Simon Gault: A Life Built Around Food, Business, and People

Simon Gault: A Life Built Around Food, Business, and People

Simon Gault has spent decades shaping how New Zealand eats, talks about food, and gathers around a table. He’s a chef and restaurateur, yes, but also a business owner and communicator who understands what it takes to build something that lasts. There’s a grounded Kiwi sensibility to everything he does, even when the setting is far from home.

His career has taken him well beyond New Zealand. Simon trained and worked in the UK at places like Leiths in London and the historic Michelin-starred Thornbury Castle, experiences that sharpened his craft and broadened his outlook. Along the way, he also found himself cooking privately for high-profile individuals, a world where discretion, consistency, and trust matter just as much as skill.

Back home, Simon became Executive Chef of the Nourish Group, overseeing restaurants that many New Zealanders know well. From Euro and FISH in Auckland to Jervois Steak House in Queenstown and Wellington favourites like Shed 5 and Pravda, his influence was wide and hands-on. In 2017, he opened Giraffe in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, putting local growers and producers front and centre in a way that felt honest and deliberate.

Recognition followed, but it never seemed to define him. Industry awards, hall-of-fame inductions, and national honours arrived as markers along the way, not the destination. What mattered more was building teams, setting standards, and helping others lift their game.

Today, Simon’s work stretches well beyond restaurants. He owns Sous Chef, a fine foods business that sources ingredients from artisan producers around the world, and he’s developed product ranges that sit comfortably in Kiwi kitchens. He’s also a familiar face on screen, best known for his time on MasterChef New Zealand and series like Chef on a Mission, where his calm authority and straight-talking style resonated with audiences.

After a serious health scare in 2019, Simon shifted focus again. Working alongside nutritionist Sean Robertson, he developed 4 Wheels of Health, a practical, science-based programme built around sustainable change. It added another layer to his speaking work, where he now shares insights on leadership, resilience, customer experience, and wellbeing, drawing directly from lived experience.

Through his books, columns, brand partnerships, and live appearances, Simon continues to show how food connects to much bigger conversations. That’s why Collaborate represents him. He brings depth, credibility, and a human approach that fits naturally with the way we work and the stories we like to tell.