Legendary New Zealand chef Peter Gordon is hoping to tell the stories of local suppliers with Homeland, his latest offering to Auckland’s food and drink lovers. The prolific chef describes Homeland as a “food embassy” in that sense, making the venue as much a cooking school where local suppliers can teach people how best to use their produce, and a dining room where dishes include Cloudy Bay clams with green coconut curry and Gordon’s signature Turkish eggs with whipped garlic yoghurt, Aleppo chilli butter, and toast. Head Chef Naga Sunkara and a diverse team of chefs regularly switch up the menu here, obviously as a function of the various suppliers and local producers who are committed to telling the ongoing story of New Zealand’s wild landscape and the produce that results.

Gordon has Scottish and Māori ancestry (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tahu are his tribal affiliations), and Homeland – his restaurant, cooking school and artisan food store – is a vehicle to showcase the Māori concept of manaākitanga – hospitality, generosity, compassion – via the sharing of food and the preparation that goes into it. Gordon has a nose for finding delicious and innovative food that's demonstrative of the city's cultural and geographical landscape. Here, he shares some of his top picks.

In Wynyard Quarter, chef Peter Gordon helms, Homeland, a ‘food embassy for Aotearoa and the Pacific.’ On the menu, you’ll see creamed paua from the Chatham Islands, and pork belly cooked in the traditional hāngī (earth oven) style. Kūmara, a sweet potato that features in a lot of traditional Maori cooking, is wood roasted and served with pesto made from kawakawa, a native plant with healing properties.

Your grandparents have probably heard of Peter Gordon so the chance to see him doing his thing in the kitchen might be a nice highlight of a meal in Auckland city. Plus, the food is great and it’s a lovely spot on the waterfront — they may have even gone to a wedding there when it was called Mantell’s back in the day. Parking and access are easy and elderly (also wheelchair) friendly.

Peter Gordon’s food embassy Homeland, for example, has spaced tables two metres apart (as opposed to the prescribed one metre). “You’ll find this kind of ‘above and beyond’ approach is being taken at many sites across the wider Viaduct precinct,” says Saxton-Beer. “I’m incredibly proud of our hospitality community for coming out shining from this period.

Homeland is the newest venture of one of New Zealand’s most renowned chefs, Peter Gordon. Not only is it a fabulous brunch cafe and dinner restaurant, it’s also a cooking school, film studio and food innovation hub. In summer, there is a great outdoor seating area, positioned right on the harbour and nestled between the kitchen’s herb gardens.

A new kid on the block, Homeland is so much more than just another restaurant. Headed up by world-famous Peter Gordon and his partner, Homeland is considered the food embassy for Aotearoa and the Pacific. From their base, they work tirelessly to connect with high-quality local food producers.

Peter Gordon is back from London and has opened his new venture down at Westhaven Marina. It’s pretty impressive and nobody is doing anything quite like it. It’s all about local New Zealand and Pasifika ingredients.