What goes on behind the scenes when leading chef Peter Gordon collaborates with a leading company to launch a new product.
The letter arrived. It lay in my mailbox, alongside the tatty bills, confident in its elegance and style. The quality of the paper and card, discreetly indicated this correspondence was important. An invitation, as it turned out, to join leading chef Peter Gordon for an intimate lunch. The reason, it hinted suggestively was to announce a new project.
Working as a foodie in the media, I am privileged to be invited to all sorts of product launches, restaurant openings, fairs, festivals and celebrations. It's a cut-throat business as public relation companies vie to get attention for the clients' products. This was too good to turn down. First there was the air of mystery, secondly the letter was signed by Peter Gordon himself.
The world renowned chef has long been one of my inspirations for cooking and all things food. He has vast experience as an executive chef and owner of his own establishments here in New Zealand (Dine and Bellota Tapas Bar) and overseas (The Providores and Tapa Room). He is a master of fusion cuisine and a true ambassador for New Zealand produce. Needless to say, I RSVP'd immediately.
This was to be an exclusive event. Held in a private residence in Mt Eden, the guests were a hand-picked group of New Zealand's leading food editors.
The day quickly arrived, and I found myself being greeted at the venue by John Kippenberger - managing director of Premier Beehive. Intriguing. I was then let into a stylish open-plan kitchen and there he was - Peter Gordon, making me lunch.
I perched myself across the bench from where the esteemed chef was calmly chopping, mixing and sauteing, and we began to chat about his new project. Gordon, it seems, has always had a love for pork and had been thinking of how to produce a unique range of pork products for "at-home chefs" when, out of the blue, he got a call from Kippenberger.
Speaking softly, but with frankness, Gordon explains that he was initially sceptical. "I doubted we'd have much in common to be honest. A big pork-producing company didn't seem like a great fit but I also knew very little about the company at that stage. Before I returned his call, I worked out what I would need for a collaboration to work. I was only interested in developing products that began with happy, healthy pigs. End of story. I was imagining that the conversation might be a short one."
The first thing he said to Kippenberger was: "No sow stalls, no farrowing crates, happy pigs only."
"Of course" said Kippenberger, "and 100 per cent New Zealand pigs, free-roaming."
From the outset, the two men say, they were well-aligned in purpose. For Gordon, pork is an absolute favourite and he was interested in developing a range that people could cook easily at home but achieve "restaurant quality" in terms of flavour and texture. Beehive was looking to extend its offerings to cooks beyond "just bacon and pork chops".
As usual, Gordon took a very hands-on approach. "I travelled back and forth from London to the factory in Wairarapa to do exhaustive trialling for each product. The staff of Beehive were pivotal in testing, tasting and giving feedback. There are so many factors to get right - the cuts of meat, the preparation, the cooking temperatures and times and the team was just great."
They've labelled the products "Craft Series by Peter Gordon" to reflect his strong input and the careful crafting. So far the range includes twice-cooked pork belly, spare ribs, lardons and bacon and it was these Gordon used to prepare lunch for us. I was beginning to get seriously hungry and luckily the other guests had begun to arrive, so we were seated and the eating began. Four courses of pork. Excuse the cliche, but I was like a pig in mud.
Over lunch Gordon chatted to us about the dishes he'd cooked, warning us that the Cajun-spiced spare ribs were not for wimps.
I departed lunch a happy woman, vowing to cook the product samples to see if I could recreate these in my kitchen. The verdict? The lardons have been indispensible as add-ins to risottos, a coq au vin and a batch of fritters. The pork belly was easy to cook and impressed my weekend guests so much with its melting texture and crispy crackling that I thought they'd never leave. And last night I cooked the Cajun pork spare ribs. Magnificent. Just like having Peter Gordon in my own home.
