Ask chef and former My Kitchen Rules NZ judge Gareth Stewart what success means these days, and the answer has little to do with awards and accolades.
While his passion for food remains as strong as ever, after years of sacrificing precious family time with his wife Angela and their two sons in pursuit of culinary excellence, he is ready to embrace a new kind of challenge: learning how to slow down and savour life beyond the galley.
“When our kids were born, I was in the kitchen a lot and there are certain things I missed out on, so I want to get back as much as possible,” he says.
“I’m still learning how to be able to sit and not feel guilty that I should be doing something. That’s a muscle that takes time to learn to use. “I love running the pass when I have to, but being there 60 hours a week… I just can’t do that any more. So many chefs burn out because of it and I don’t want to get to that point.”
Life after My Kitchen Rules
While Angela accepted the realities of life with a chef from the beginning of their relationship, she’s relishing this new season they’re sharing.
“I love it,” the makeup artist smiles.
“He’s my best friend, so it’s nice to actually be able to hang out and go for coffee, or go down to our little local and have a wine at four in the afternoon.”
But don’t mistake this for an early retirement. As partner chef at Auckland restaurant Advieh, Gareth, 45, remains passionately involved in shaping the dining experience and nurturing the next generation of talent. And for Auckland Restaurant Month this August, he has created two special events that showcase his love of food and storytelling.
Sharing his culture through food
The five-course feast celebrating Jamaica Independence Day holds a special place in his heart, as he loves sharing his heritage with Kiwi diners. But celebrating Jamaican cuisine has also highlighted how much more of its culture he still wants to explore.
“Coming up with the menu for that is quite hard,” he explains.
“I’d love the opportunity to go to Jamaica, and immerse myself in the food and culture. I’ve only been once, and I’d love to go again and bring that back to New Zealand and make a restaurant.”
Angela, 47, adds, “And we’d love to take the boys back, and show them part of their roots and their history.”
While a love of travel is one of the things that brought them together, Angela says spending time in the kitchen is certainly less pleasurable.
“It’s not my passion, shall we say,” she laughs.
“He’s shown me some things, but I kind of glaze over, which has nothing to do with the teacher.”
Sharing his passion with his sons
Happily for Gareth, their sons Harley, 16, and Freddie, 13, have taken a keen interest in the culinary arts. Both boys work in hospitality and Freddie in particular is so passionate he has taken his career into his own hands.
“He’s got such an amazing work ethic for someone so young,” Angela says.
“He fires his CV out to all sorts of people. He’ll be on the phone with the restaurants checking they got it.”
Gareth says he will support either of his sons if they want to follow in his footsteps. But as someone who knows how brutal the industry can be, he also wants to ensure they go in with their eyes wide open.
He explains, “We’ll always encourage our children to do something they are passionate about, but I keep asking them, ‘Are you sure you want to be a chef?’ Because if you’re not 100 percent sure, don’t do it.’
“If he wants to be a chef, I’m training him myself. There are so many cowboys out there and I don’t want him to be taught the wrong way.”
Keeping food in his heart
Although he laments how hard it is to run a profitable restaurant these days, Gareth insists there’s nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.
As he looks to the future, he knows food will always be a big part of his life, but he is constantly thinking of new ways to share that passion with more people.
“I’d love to do TV again,” says Gareth.
“I loved working with Ben [Bayly] on My Kitchen Rules and being in front of the camera. I’d love to do something like Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, where you go into kitchens and help them improve.”
Auckland Restaurant Month runs for all of August. Visit heartofthecity.co.nz/restaurant-month/all-events for the full selection of experiences and to book.
