Cameron is the executive chef and co-owner of The Fat Duck, Te Anau.

Cameron trained to be a chef at CPIT but has actually been cooking since the age of 10. Inspired by his Nana’s passion for food, cooking soon became his life-long love and career.

While studying he was fortunate to get a job at the Crown Plaza and have mentors like Tony Smith, Richard Hingston, Neil MacInnes, Darren Wright, and David Spice. He loved CPIT and was proud to represent them at the 15th Toque d'or event in 2005, winning double gold and maintaining CPIT's high standards. This set him up well for a great career in hospitality.

During his years overseas Cameron worked at Harvey Nichols in London and was head chef on a private yacht traveling the world and cooking for celebrities such as Beyonce & Jay Z, Paris Hilton, Bono, P Diddy & Rihanna. Cameron looks on this time as one of his best jobs, although there was a lot of pressure, he says it was so diverse with clients from all over the world and he learnt a lot. He also met his partner Selina, which he says is the best thing that happened to him and they now have two beautiful boys. They moved back to New Zealand in 2015 which led them to Te Anau where they purchased The Fat Duck Restaurant and Bar, as it had been a life-long dream to own a restaurant.

For Cameron, inspiration comes from sourcing great quality local ingredients, handling them with care, and using excellent techniques to create a simple but delicious plate of food.

Cameron successfully competed in the Global Chef Pacific Rim semi-final last year. He created a lamb dish which he says was a beautiful representation of some of New Zealand’s most famous export produce. Cameron is now working on creating his final entries for the competition which will be held in Singapore in October 2024.

This dish is a showcase of New Zealand lamb inspired by Cameron’s journey to the Global Chef Pacific Rim semi final last year. Wanting to create a visually appealing dish with the wow factor, Cameron rolled and stuffed a lamb saddle with spinach and rolled it in a hazelnut dukka. The combination of dark green spinach and the beautiful rose colour of the lamb really made the dish eye-catching.

Cameron further elevated the dish by adding a sweetbread and lamb loin bon bon with fresh herbs which created an incredible flavour combination. Extra texture was added by wrapping the bon bon in potato strings and deep frying. Wanting to reflect the flavours of a summer BBQ, the dish is paired with a smoky kumara puree and char grilled brocollini. The finishing touch was the addition of a goat cheese cannelloni and a black garlic jus bringing the whole dish together.