From Habitat magazine - issue 20
Internationally respected chef and restaurateur Simon Gault likes to relax with soothing neutral colours.
The thing I love most about MasterChef is how engaged children have become with food since the show started. They want to try everything and judge the dish for themselves. They are tasting and discussing food and above all they’re getting strong opinions about food, which is great to see.
This applies not just to children – people’s interest in food has grown immensely, along with their expectations when going out to dine. This is helping to raise food standards across the country and it’s great to watch the upcoming generation of chefs coming through better and better.
I’ve got a lot going on at the moment. The new season of MasterChef New Zealand is back on air (TV One), and I’m in the middle of photography for my new cookbook coming out later this year. Another big focus is on developing new products for my Simon Gault Home Cuisine range. I currently have a range of awesome stocks and seasonings, and have spent a lot of time perfecting chef-quality taste into easy-to-use products so everyone can cook with amazing flavours at home.
I probably have a fairly casual and confident style. I tend to favour fairly simple, clean lines.
I like green and different shades of blue. I’ve always been drawn to those colours and they always me feel good, relaxed and in a good head space.
I’m always hands on with any new building project, whether it’s a new restaurant or my family home. I work with the best people, who are creative and great at what they do. I always know what I want to achieve but it’s always a collaborative process for me. We always take our time to look at things from all angles so we get the best outcome that’s functional but looks outstanding. I really enjoy learning about all the new materials and the latest designs. However, to be honest, with my house the best bit was being able to move in!
There are great neutral colours in this range. My home uses a lot of creams so it’s fresh, clean and great for making the best of the light. I tend to lean towards that colour palette for easy home living. Picking three, I’d go with Resene Bluff, Resene Emerge and Resene Bianca. They go together well and they’re soothing, go with my preferred neutral colour palette but are not too safe.
With a busy job like mine I like to be able to come home to relax. Those are the kinds of colours that help me to do that.
I’d say that purple is a colour that I’d never put into my home. I’m not such a fan so it would never be a goer for me.
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