If you’ve recently ventured down our stairway to Neck of the Woods on a weeknight, you’ll have found the ravers replaced with folks enjoying a beautiful meal with friends, cheers-ing with our ice-cold Garage Projects.
Behind the modern icon of our International Street Food menu is Neck of the Woods chef, and all-round good guy, Adam. To get a sense of the monolithic task of designing such a perfect selection of deliciousness, researching the food hawked on street corners everywhere in the world and whittling them down to the best few, we decided to turn the tables and interview one of our own.
Adam’s background is in European fine dining and bistro in England’s Brighton, but he’s bounced around considerably before winding up leading our kitchen. Working the kitchen for four years at Brighton’s Terre a Terre - which was the best Vegetarian Restaurant in the UK at the time - taught him a substantial amount about using spices correctly, “heavily influencing my outlook on food, and the possibilities of meat-free dishes being spectacular.” Add to that diverse jobs, from wineries in Perth, Directing Head Chef at Galbraith’s Ale House, and Stafford Road Wine Bar, and on the side currently hustling as Executive Group Chef of Unicorn Ventures and with his own private consulting company.
So how did the Gao Bao, Poutine, Onion Bhajis, Bunny Chow, and Dumplings come to the fore when designing the ultimate streetfood menu? Adam offered, “A lot of the inspiration for world food comes from my own travel around South East Asia and India, and holidays abroad when I lived in England and jumped over to Europe a lot. Also, from eating out in real deal ethnic restaurants in New Zealand. The twists I put on food come from 20 years of kitchen experience.”
His research came in the form of everything from recalling his own experiences, asking those of others, scouring in-depth chef forums, and watching YouTube videos by travellers to far-flung destinations. The development phase? It looked a little bit like resident DJ and Music Director, Mr David ‘Hudge’ Hudgins, and the rest of the Neck of the Woods team acting well-fed guinea pigs for Adam’s ridiculously tasty morsels.
Tonight, in order to ensure everybody out there in Auckland gets to try what the rest have been raving about (we’re looking at you, starving artists, students, and yo-pros), we’ve decided to play generous host and knock off half the price. Come through and taste the world - and top it off with one of Eddy's new magic potions or our crazy selection of crisp craft beers.