“I knew I liked food and when I started training I found a passion that has never left me. I remember as a young chef how exciting it felt working with food - all I wanted to do was try different products and food combinations.”
Andrew May is from the Manawatu and has been in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. He travelled extensively throughout Europe and Zimbabwe where he extended his repertoire whilst discovering new ingredients and techniques.
On returning to the United Kingdom, he started working as Head Chef in one of Scotland’s Top Country House Hotels which is a member of Relais and Chateau.
Andrew started Amayjen the Restaurant (pronounced Imagine) with his wife Jenni in 2014, beginning another culinary story. Andrew could see that the Manawatu was not being recognized as a culinary destination. He wanted to change that perception by creating something amazing and to be noticed and get recognized for it. He could see there was outstanding produce in the area and decided to showcase this by creating a menu with modern and innovative food.
Andrew has developed his style at Amayjen gaining accomplishments and awards in his own right. He feels at home in the kitchen but if he is not creating dishes, you will often find him out foraging for ingredients, including a variety of wild fruits, herbs and flowers to add a personal touch to his dishes.
Andrew and Jenni have recently relocated Amayjen from Feilding to Palmerston North.
BEEF DISH
Seared Aberdeen Angus scotch fillet, smoked mushroom & brioche crumb with braised mustard seed, puffed potato ball, charred shallot petal, corned ox tongue, caramelised red onion chutney, foraged leaves, finished with a split nasturtium & red wine jus.
“I wanted to provide a light summery dish for the menu using my signature style of cooking by using a prime cut and a secondary cut. I used scotch fillet as the hero because it has a bold meaty flavour and you don’t really need to do too much to it. I chose ox tongue as the secondary cut becasue I had recently found my grandmother’s recipes which brought back memories of sitting at her table for lunch eating her sliced tongue sandwiches! I decided to use tongue but take it a step further by pickling it.
I wanted all the flavours of this dish to shine through individually, so kept the scotch fillet simple by just pan searing and finishing in the oven. I wanted to add a slight smoky flavour to the palate that was subtle and not overpowering so I added it to the crumb by smoking then drying the mushrooms and adding them to breadcrumbs which are fried in beef dripping. I decided to make the carbohydrate light on the dish so chose to slice Agrias on a mandolin and stuck the slices together to make a puffed potato ball in the fryer.”
LAMB DISH
Lumina lamb cutlets with pressed lamb neck terrine, topped with curried granola, courgette & basil purée, green tomato chutney, pickled baby beetroot, served with a split rosemary & lamb glaze.
“I wanted to showcase a prime and secondary cut of lamb in this dish which is my signature style of cooking. I especially love to showcase the secondary cuts utilising them in a modern way and creating amazing flavour combinations.
The chutney and granola both have a bit of heat in them and I wanted to use the sweet and sour combination to bring out the flavour of the lamb. I made a terrine out of the lamb neck, braising it for 12 hours in local vegetables and stock until super tender. The cooking liquor is then reduced to a concentrate without losing the flavour of the lamb which I then fold into the neck and press.
I made a purée with fresh seasonal courgettes and basil allowing the flavour of these products to shine for themselves. The pickle is made by roasting the beetroot and then soaking it in the pickling liquor and I finished off the dish by making a green tomato chutney with Curious Croppers green tomatoes.”
Q&A WITH Andrew may
What inspired you to become a chef?
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what inspired me, but I do have one stand-out food memory from when I was young, which was when my mum took some cooking classes using really interesting ingredients. She would bring the food home for us to try and it was delicious. I had a go at cooking the recipes at home myself and remember how good they tasted.
I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to do when I left school – I knew I liked food and when I started training something just clicked. I wanted to do more and right from the start there was a passion that has never left me. Since then I’ve kept building on it. I remember as a young chef how exciting it felt working with food. I was really keen and all I wanted to do was try different products and food combinations.
How did you train to become a chef?
I completed a diploma in cookery at the Whanganui Polytech and then returned to Palmerston North where I got a job at The Coachman as a kitchen porter but ended up on the larder and doing the dishes so it was pretty busy. I got to meet a lot of chefs going through that place who encouraged me to travel and get some overseas experience.
Taking their advice, in 1992 I headed overseas. I thought I knew a bit about cooking but was quickly shown I didn’t really know anything. There were a lot of different influences and cooking styles that were being used which I found very exciting. With so much knowledge and information at my feet, I became a sponge and wanted to learn as much as I could.
I ended up travelling extensively throughout Europe and Zimbabwe before settling in Scotland. I began working as head chef in one of Scotland’s top country house hotels - The Kinloch House Hotel, which is a member of Relais and Chateau. This was a great time in my career and while I was there, I had some of my recipes published in the UK edition of ‘A Taste of Relais and Chateaux 97” and in 2009 I won the ‘Chef of the Year’ title in Scotland.
How did Amayjen The Restaurant come about?
While living in Scotland, I met my wife Jenni, and we started a family. We always talked about owning our own restaurant and in 2010 we moved the family back to the Manawatu to pursue this dream. Four years later it became a reality when we opened Amayjen (pronounced ‘Imagine’) in Feilding.
I could see that the Manawatu was not being recognized as a culinary destination and I wanted to change that perception and create something amazing and to be noticed and get recognised for it. There is a lot of good quality produce in this area and I wanted to showcase this by creating a menu with modern and innovative food using ingredients that were right on our doorstep. I started entering competitions which was a great way to gain recognition for ourselves and the Manawatu and to keep the locals coming back in for more.
We have recently just relocated Amayjen from Feilding to Palmerston North. We found with Covid-19 it was getting very quiet and when the opportunity to move to a busier area came up, we decided to relocate. It has been busier being in the CBD of a larger community and we are getting guests coming in for the first time and discovering us, not realizing that we have been in the Manawatu for a long time. With the difficulties facing hospitality, we have opened café style for breakfast and lunch and then move to fine dining for dinner service.
