First Look: Chef Wallace Mua On New Auckland Restaurant Trivet & Cooking For The All Blacks

Chef Wallace Mua on full-circle moments, touring with the All Blacks, and the philosophy behind his new restaurant, Trivet.

Chef Wallace Mua has a thing about full-circle moments. When we meet ahead of the opening of Trivet, the new hotel restaurant he’s set to helm, he says these moments have not only defined his connection to this address but, in a sense, the breadth of his vast and varied career.

The 125-seater bistro is set to open in mid-August following an extensive refurbishment of JW Marriott on Auckland’s Albert Street. This is the third hotel restaurant Wallace has led, after his tenure at Kingi from 2022 until earlier this year and his time at Hilton’s Fish in 2016. His experience so far — including a 2021 stint at Euro before its closure — has lent a deep understanding of what’s needed to excel in establishments of this calibre. Trivet promises a dining experience that encapsulates all of those defining moments that brought Wallace here, where even small — but important — details like the name itself hold great significance.

“The idea of a trivet is a placemat that will protect the table,” the chef explains. “I thought about Sunday lunches with my family, which were really special for me. We all sat at the table, caught up, and it became a sacred place for me. That’s my idea for Trivet — it’s to protect the sacred table.”

The essence of this perhaps best encapsulates the chef’s food philosophy. Growing up in a large Samoan family, food was shared with respect, and home was a place where cooking was central to connection. He never cooked at home but learned from watching and developing his palate , so this inherently Polynesian understanding of food was part of the chef’s skillset when years later he established his name in the industry by folding Pacific foods into the cuisine New Zealanders eat today.

Tāmaki Makaurau, a hugely multicultural city, is defined by a rich abundance of cuisines — and local diners are all the better for it. Trivet does not tie itself to one specific fare or notion. Wallace strongly believes we all deserve to eat good food. Trivet’s offering will have personality through this passion; it is a menu that everyone should feel a sense of connection to, emblematic of our melting pot of local cuisine. Specific menu details are still firmly under wraps, but Wallace does divulge that it celebrates Aotearoa’s best ingredients and that he has largely taken inspiration from his Polynesian roots, with vibrant seafood dishes alongside indulgent slow-cooked dishes reminiscent of the years he spent in French kitchens.

The foundations of Wallace’s story were built on home soil where, at the Hilton Hotel two decades ago, he picked up a kitchen steward role to earn some cash to travel and play in high school rugby tours. Taking on small jobs along the way, he wound up working at Soul Bar & Bistro under the guidance of Gareth Stewart — with whom he has maintained a close working relationship throughout the years. But after six years, the emerging talent left for Europe — a pivotal moment in his career, marking the beginning of a culinary journey that would take him to the source of European cuisine.

“I had been doing this salad for three years over at Soul Bar, and I’d been putting it on the plate, seasoning it, making it look pretty and sending it. I never thought of what the dish was doing to the person receiving it. It totally changed the way I looked at food.”

It’s clear Wallace’s love for food runs deep. While the chef’s first kitchen role was defined by one sole purpose, a 15-year-old boy earning money for rugby trips, he says another full-circle moment was a fortuitous call last year that saw him travelling with the All Blacks on their heroic Rugby World Cup journey. “I got the phone call,” he says, “I think they were looking for a chef who could speak French.”

Helping cater for a travelling camp of nearly 70, Wallace cooked alongside French chefs to provide food that was equal measures nutritious and delicious. He was tasked with creating healthy food to maintain athletic performance and food that was readily available when anyone needed it. “There was a saying, ‘when you’re 10 minutes early, you’re already late’,” he laughs.

It was an experience Wallace cherishes, a marriage of his two loves; he saw it as an opportunity to learn from great leaders and keep his favourite team happy with good food. “When you’re eating from a buffet for two months straight, you’ll get tired of it,” he says. The intention was to keep switching it up, ensuring different cuisines were offered each night and eliminating any food fatigue no matter how good it tasted.

This lasting lesson is a cue for Trivet’s offering: “The idea is to switch it up every day.”

There’s something uniquely chic about hotel dining — an area in which Auckland excels, making Trivet an exciting prospect. Consider Wallace’s alma mater, Kingi, or Onemata, or Esther … There’s every reason to believe Trivet will soon become another destination of note.

Trivet, 22 Albert Street, Auckland CBD. Follow @Trivetdining for updates.

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