CHEF OF THE MONTH
The glamourous new club house for the Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club combines a winning combination for the Jack Nicklaus designed course with architect Andrew Patterson's state of the art 19th hole. Photo Credit: Anna Killgour-Wilson www.botanicphotos.co.nz
Fine dining with precision & consistency Executive Chef, Darby Brooks
H
e’s clocked 40 years in the job for renowned French American kitchen, including those of Michelin star chef, David Bouley. the world’s most renowned “He set me in motion to work in fine Michelin star restaurants, dining. He was an awarded 4-star chef but for American-born Darby Brooks, and the best restaurateur,” says Darby. it all started at the age of 13 in his USA “His well-known restaurant, Bouley hometown, New Hampshire. was at that time one of America’s best There he worked for a local familyrestaurants. We had almost a one-year owned restaurant in what was to waiting list to get in for dinner on a become the launch for a star-studded Saturday night and he would have fish international career leading all around sent in to the restaurant fresh daily via the globe and finally to New Zealand Federal Express , from Maine, which in 2013. must have cost a fortune and nobody Recently appointed the Executive Chef did that back then!” at the prestigious Royal Auckland and David was at the forefront, leading Grange Colf Club, Darby brings a wealth the way with organic gardening and of five star Michelin level experience. organic produce because it tasted so Now 54, family legend has it that much better. It was all about the his Italian grandparents once flavour, says Darby. owned a restaurant in New York “David got a 4-star vote and “Dishes like … in the 1930s however Darby was pretty much the best in gourmet burgers, reckons cooking was simply New York City and the states bao buns and fish with in him from a young age. at the time. It was a superAfter studying at the hot restaurant.” borlotti bean ragout, University of Southern Under his guidance mussels and clams New Hampshire, Darby Darby learned precision, definitely have the commenced his career at consistency in seasoning and members coming some of the best local hotels. repetition. He saw first hand back for more.” In the mid 1980s he moved what it took to be a fine dining to New York where he landed a Michelin star chef. 10 SEPTEMBER 2020 - HOSPITALITY BUSINESS
“I was in my mid 20s and he was a big influence on me – his style, cooking and how he plated up. He used lots of different purees to thicken sauces.” However, after almost five years a love-struck Darby took a job in an upmarket bistro in Munich, Germany to be nearer to his British fiancé Jo, moving on to London to work for more big names at places like Philip Howard’s ‘The Square,’ and Capital Hotel, both Michelin starred, then The People’s Palace where he eventually ran the kitchen. He moved to Geneva in Switzerland in 2000 after Jo was offered a good job there. Darby ran a small café before making the switch to culinary instructor, once again for the top in the game. In 2003 he took over as Chef de Cuisine at the EHL School of Hospitality in Lausanne, running the prestigious Le Bureau des Sens Restaurant. After 10 years he left, proud that the restaurant had just been awarded a ‘Bib Gourmand' Michelin award, the predecessor to the Michelin star. Only 16 restaurants in Switzerland were given this award. Four chefs worked each day with eight new