What’s the secret to running a successful restaurant such as Amayjen?
I would say staying focused and having an end goal in mind. Also maintaining high standards is very important. We have quality control right throughout the process from kitchen to table to keep our quality and consistency high.
Choosing the right staff is also important and ensuring they have the passion for the job - so it’s about having a lot of food conversations when choosing new staff members rather than relying on what their CV says.
How do you define yourself as a chef?
I love to cook and because now we are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner I am cooking a wide range of food. But I guess if I was to define what I really enjoy, I have come back to showcasing simple ingredients and allowing them to shine on the plate. Taking three ingredients and using them in different ways appeals to me rather than a combination of twenty different things. I also love to use a prime and secondary cut and I guess that would be my signature style when it comes to cooking with beef and lamb. Simple good quality ingredients well executed is what I am aiming for.
What motivates you to keep developing as a chef?
I am motivated by my team and I am dedicated to teaching them. They are a young team so to be able to impart my knowledge and help them grow into their careers is really rewarding. It’s great to be able to take them foraging and to show them all the different things around the Manawatu that can be used in our dishes and to listen to their ideas about flavour combinations and what will work and how their ideas can be executed onto the plate.
How do you feel about being named a Beef + Lamb Ambassador Chef for a second time?
I was really chuffed to hear the news. It’s nice to get the recognition as everyone is struggling at the moment and trying their best. To be recognised for all our hard work is extremely important - now more than ever.
Why cook with NZ beef and lamb?
I love how natural New Zealand beef and lamb is and how the meat reflects what the animal is fed on. It is an amazing product and well cared for right throughout the food chain - from how it is grown, transported, and processed - which creates a really high-quality product for chefs to use. We need to know that we are working with a consistently good product so that I have confidence that every dish I serve is of the highest standard. Our beef and lamb dishes are really popular here in the Manawatu and as a chef, I am proud to represent the farmers and their products on the plate.
How do you tell the gate to plate story on your menu?
It is all about training our front of house staff so they know the menu really well. They need to be able to explain to guests where everything comes from and be able to answer any questions about the ingredients we use and how things are cooked. It’s important for them to have the knowledge of local produce we are using – it’s good for the area. We get all our staff to taste all the dishes which really helps them to be able to explain things to our customers.
What dish on your menu are you most proud of?
I am proud of every dish on our menu. I try to get perfection on the plate with just the right combination of ingredients, flavour, and presentation. We have received recognition for quite a few of our dishes through various awards so would be hard to choose one.
Our food is a whole team effort and I guess what I am most proud of is that we can sit down as a team and all be involved in creating our menu. I like to involve all our junior chefs in this process so that they can also feel proud of the food we send out on the plate. It’s great seeing the young chefs experiment with different flavour combinations and menu items and be able to guide them on what might or might not work.
Who is your food hero?
There are some Scottish chefs who are doing really well at the moment. In particular, Adam Handling who is London-based, but from my wife’s hometown. He won the Scottish chef of the year a couple of years after me. He’s been on Master Chef Professional with his own kind of style which is really cool and has opened about three restaurants.
Tom Kitchin is another chef who has a Michelin star restaurant. I think his stuff is amazing and it has been inspiring to see them getting through Covid and what they have done to keep going.
What is a restaurant anywhere in the world that is on your bucket list?
There are two that I would love to visit - Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, UK and Station Lockness @The Lovat Hotel.
What is your favourite cookbook?
One I keep referring back to is Eleven Madison Park – The Cookbook. It’s a restaurant in New York with three Michelin stars – although they are completely plant-based now, their old menu was phenomenal. Another book I love is the Fish Butchery – it has some amazing techniques.
How do you keep up with new cooking trends?
It would have to be through social media. It’s such a great way to look at what is going on and opens up a world of ideas.
What does sustainability look like to you as a chef?
Sustainability is becoming more and more important especially when you are working with food. It’s about minimising waste and using as much of the produce you are working with as you can. We have introduced recycling in the kitchen which has become a habit now so it’s second nature to look at something and know how to deal with it. Our food scraps go out to a farm and when purchasing our meat we look at the suppliers and the processes they are using to raise their animals. It’s important to know we are buying from suppliers who are sustainable and have the same values front of mind.
What advice to give to young upcoming chefs?
Be open-minded – it’s a hard job and can be stressful – you get to be creative though, so if that’s how you are it’s a great job but you need to listen and focus and be prepared to work hard. Keep thinking of new flavour combinations and cooking trends so that you are always keeping one step ahead of the customers.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Having more faith in myself and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. A backup plan is always a good idea too!
When you are not in the restaurant what do you like to do with your spare time?
I am always thinking about food so I read a lot of cookbooks in my spare time or you might see me on my ride-on mower, mowing the fields. I am normally off on a Sunday which is a great time to catch up with the family and see the grandchildren.
What is the next step for you?
Maybe being able to let go a little and trust the staff that they can take over and I can take a night or two off. As a business owner, it’s hard to take a break and that’s just the way it is. It’s really tough at the moment and with a lot of the community isolating our bookings can be looking really good early on in the week, but then they start to collapse by the weekend. We are just looking at ways to keep going and have just introduced the use of Uber to get food out to people.
What has been something that has kept you going throughout the pandemic?
Getting the mind right and concentrating on getting through it. It has never been an option to give up, so focusing on finding ways to change what we offer depending on the circumstances. Getting involved with competitions and applying to be an Ambassador Chef are great at taking your mind to a positive place.
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ANDREW MAY IN THE NEWS
If you have a question for Andrew or any of our Ambassador Chefs or would like to know more, please get in touch by emailing Lisa Moloney.
