Restaurants
When I began my chefs apprenticeship in Melbourne in 1981 it was my dream to one day own my own restaurant. This finally happened in August 2001 when myself and three friends opened The Providores and Tapa Room on London's Marylebone High Street. Previous to that I'd been executive chef, but not owner, of The Sugar Club in Soho and Notting Hill, and before that executive chef at the Mayfair private members club Green Street. However, since The Providores opened I have become involved in many other restaurants and food businesses, some as consultant, some as investor. This was something I hadn't foreseen, but that I have enjoyed immensely.
Kopapa www.kopapa.co.uk
We opened Kopapa in December 2010. It's an open-all-day café and restaurant in Monmouth Street, the heart of vibrant Seven Dials, Covent Garden. It's run as a joint venture between myself and Michael McGrath (my business partner and co-owner of The Providores), and Adam Wills and Brandon Allen, the original founders of Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Kopapa is a Maori word meaning a gathering, to be crowded, a building to store food. Brandon and I both have Maori heritage and along with Adam and Michael are New Zealand-raised.
Kopapa offers barista-made coffee (using a blend roasted exclusively by The Monmouth Coffee Company) and juices, energising and hearty breakfasts, small plates and light meals through to main courses, and a concise, exciting wine list from New Zealand and the old world. The everchanging menus are driven by creativity, innovation and the use of prime ingredients from within the UK and abroad.
Seven Dials is an interesting spot: it's one of London's hottest new eating and drinking destinations. Jamie Oliver's Jamie's, the Indian Irani café Dishoom and the latest branches of Hawksmoor and Bill's have all recently launched in the area.
View a selection of food from Kopapa
View menus
Make a reservation