Chef Glen Taylor Joins Wellington Restaurant Zibibbo

Chef Glen Taylor Joins Wellington Restaurant Zibibbo

Two award winning chefs have recently joined forces at Wellington's Zibibbo
Restaurant & Bar.

Well known Chef Glen Taylor, of Taylors on Jackson in Petone which was
awarded One Chef's Hat in the Cuisine Awards last year, has come on board as
chef/co-owner, with Zibibbo's Michelin star rated chef and owner Adam
Newell.

"Adam and I have worked together before and we enjoy the collaboration of
working creatively together," says Taylor. "I love the emphasis that Adam
and his wife Nicola have on sourcing fresh produce, not only locally, but
from the extended family's farm. And I'm also excited by the rooftop garden
the restaurant has, with the potential to grow more of our own herbs for the
restaurant."

Nicola Newell's parents have a vineyard and farm in the Wairarapa where they
grow a lot of produce. As well as offering their Three Terraces wines at
Zibibbo, they also source seasonal produce from the farm, including
zucchini, tomatoes, aubergine, herbs, beetroot, feijoas and apples.

The 85 seat restaurant, which was was started by Adam and Nicola Newell in
2000, has an emphasis on Mediterranean-style food, with a Spanish leaning,
underlined by strong classic French culinary techniques and the use of fresh
local ingredients.

As well as featuring an open kitchen with a big rotisserie and a wood-fired
oven, Zibibbo specialises in offering an inspired tapas selection for guests
to enjoy either at the bar with a drink, or to start off their dining
experience.

Bio for Glen Taylor
Born in 1980 Glen Taylor grew up in Australia and trained as a chef in Perth
before heading to New Zealand to work with some of the country's well known
restaurants.

Glen gained his experience in Wellington working under Adam Newell at
Zibibbo, followed by time in the kitchen at Shed 5, owned by Simon Gault,
before heading to Auckland to lead the kitchen at Clooney during its first
two opening years.

After a stint with restaurant group Pack, which saw Glen involved with the
menu development of several eateries, Glen was offered the opportunity to
run the kitchen for the re-fitted Hummingbird Eatery & Bar in Wellington in
2011.

In August 2013, Glen fulfilled his dream, by opening his own restaurant,
Taylors on Jackson, in Petone. A neighbourhood bistro, with elements of
fine dining, Taylors was awarded One Chef's Hat in the 2014 Cuisine NZ Good
Food Awards.

In addition to Taylors on Jackson, Glen joined Zibibbo Restaurant in
Wellington in June 2015 as General Manager, overseeing the kitchen and the
restaurant, which he co-owns and runs with Adam and Nicola Newell.
When asked what inspires Glen in a culinary sense, he replies with: "One of
the simplest and most enjoyable things about life is food. It gives us a
chance to stop whatever we're doing and take a moment with friends and
family, and I enjoy being able to create this every day for our guests".

Bio for Adam Newell
Michelin star rated chef Adam Newell was born in 1965 in Cornwall in the
South-West of England. Inspired by his Cornish grandmother to carve a
culinary career, Adam trained at the local Plymouth College, before he was
enticed by the bright lights of London in the early 1980s and Drakes
Restaurant in South Kensington.

His next step was to the chef brigade at the Mayfair Intercontinental Hotel,
where he met the now infamous Gordon Ramsay and Steve Terry and the
threesome spent their time making traditional English afternoon teas and, as
Adam says, 'trying to stay out of trouble'. Claridges Hotel called for his
expertise where he mastered classical French cuisine under the tutelage of
head chef Marjan Lesnik.

He re-joined Gordon Ramsay and Steve Terry at the Three Michelin starred Le
Gavroche restaurant in the 1980s starting as a commis chef to gain depth of
knowledge and finishing in London in charge of patisserie at the restaurant,
before heading off to New York to work at Albert Roux's The Point in upstate
New York.

Adam's own Michelin-star was awarded when he was working at Fulham Road
restaurant in 1995 with Stephen Bull, though, unbeknownst to him, the
inspectors had been following his progress for some time.

Tokyo beckoned and he joined Le Cordon Bleu cooking school there to follow
his interest in Japanese cuisine and culture: "the most clean and crisp
style of cooking I know".

He met his Kiwi wife Nicola in Tokyo and moved to New Zealand in 1997 where
he took up the high-profile executive chef position at Icon in New Zealand's
national Te Papa museum in Wellington.

In 2000, he opened Zibibbo restaurant in Wellington's Old Police Station.
Adam believes in keeping regional flavours together and favours the
Mediterranean ingredients and flavours, laced with classical French methods.
His signature dishes are his tapas range.

Adam also taught as Head Lecturer Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in Wellington in
its opening year in 2013.

Adam and Nicola spend much of their time at their Riversdale Beach home with
their two daughters, while commuting to Wellington for work.
When asked what motivates him, he replies: "I take so much pleasure in
seeing other people's happiness from the food I cook. I learnt from my
grandmother that it takes the same amount of time and effort to make
something great as it does to make something mediocre."

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