And so here is part two of Matt’s epic journey.
In the first part we learned about an incredible amount of adversity that Matt had to deal with. By his own admission, some of it self inflicted.
In the second part, there’s definitely a transfer over to hope and moving forward.
In this part, we get through:-
- Bluebird Restaurant
- Re-focussing Energy into the positive
- Maze Restaurant
- People
- Jamie Oliver
- Learning leadership
- Giving back
- Caravan restaurants
- Covid
- Extra Curricular Collaborations
- Becoming an influencer
- An accidental business
- Losing a loved one in Lockdowns
- Finding his long lost Dad
I’ll be forever grateful to Matt for sharing his story so openly shining a light on how good the glory can feel when you’ve had to swim through some shit to get there.
Enjoy!
The Guest
Matt Burgess
A proud New Zealand Maori, Matt started his career in Wellington, cutting his teeth in some of the city’s most iconic restaurants; Dockside, Cafe Laffare and the legendary Matterhorn.
Matt moved to London in 1998 starting at the newly opened Soho House in Greek Street. He went on to work as a Senior Chef at Bluebird in Chelsea, Gordon Ramsey’s Maze Grill and Jamie Oliver’s Threadneedle Street.
In 2015, he was snapped up as the Group Executive Chef at Caravan and Vardo Restaurants, where he was part of the team growing the brand from two to seven sites.
With over 30 years experience, Matt Burgess, often known at @matblak on Instagram, began his next move in 2022 with a step into his own food consultancy business, Kaiwhenua.
At Kaiwhenua, which means food from the land in his native Maori, Matt now creates innovative recipes for companies including Goodman Steak House Group, Caravan Restaurant Group and premium ceramic BBQ brand Big Green Egg, to name a few.
Live fire and BBQ aficionado, Matt is a content creator and Ambassador for some of the largest global BBQ brands including Weber, Big Green Egg and Smokey Oak BBQ.
Matt also offers professional food photography and videography and is a qualified coach and mentor.
Matt Burgess runs a seasonal sell out supper club and has created a range of condiments under the brand Kai by Matblak.
- Instagram @matblak
- LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/matthew-burgess-426a4535
- Twitter @chefmattburgess
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