Raising the standard of Kiwi cooking

- with Bisque on Bolton's Steve Morris

BY GREER MCDONALD

A Godfather of Wellington cuisine, Steve Morris, is worried about his underlings.

With more than 30 years experience, the executive chef at Wellington's Bisque on Bolton restaurant says he's growing increasingly concerned about culinary talents in New Zealand. He fears the Kiwi food scene will suffer.

Making his mark at the renowned Huka Lodge, Morris went on to twice win Chef of the Year and has since competed in international competitions at the highest level. He has cooked for the Queen.

But Morris is now speaking out about cooking quality; professionals and at-home. His targets include graduates of tertiary courses.

"They come out of polytech, have been given a job at a restaurant or a cafe where they're sole charge, and they just stop learning when they do that."

He says chefs and cooks are increasingly relying on convenience products and packet foods. 

"As a whole, people are starting to lose the technical aspect of kitchens," Morris laments.

Because of this, at-home chefs - many who are starved of time - are also letting their standards slip.

"It's not rocket science ... It's the real basic things that they're not doing properly."

The 49-year-old chef, who also teaches at WelTec, is so passionate about the future of Kiwi cooking that he's taken on a new challenge: Educating the masses.

Through online tutorials on Stuff.co.nz each Friday, Morris will take things down a notch by teaching cooks about the basics with his 'Raising the Standard' series.

Morris admits he's a "bit of a traditionalist" when it comes to recipes, and he doesn't like to see food get "bastardised".

"People come in and ask 'can you give me a chicken Caesar, but hold the anchovies and no dressing' and I'm going 'Hell, there's not much left'!.

"So you know ... things like that are important to me because if we lose that, we'll just keep losing, I suppose, the history or the traditional way of doing things."

Morris and his foodie counterparts in Wellington - such as Rex Morgan and Martin Bosley - often discuss, usually over a beer, how worried they are about the future of dining in New Zealand.

They're worried the next generation won't "take the reins" and work as hard "for what we fought for".

"Everybody's concerned about the younger people coming through. It's shit hours, it's unsociable ... so it is tough for younger people and they do have more options."

He is positive though about the rise in celebrity cooking shows - which he describes as "purely entertainment" - for piquing Kiwi's interest in cooking.

"They've helped to do a lot for getting people in to cooking."

As for his own efforts at educating Kiwis, Morris is hopeful Kiwis will get the message.

"I hope that people will try the dishes and come to realise how simple it is to do those dishes - and the difference between what we've demonstrated and buying it in a packet and heating it up in the microwave, it's a huge difference."

- Raising the Standard episodes will feature on Stuff.co.nz every Friday. To celebrate the launch, Bisque on Bolton in Wellington has offered a private cooking class tutorial with Steve Morris for four people.

To be in to win, send the answer to the following question in an email subject line to competitions@stuff.co.nz: Which member of the royal family has Bisque on Bolton's Steve Morris cooked for?

The winners will be announced along with the first recipe on Friday.

- © Fairfax NZ News