's restaurants to working at Melbourne's fine dining Est Est Est restaurant in the late 90s. A move to London resulted in him becoming part of the Ramsay stable, with stints at the Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's and The Savoy Grill (which won a Michelin star while he was there). In 2006 he moved to the United States, where he oversaw Ramsay's restaurants in New York and West Hollywood (which also won a Michelin star). After 10 years away, he is loving being back in Melbourne.

When I turned 13... my grandparents gave me a copy of an Alison Holst cookbook and I had already been doing a lot of cooking at home and this helped push me into being more adventurous. It also reminded me that it was okay for a farm boy to want to be in the kitchen cooking and something that I could definitely pursue as a career. I was always hungry, so it was an easy way to be able to make as many cakes and biscuits as I could eat.

The early days in my career saw me... making a lot of sacrifices I was not used to, going at it full throttle, burning the candle both ends and spending as much time in the kitchen as possible, travelling to Europe to see what else was out there and eating out as much as I could.

But I always wanted to head to England where... everything was so different to what I had experienced in New Zealand. It was about being out of your comfort zone and working in a kitchen where you had to learn fast. It was a melting pot full of a lot of different people from different nationalities all there for the same reason. For me the first few years there were about hard work but also seeing the world and opening my eyes to new things.

After a time, sweating my guts out back in Melbourne, I went to work for Gordon Ramsay in Britain when I was 26... and it was a very serious kitchen, said to be the toughest in Britain at the time, perfect for me - no bullshit and the focus was all about the food. I worked my way up the ranks in the kitchen very fast by getting my head down and being able to confidently deal with anything that was thrown at me.

I ended up running the Savoy Grill where... anyone who was anyone had dined over the last 110 years. We revamped the grill and gave it a new lease of life which it needed and deserved. It was not about changing things too much but enhancing the character that it already had. We received a Michelin star in the first seven months and great reviews, which was an amazing achievement.

The truth about working for Ramsay is... it's bloody hard work, always full on, and often hilarious. I have always had a lot of freedom and this helps make what I do enjoyable and challenging.

What it meant for my career was... it gave me a platform on which to perform and compete in one of the toughest industries at a very high level. I went on to open Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, Savoy Grill, move to NY and earning two Michelin stars there and then Gordon Ramsay in West Hollywood LA, where we earned a Michelin star also.

I am now in Melbourne where... I have been before, a city I know and love that has a great food culture, closer to New Zealand and my family, where I am hoping to open my own restaurant in the next few years in an iconic location.

My favourite ingredients I love working with at the moment are... the wide variety of local fish and shellfish that are available around New Zealand and Australia - barramundi, southern rock lobster, yabbies, coral trout - great products that speak for themselves and work well with my delicate style of cooking.

The most popular dish on the Maze menu at the moment is... pan-roasted barramundi, butternut squash, compressed cucumber and pumpkin seeds or the Queensland mud crab, watermelon, pickled ginger and rock melon sorbet.

What excites me about cooking still, after all these years, is... a busy night/service in the kitchen. I love the hustle, buzz and pressure that happens when you have a full restaurant to cook for.

Working with Blair Walter for the Cape Kidnappers gig excites me because... we are like-minded people in similar industries. We work in very different ways but always with drive and passion to achieve a great end result and always pushing to make that result that little bit better.

The process I will be going through with the food/wine matching is... well, simply put this comes from getting an understanding of the wines Blair has made that I already drink often, and then sourcing great local seasonal products, understanding the food and dishes I cook and being able to balance these flavours/ideas to create something that complements each other.

The menu I have planned for Cape Kidnappers is... tuna, New Zealand koura, local venison - starting with light fish and shellfish dishes and moving quickly into more hearty and robust meat courses, finishing with a light dessert, chocolates and petits fours.

When I'm not working I'm... eating, drinking, spending time with my family or exercising.

The best thing about my life right now is... my son, Finn.

THE WINEMAKER

Considered one of New Zealand's leading winemakers, it is Blair Walter's talent and passion which has put the Felton Road Winery in Central Otago on the international map. Its wines are sold in 35 different markets around the world. When Blair isn't among the vines implementing the vineyard's biodynamic approach to creating wine, he's travelling the world. In the past 12 months he's travelled across America, Canada, Brazil, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia visiting existing or potential new customers - restaurants and retailers - and sharing Felton Road's unique philosophies.

