Meet the Chef

Ryan Moore

Head Chef, The Grove Auckland

The Grove’s head chef, Ryan Moore really did break into the hospitality industry. Back in England, Moore was a competitive sportsman, but suffered a broken collarbone and ankle after a match gone wrong. Unable to go back to sports, Moore tried a few different things before falling in love with cooking.

“I ’d always aspired to work at fine dining restaurants, so I did a year here, a year there, and here we are,” Moore explained. During his culinary excursions, Moore worked at the revered Mallory Court Hotel and Spa in Leamington, and for chef Simon Rogan. “I had a conversation with a workmate who was going back to his family farm to open a restaurant, and together we converted the farmhouse into a restaurant. We grew our own vegetables, reared our own lambs and pigs, and foraged in the landscapes of Leicestershire.” After seven months, the establishment won an award and bookings flew off the charts to the point where there was a year-long waiting list. “About 13 years ago, my best mate moved to New Zealand. I came back with him to visit and travel and moved here about three years ago,” said Moore. For two and a half of those three years, Moore has been at The Grove. The establishment was recently placed on Tripadvisor’s Traveller’s Choice Top 25 Fine Dining for 2021, earning spot number 15 out of 25 of the best fine dining restaurants in the world. Moore attributes this win to the consistency of delivering a great experience. “If you look at our page on Tripadvisor, we’ve got a pretty consistent five-star rating, and it was people’s reviews, great food and great work that earned us this title.”

When designing his menus, Moore tries to create balance. “We think about how the whole menu flows – from the snacks right through from the starters to fish to main to pre-dessert and beyond. I take inspiration from where I’ve worked and merge it all together to create something unique to here. Using the best New Zealand ingredients, of course.”

Moore also considers the establishment itself.

“You know, we’ve got white tablecloths and that, and it’s very fine dining,” he said, “so the food needs to portray that as well.”

Last year, during COVID and the subsequent lockdowns, The Grove was able to adapt by creating a cool, classic British takeaway menu, which went crazy, Moore said. This led to the restaurant’s Sunday menu, which is more accessible to the whole family.

“It’s more of a bring the kids, bring the family, type deal.” Moore reported a slow comeback after the lockdowns, but “people do their rounds, and then they always come back here, which is nice.”

You need passion to be a chef, according to Moore, as it is hard work with unsociable hours, but at the end of the day it is very rewarding.

“You really need to take everything in like a sponge – soak up as much knowledge as possible, listen, and put your all and your heart into it. Oh, and whatever you make, make it nice.”

• American Burger • Mediterranean Vegetable • Beetroot • Pear & Fig • Capsicum & Apricot

• Roasted Vegetable • Caramelised Onion • Farmstyle Plum & Tamarillo • Sage & Onion • Spicy Eggplant • Farmstyle Tomato • Sundried Tomato & Kalamata Olive • Green Tomato & Jalapeno • Mango & Peach • Sweet Roast Capsicum • Tomato & Red Pepper