Gabriel Levionnois is a study of contrasts. It is hard to pin point whether his passion and drive spring from his Gaelic blood or from his Tahitian mother’s side; that which binds him so fiercely to land, sea and sky. It is both really and his divided cultural inheritance creates a positive friction that lights many sparks. Gabriel has a stingray tattooed on his back and a mind is like an octopus with tentacles reaching far and wide.
We’ve come to know Gabriel as a very good friend over the years. He’s been our go-to-guy and unofficial guide to his homeland New Caledonia for our work with New Caledonia Tourism .
He spent time in NZ at school, trained as a chef in France, did the luxury yacht circuit then returned to Noumea to establish “Restaurant au Petit Cafe,' one of the country's favourite eating spots.
Making waves with his blended French and Kanak cuisine he cultivated direct relationships with producers and shone the spotlight on fresh, local produce. He is not ashamed to show us the source of his inspiration, at a little family run 'bush" restaurant Aux Delices des Jumelles near Foa. His relationships with the owners is as collaborative as it is the au Petit environment where he’s strong on staff participation and ownership in the enterprise. The restaurant is only open four days a week to enable Gaby and the crew “to have a life “
On our last trip we needed some seafood to make a story about cooking in the apartment style hotel - Chateaux Royale.
He dived into a reef not more than five minutes offshore and emerged half an hour later with a bounty of kai moana.
Then it was into the kitchen to create a blend of Kiwi, French, New Caledonian tastes .
One of the highlights of our few days there was being invited to his father's place for dinner.
Normandy born, Francois Levionnois is a delight. Hospitable, irreverent and charming he welcomed us to his table. He lives in a Lockwood house he sourced from NZ, filled with marine memorabilia and artifacts, a reflection of his full and still very active life.
Francois holds a French record for catching the countries biggest lobster, attested to by a grainy published photo taken some 30 years ago. He'd been diving that morning and had a bounty of scallops to cook us for dinner He had already made a fantastic bouillabaisse style dish for our main and Gabriel joined forces with him in the kitchen to make the starter. As Francois shucked open the scallops he cast a watchful eye over his chef son , just making sure everything was up to scratch.Where ever in the world you are it's the same - " Father knows best." It was great watching the two of them banter their way through the cooking.
Gabriel had picked up a few elements from the restaurant kitchen for dessert and, joined by two of their friends, we sat down to a wonderful dinner. It was such an excellent night, great food , a lot of laughter, Gallic high spirits and hospitality and way too much wine .
We left with a present of shells that Francois had collected on his travels, lot's of photos and a lovely "snapshot" of life in Noumea. A classic French night of fabulous food and beaucoup bonhomie.
When Gaby pops in and out of New Zealand, he is usually on a mission. It might be to check the restaurant scene looking for fresh ideas for au Petit Cafe or networking as he develops a Pacific Chef’s association.mRecently he arrived to be part of a 10 day silent meditation retreat. We went to Coco's Cantina for dinner beforehand and got talking with co-owner Darios about her The Realness vision, Gabriel’s eyes lit up with recognition of a fellow missionary.
Post the retreat I expected maybe a little mellowness, instead he emerged with total focus and clarity about his new work, creating Neo Food. We then spent a day “ mind mapping “ an idea I had. As stated he has a mind like an octopus
Gabriel recently secured significant funding to initiate the Neo Food association in New Caledonia. He’s mirroring his restaurant philosophy, an environment that nurtures and develops people and resources. Focusing on local producers, consumers and institutions Neo Food strives to facilitate networks and create interactions between stake holders at all levels across the Pacific.In the broadest terms, the aim of Neo Food is to work towards the creation of a sustainable food system in Oceania.
The aim is to implement change through a Participatory Leadership process .
It is very much a grass roots development but he hopes to link all players and along the way, educate for better management of resources and positive environmental outcomes. While this may seem a lot of “pie in the sky “ and my understanding a little fractured ( the Neo Foods website is all in French ) knowing Gabriel and his influence we will see some firm foundations to this vision cementing sooner rather than later.
