Celebrity Chef David Griffiths

Australia and New Zealand have an interesting relationship: enemies at the football, friends on the movie screen, and somewhere in between when it comes to food and wine. Two years ago Tonci Barac, a New Zealand Croat with ownership interests in Australian restaurant Wildfire, decided on a Kiwi theme for the month of October. It was a major affair, with three chefs flying across the Pacific to take over the restaurant. Acclaimed chef David Griffiths, owner of Vini’s in Auckland, was among the group. He had such a profound impact that it was not long before Barac traversed the Pacific himself to convince his desired head chef to return.