We are sat at Trivet in Downtown Auckland on chef’s tables around the most awesome raw bar. The square geometry, sleek white lines and gleaming ice.
The bright light enveloping the whole room through palatial street-facing windows gives a feeling and clarity akin to breathing pure oxygen. The senses are certainly heightened.
Chef Wallace Mua, with his ever-present smile, artfully pares his knife into trevally for his truffle, soy and chilli oil infused sashimi. Shayne Hammond of Poppies Vineyard in Martinborough sits next to me, the two of us grinning eagerly awaiting the dish. While Chef puts his finishing touches to the dish, I ask Shayne about the 2023 Poppies rosé. “Well, it's a 100% Pinot noir with a touch of Gabrielle,” he states. With a rueful look he goes on to explain how in February 2023 they were lashed with 15 days straight of torrential rain. Maybe not as devastating as in Hawkes Bay but exceptionally serious. This led to a decision to not produce any reds in 2023, but rosé is a different prospect. Shayne and Poppy are aiming to make New Zealand’s greatest rosé using methods developed in Provence, France.
The greatest rosés – as displayed by the 2023 Poppies rosé – have a hint of under ripeness in the fruit and over ripeness in texture with a gorgeous taste that develops well into the mid palate with body and structure and then lengthens out with hints of spice. This was the perfect pairing to Wallace’s dish complementing the cool fish texture and condiments incredibly. Oh, for a hundred more sashimi pieces!
Wallace talks on a theme ever-present in the best Auckland chef’s – our cuisine is a homage to techniques and styles learnt the world over. Wallace combines ingredients and flare learnt in France with the heartiness and beauty of Samoan food culture. He shows this delightfully with his trevally oka, the fish sitting on top of the most lovely and crusty taro with coconut yoghurt, chillies and capers.
I laugh with Pauline Leray, restaurant manager, as we discuss culture and food. Being French, I expect her to tell me how French cuisine is her first love, but she talks on how so many French actually love Italian food. Pauline has been instrumental in getting Trivet match-ready for launch and deserves praise for how well the restaurant runs and feels straight from the get-go.
And, as often happens in sunlit rooms with healthy and fresh food aplenty and delightful beverages to match, the smiles and conversation flow easily. Shayne talks of working and exploring Europe as a ‘Surfer Chef’. Wallace of touring with the All Blacks as their chef during the French World Cup. Pauline of her town close to Versailles. What wonderful stories, wonderful experiences, that, as I hear of them, feel so real, so close. I can vividly visualise them. Oh, for a thousand lives to try it all. But in fact when we listen to others. sharing in their experiences, although you may not own the experience yourself, it does bring you a like you were part of it too. Perhaps the universal experience of sharing is our way of accepting that ultimately we really are all merely ‘One’.
(PUNEET DHALL)
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