Rugby mad sous chef Rodolfo stars at the RNZYS

from BREEZE Magazine May - June 2021

Marine Scene

Rugby mad Sous Chef Rodolfo stars at RNZYS

Story & picture by Debra Douglas

Up to 1500 plates later and the Squadron kitchen team could call it a day. Until the next day. The America’s Cup race days were frantic, relentless and uncertain. A bit like yacht racing.

“We never knew how many guests we would have, “ said Sous Chef Rodolfo Miramontes. “What was unique here at the Squadron was that we were catering for breakfast, all the way through to dinner, as well as on-the-water hosting. All that involved a whole lot of planning and storage. We always had to have a Plan B.”

Rodolfo hails from Chihuahua, the “wild west” of Mexico. As a youngster he says he found comfort in TV cooking shows, rather than watching cartoons.

“Food culture in Mexico is huge. I was always surrounded by nice product. My father is a very accomplished cook and of course, as is tradition, I watched my grandmothers making tortillas from scratch.”

Rodolfo started his cooking career demonstrating in supermarkets to pay his college fees. He went on to travel and work in clubs and fine dining restaurants in the United States and Canada. But he says the biggest influence on his career was spending three years at a large Mexican winery, where he honed his knowledge of wine and hospitality management skills.

“The spark for New Zealand happened when I played rugby in my teens. I got to know the All Blacks and New Zealand. I Googled pictures and I was astounded by the beauty of the country. I always told people: One day I am going to live there.

“That day happened when I was back in Mexico. Squadron Executive Chef Jean Brito got in touch to tell me New Zealand was on the lookout for chefs. Two months later I was here.”

Rodolfo worked in Auckland first at the Langham Hotel and then Ostro Restaurant in the city. He joined the Squadron in 2018.

Rodolfo doesn’t know a lot about sailing – “I come from a desert remember” – but he is keen to learn. He also needs time to train for his rugby (lock or prop) ambitions. In the meantime, however, Rodolfo is appreciating a quieter time at the Club, while crediting his team for doing great job during the busy period.

“We always say, ‘Let’s go, let’s make it happen’. And we did.”

“He did such an amazing job during the Mastercard Super Yacht Regatta and all the America’s Cup related events,” says Executive Chef Jean Brito. “He has been my right hand all this time and without him a lot of the events would not have been possible.”