Napier's Central Fire Station Bistro owner /Chef Sam Clark and Naomi Toilalo, Food Rescue Kitchen host .
Napier's Central Fire Station Bistro owner /Chef Sam Clark and Naomi Toilalo, Food Rescue Kitchen host .
A Hawke’s Bay chef is not keen to watch himself on television in a new food series episode, but he can’t wait to see what everyone else does, especially his idol Peter Gordon.
“I’m not sure if I want to watch myself on the telly but I’m so competitive that I’ll be watching everyone else to see how they managed the challenge,” Sam said.
The challenge was to create a three-course meal for up to 50 diners using ingredients they receive on the day - perfectly good food destined for the rubbish dump.
“I have to be honest. I work 70 to 80 hours a week and know daily what I have to do. However, repeating yourself on camera over and over was exhausting. By the end of the weekend we were all knackered. My wife, a pastry chef who works with me in the restaurant, was eight months pregnant at the time. Luckily we have such a great team.”
“I got a message from an acquaintance asking if it was okay to pass my contact details on to the producers. I said yes of course and then they told me the premise and I thought it was pretty cool.”
The challenge
Sam said he didn’t know what to expect on the day. “We usually work in a comfortable place in the kitchen with our favourite products.
“For this meal, we had to pare it back and use just the ingredients we were given and then figure out what we were going to make within 15 to 20 minutes.”
The produce they were presented with was all local, some of it from Nourished for Nil, “who do an amazing job.
“If it wasn’t for them a lot more food would go in the bin.”
He also had some seafood which he “probably wouldn’t serve in the restaurant because diners wouldn’t choose it”.
So the pressure was on for Sam and his team to serve 50 diners incorporating everything they were given into the menu with no waste.
“We decided to make the food look like what we usually serve.”
Sam said it was a bit like a MasterChef challenge and of course afterwards they thought they should have done this or that. You will have to watch the show to find out what was served.
“It was a lot of work and while I would have a bit of hesitation putting myself and the team through that again I know I would because I’m so competitive.”
What is usually on the menu and how they prevent food waste
“Our menu is small and considered. I can buy 12 tomatoes from my supplier so it’s easier to control food waste. Some chefs get into a p*****g fight about how to use broccoli stalks. For me, the important part is the other end, where it comes from in the first place. In saying that it’s easy for us to sit in our ivory tower while bigger places have a much more challenging time when it comes to waste.
“Personally for us we consider where we buy and how we can make the most of the produce. We collect waste and return it to one of our growers who feeds it to chickens or adds it to compost.
“We do the same with our seafood. We are so lucky to have Better Fishing in Bay View. They are just a phone call away and nothing gets thrown away. We use all the fish waste to make stock or sauce to serve with the seafood.”
Sam Clark and his team cooking up a storm.
Sam says using ‘waste” is not new to him.
“We make our own bread, a lot of it. But I was getting so frustrated about wasting the crusts. so we had a competition to see who could come up with the best idea on how to use them.
“However, have to be honest when producing something from waste and consider the cost to produce it.
“It has to make commercial sense”.
He says he’s not perfect when it comes to waste. “Just recently I bought some plums because I thought the kids would love them. They didn’t”.
His tip for meal planning on a budget is to be a conscious consumer. “Instead of mindlessly throwing things away think about what you are buying.”
He says one of his go-to cheap meals is beef and barley soup with sourdough bread.
Another tip is to buy some reusable containers for freezing leftovers. “Make sure they are all the same size so one lid fits all.”
About Central Fire Station Bistro
The restaurant has been open for five years in October. Sam, who is from Raglan, was in Hawke’s Bay visiting his wife’s brother in 2016. “An opportunity came up with family and we were connected to the landlord. At that stage, we were living in Auckland and we just knew there would be more opportunities for us in Hawke’s Bay. So in 2018 we relocated to the Bay.”
They have no regrets at all and love living here.
He said business was tough for everyone at the moment.
“Wages have gone up in hospo which is not a bad thing because hospo people work hard. Times are tough but the cyclone was way worse than this for us.
“I think one of the hardest things at the moment is that downtown Napier is a bit dreary. We need some vibrancy in town.”
With a young family at home Sam says it’s hard trying to make plans. ‘I want to be here for the customers but I also want to be there for my family. The reality is I need to hand over more responsibilities to the restaurant manager but it’s hard to let go.”
Who else is cooking on the show
Hosted by foodie influencer and home baker, Naomi Toilalo, Food Rescue Kitchen brings together top chefs like Peter Gordon, Mike Van de Elzen and Michelin Green Star chef Chantelle Nicholson.
The good news series will challenge viewers’ perception of food waste while tantalising taste buds with gourmet creations made from rescued ingredients. The series also provides the audience with practical ideas - how to reduce household food waste, eat healthily and save money.
When and where
Food Rescue Kitchen will screen on Three and on Three Now from Saturday, April 27 at 7pm.
Linda Hall is a Hastings-based assistant editor for Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 30 years of experience in newsrooms. She writes regularly on arts and entertainment, lifestyle and hospitality, and pens a column.
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