It’s a summer of food for celebrity chef Josh Emett. As well as cooking up a storm at his Waiheke Island bach, he’ll also be the executive chef at New Zealand’s highly anticipated sailing event. Josh and his wife and business partner Helen recently bought and renovated a holiday home on the picturesque island in the Hauraki Gulf, a 40-minute ferry ride from central Auckland.
“It’s a little two-bedroom bach and it has an incredible outdoor area, which is almost twice the size of the actual house,” says Josh.
“It’s a great base for us to go and relax over there while we’re working. It’s very simple, very beachy. Because it’s tiny, we removed some of the old doors and did some sliders to get more space. It’s very light. “We literally run the barbecue all the time. I woke up on Sunday morning and there were still embers burning from Saturday, so I put more logs on the fire and just kept it going. “The kitchen is small inside, so we cook paellas on there, or we’re roasting big cuts of lamb or chicken, or sausages for the kids. We use it for everything.”
Catching dinner with his two teenage boys, Finn and Louis, is also a highlight.
Fresh catches and flavours
“Kingfish, snapper, all that sort of thing,” Josh explains.
“I usually scale one or two of the nice-sized ones and bake them whole, Asian-style, then the other is classic fillets – we’re either flouring or breading them.”
The acclaimed Kiwi chef and restaurateur, who earned multiple Michelin stars working alongside Gordon Ramsay, will also curate a selection of dishes at the Adrenaline Lounge at the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in the City of Sails next month.
A punchy, summery menu
It will be Josh’s second year as executive chef and he’s planning to wow guests with a new menu, which he describes as “punchy, full of flavour and summery”.
Josh shares, “I’m looking at a really lovely tomato dish. We get these heirloom tomatoes from West Auckland and I make a gazpacho sauce with some pickled seaweed on top. I’m also thinking of doing crayfish eclairs… I’m still scheming.”
The key to catering for more than 200 people at the event, he says, is planning.
Calm in the kitchen spotlight
“We’re front and centre at the Adrenaline Lounge. So you need to be organised, clean, calm and handle things in the right way.”
A calmness he perhaps didn’t get from infamously fiery UK chef Gordon?
“Oh, no, he’s extremely organised,” he says.
“He’s fastidious about things like that. But a little bit of drama is always fun as well. I like everything to be really well thought through, calm and under control.”
He’s looking forward to the racing.
“It’s a brilliant sailing event right in front of the Auckland Harbour Bridge,” enthuses Josh.
“There are thousands of people down there, a good energy, great food and beverages, plus great sailing.”
Catching up with sailing royalty
And he hopes to catch up with New Zealand’s sailing royalty – Peter Burling, Russell Coutts and Blair Tuke.
“They always have interesting tales of travelling the world sailing,” he says.
Last year was a successful one for the chef, who, as well as The Oyster Inn, owns Auckland restaurants Onslow and Gilt Brasserie.
“Helen and I probably worked harder than ever in the last 18 months,” he reflects.
“We had a great winter – our businesses have performed really well. We feel like we’re finally in control of everything.”
His challenge now is to step back further and let his trusted teams run the show.
The control paradox of restaurant life
“The ongoing conundrum with running restaurants is that you always feel so much more in control when you’re in there, doing it.”
Josh’s plans for this year include travel – both for business and pleasure. The Emetts will go to America, Europe and visit London, where Helen is from.
“I want to go to a restaurant called Fallow in London, which is doing really interesting stuff. And there’s a pub called The Devonshire doing really cool food. I also want to go back up to New York to a number of restaurants.”
A possible Hollywood reunion
And another meeting with Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow could be on the cards in Los Angeles.
“We might try to hook up with her again if we go stateside this year – that was a lot of fun,” Josh says, referring to the 2024 cooking video released on Goop, where Gwyneth hosted Josh and his family in her LA home.
“She’s got to come to New Zealand,” he says.
“I need to get my ducks in a row and make sure if I do ask her, I’ve got it all organised. I think she would love Waiheke – it’s a pretty special place.”
The ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix is on February 14 and 15. For tickets and more info, visit tickets.sailgp.com/auckland
