Cameron Woodhouse heads the restaurant at Greystone Wines in the gorgeous Waipara region of North Canterbury, where the food philosophy is all about serving local produce. "Our menu changes weekly and is reliant on what is in season – we then pair every dish with exceptional wine," says the chef. When he's not busy at Greystone, Cameron still spends a lot of time in his own kitchen at home. Here he shares what we'd find in his fridge and pantry, where he likes to eat out and why a Vitamix is an essential bit of kitchen kit.
Greystone Wines, 376 Omihi Rd, Waipara. Web: greystonewines.co.nz
My kitchen at home is... mostly filled with kitchen gadgets. I love to cook at home, so I like to have the option to use things like a sous vide machine or a mincer. We inherited the kitchen when we bought our house so it's not ideal, but we make do. One day we might get around to making it my dream kitchen! There is, however, lots of storage space for the preserves that my partner and I make from our garden.
To turn it into a dream kitchen... I have big dreams for a complete re-do! If I could, I would put in a wider oven and better gas burner. I can picture having a breakfast bar where friends and family can sit around and chat, while my partner and I cook. Sometimes when we have friends over I seem to spend too much time in the kitchen, so being able to host and cook at the same time would take away some of my guilt. A big sink is always valuable in any kitchen and I would love a walk-in fridge but that might be pushing it.
Things you'd always find my fridge are... My fridge is mostly filled with half-used jars of pickles and relishes and lots of things like anchovies, mustards, gherkins and chilli paste. There is nearly always some good parmesan in the fridge too – that goes on everything.