GARY Jones loves Wellington food.
“I think Wellington is the best food city in New Zealand by far,” he says. “It’s more cosmopolitan. The population’s a lot smaller so there’s a lot more competition – you’ve got to be good to get the customers.”
Jones was born in New Orleans. He grew up fishing and cooking and left the US for New Zealand aged 32. Jones came straight to Wellington, where he cooked Italian food for two years. Deciding he needed to see more of the country before choosing a spot to settle, Jones went to Golden Bay in Takaka, which he says is “no question whatsoever one of the most beautiful places on earth” and took up a three-month contract at the Wholemeal Café that lasted three-and-a-half years.
Eventually Jones’ travels took him to Christchurch, where he decided for-once-and-for-all that he wanted to settle in Wellington.
He’s landed what he thinks is a dream job - chef at Sweet Mother’s Kitchen - and Jones’ old boss Wayne Green from the Wholemeal Café thinks the cafe’s lucky to have him. “He’s a character with the actions to go with it. He plays the crowd, gets to yelling and throwing things around. He’s bound to add to the place.”
“Oh no, someone else trying to do Cajun food,” was Jones’ first thought when he saw Sweet Mother’s Kitchen. Then he tried the food. “[Head chef] Richard is a New Zealand chef that’s really taken to the food. He’s really precise and careful in making sure the food’s as authentic as possible.” Although Jones is glad to have found a restaurant that does Cajun “as good as you can get back home”, Jones still gets spices sent in care packages from friends in New Orleans.
Like anyone at the beginning of a new job, Jones is obviously enamoured with his new workplace. Is there anything he’d change if he had free reign over the menu? “Crab,” he says. “More crab. I’d love to see that on the menu but it is cost prohibitive in New Zealand. Even just a simple crab cake is beautiful when it’s done properly, but you’d have to use surimi to make it affordable and that’s not a crab cake.”