I was inspired to become a winemaker because... growing up on a farm I was always interested in agriculture and the outdoors. I wanted to become a pilot, like my father, but thought I'd go to university and study horticultural science. A year on exchange at Oregon State University exposed me to viticulture and the sensory analysis of wine in the food science department and I was hooked. As an aspiring winemaker, travel is a necessity and I wanted to see and experience the world beyond New Zealand, so that suited me well. I have been fortunate to eat in many of the world's best restaurants and it's become quite a passion of mine. Our wines are on their wine lists so it's only appropriate that I eat there as well. Places like Tetsuya's in Sydney, Gordon Ramsay and The Fat Duck in Britain, Charlie Trotter's in Chicago - to name but a few.

The best part of my day is... driving in the vineyard gates and marvelling at what a beautiful piece of land it is and the remarkable quality wines it provides. Being 100 per cent organic and biodynamic and also having vegetable gardens, chickens, goats and cows, results in the feeling of being a more sustainable farm rather than just being a winery and this adds immeasurably to the satisfaction of driving through the property.

The best thing about being a winemaker... in a small, quality-focused winery like Felton Road is the diversity. I look after all the export markets which means I can be communicating from my office with importers from several different countries in any one day. Next I could be hosting visitors at the winery showing them our vineyards and wines, or working in the winery racking barrels, bottling ... etc. I enjoy answering the phone and hearing the surprise on the other end when they hear that, even as the winemaker and general manager, I still answer the phone.

The highlight of my career has been... realising that I'm in the pleasure business. The better I do my job, the better people feel.

At Felton Road wines... we have a very simple formula to make inspiring and authentic wines. Plus we believe it should be about pleasure and fun. Too many wine businesses take themselves too seriously.

I am looking forward to seeing what Josh matches with the wine... because as the chef he can manipulate the food's flavours, taste sensations and textures right down to the last minute. Our wine is already a given, so he really has the tough job. I think a sensitive match is where the chef works with one particular aspect of the wine rather than trying to be too complicated. It can be hard sometimes for chefs to pull back and let the wine have some of the limelight as well..

The wines I will be presenting at Cape Kidnappers are... 2003 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5, 2007 Felton Road Pinot Noir Block 5, 2003 Chardonnay Block 2 and 2003 Riesling Block 1. The 2003s are really at their prime now and it's nice to look at something with a little bottle-age. They go so much better with food when they lose their youthful fruity characters and edginess. Our Block wines are pretty sought after (there's a waiting list to get on the mailing list and then you're still limited to a maximum of four bottles) and it's nice to share them at dinners like this.

At the end of the working day... I pour myself an Emersons Pilsner. If I have been working with wine all day long and especially if I'm having a wine with dinner or presenting at a wine dinner, I always have to have a beer to cleanse the palate and provide some sort of division to the day. "It takes a lot of beer to make good wine,"is a well-known saying amongst winemakers.

Josh and I ... went to neighbouring country schools that would get together for sports days and calf club days. Tractors, motorbikes, fresh air, animals, lots of space, cow pats; all good stuff for young boys. Our dads were both in the same Lions Club. My dad is really chuffed that I'll be doing this dinner with his mate Roger's son.

I fondly remember Josh and his dad visiting me at Felton Road several years ago. He said he was a chef in London and when I asked where and he answered Gordon Ramsay's, I was so in awe and completely thrilled that he had got to that level. Just the year before I'd had what is still the best meal of my life at the original Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Chelsea. Little did I know that Josh was in the kitchen. A couple of years later I was in London again and I was doing a tasting with the head sommelier at the Savoy where Josh had just earned a Michelin star. Again, that was a buzz to see Josh in his chef whites - two Waikato farm boys having the fruits of their labour being enjoyed at the very pinnacle of dining experiences. I think our dads must be pretty proud of that - quite a long way from cooking hamburgers for their Lions Club fundraisers.

* The Farm Cape Kidnappers Winter Food & Wine Weekend, Sat 24 July, Hawkes Bay. $800 per person per night, includes luxury accommodation, degustation dinner with matched wines, tutored wine tasting, full breakfast and choice of a round of golf or a 50-min spa massage. To book ph (06) 875 1900 or see capekidnappers.com