My first request to Gabriel, in the spirit of “participant management “ is an English version of the Neo Foods website!
©Truffle Hounds
Words: Grant (Cook) Allen
Images: Jason (Burg) Burgess
We’ve come to know Gabriel as a very good friend over the years. He’s been our go-to-guy and unofficial guide to his homeland New Caledonia for our work with New Caledonia Tourism .
He spent time in NZ at school, trained as a chef in France, did the luxury yacht circuit then returned to Noumea to establish “Restaurant au Petit Cafe,' one of the country's favourite eating spots.
Making waves with his blended French and Kanak cuisine he cultivated direct relationships with producers and shone the spotlight on fresh, local produce. He is not ashamed to show us the source of his inspiration, at a little family run 'bush" restaurant Aux Delices des Jumelles near Foa. His relationships with the owners is as collaborative as it is the au Petit environment where he’s strong on staff participation and ownership in the enterprise. The restaurant is only open four days a week to enable Gaby and the crew “to have a life “
On our last trip we needed some seafood to make a story about cooking in the apartment style hotel - Chateaux Royale.
One of the highlights of our few days there was being invited to his father's place for dinner.
Normandy born, Francois Levionnois is a delight. Hospitable, irreverent and charming he welcomed us to his table. He lives in a Lockwood house he sourced from NZ, filled with marine memorabilia and artifacts, a reflection of his full and still very active life.
Francois holds a French record for catching the countries biggest lobster, attested to by a grainy published photo taken some 30 years ago. He'd been diving that morning and had a bounty of scallops to cook us for dinner He had already made a fantastic bouillabaisse style dish for our main and Gabriel joined forces with him in the kitchen to make the starter. As Francois shucked open the scallops he cast a watchful eye over his chef son , just making sure everything was up to scratch.Where ever in the world you are it's the same - " Father knows best." It was great watching the two of them banter their way through the cooking.
Gabriel had picked up a few elements from the restaurant kitchen for dessert and, joined by two of their friends, we sat down to a wonderful dinner. It was such an excellent night, great food , a lot of laughter, Gallic high spirits and hospitality and way too much wine .
We left with a present of shells that Francois had collected on his travels, lot's of photos and a lovely "snapshot" of life in Noumea. A classic French night of fabulous food and beaucoup bonhomie.
When Gaby pops in and out of New Zealand, he is usually on a mission. It might be to check the restaurant scene looking for fresh ideas for au Petit Cafe or networking as he develops a Pacific Chef’s association.mRecently he arrived to be part of a 10 day silent meditation retreat. We went to Coco's Cantina for dinner beforehand and got talking with co-owner Darios about her The Realness vision, Gabriel’s eyes lit up with recognition of a fellow missionary.
Post the retreat I expected maybe a little mellowness, instead he emerged with total focus and clarity about his new work, creating Neo Food. We then spent a day “ mind mapping “ an idea I had. As stated he has a mind like an octopus
Gabriel recently secured significant funding to initiate the Neo Food association in New Caledonia. He’s mirroring his restaurant philosophy, an environment that nurtures and develops people and resources. Focusing on local producers, consumers and institutions Neo Food strives to facilitate networks and create interactions between stake holders at all levels across the Pacific.In the broadest terms, the aim of Neo Food is to work towards the creation of a sustainable food system in Oceania.
The aim is to implement change through a Participatory Leadership process .
It is very much a grass roots development but he hopes to link all players and along the way, educate for better management of resources and positive environmental outcomes. While this may seem a lot of “pie in the sky “ and my understanding a little fractured ( the Neo Foods website is all in French ) knowing Gabriel and his influence we will see some firm foundations to this vision cementing sooner rather than later.
My first request to Gabriel, in the spirit of “participant management “ is an English version of the Neo Foods website!
©Truffle Hounds
Words: Grant (Cook) Allen
Images: Jason (Burg) Burgess
Comments
Post a Comment