BEN
WALLACE

Our first chef-in-residence dinner sold out so fast we have opened up bookings early for the second one!

We are thrilled to host Ben Wallace as our second chef in residence. Ben is currently a chef at OOH-FA and he also has his own foodie side hustle Sunslashday with Johnny Redel.

Ben started cooking as an excuse to leave school early, an excuse that has luckily led him into doing something he really loves. As a kid, he remembers being lured to BBQ. With his dad at the helm, he was enchanted by the sensory-ness of it all, dry heat wafting from the coals, the sizzle of raw flesh hitting the grill and the impatient wait for the meat to rest, something his young mind didn’t understand until much later on. 

Cooking has offered Ben the thing we are all looking for, a place to express ourselves. He loves the planning and organisation and equally, he loves the contrasting lawlessness of it all.

Ben’s favourite places to eat in the whole world are Yaowarat road in Bangkok and Toyosu fish market in Tokyo. Ben - and his food have been heavily influenced by these two places. In Bangkok, there are charcoal grills being kept alight by little plastic fans, boiling vats of spicy broth alongside mountains of roast meat and in Tokyo there are intensely considerate dishes being made by elderly cooks with the most meticulous skills. Ben’s food is the best of both. He’s here for precision just as much as he is for dunking in the deep fryer. 

Ben has done the rounds and worked at some of Auckland’s best restaurants, Cazador and Amano to name a few. With no prompt, Ben spoke generously to his kitchen mentors, most notably Damaris Coulter from Cocos, Samir Allen at Gemmayze street and of course the owners of Pici and OOH-FA , where he currently cooks. There could be some ass-kissing going on here but there is none in sight. Ben is a rare cut, authentic and humble to his core with that energy that only truly good people have. He has a deep and genuine admiration for people, their craft, their work ethic and their food. 

Ben loves to cook for people who just get it. He’s here for the 14-hour shift and he’s here to use a crisp white tee as the canvas for a night well spent.  He’s here to come home smelling like ash, covered in sweat, probably some blood and maybe a few tears, only to wash it all off and do it all again tomorrow. He’s here for the art in all of it.

Calla lilies are Ben’s favourite flower.