Chef Suraj Phadtare

I’m Suraj — a Head Chef based in Tauranga with over eight years in professional kitchens across four countries. I’ve cooked in two separate 1 Michelin Star restaurants, run high-volume kitchens in Queenstown and the Bay of Plenty, and worked alongside some seriously talented chefs along the way. But the most meaningful cooking I do now isn’t in a restaurant — it’s in someone’s home, cooking a meal that actually matters to the people eating it. As a private chef in New Zealand, I bring everything I’ve learned from fine dining into an environment where the guest isn’t a table number, they’re the whole reason I’m there.