MICHAEL MEREDITH

Chef Michael Meredith was born in the South Pacific island-nation of Samoa. At 13 he was sent to New Zealand to live with his uncle; it was an auspicious move away from his family and homeland. At the age of 19, he enrolled at Auckland University of Technology on scholarship and his passion for food and cooking was born.

He was awarded another scholarship to study his craft in the US; he went to school at The Culinary Institute of America for several weeks and then staged at several top-notch Manhattan restaurants, including Montrachet, March, and Gramercy Tavern. Upon his return back to New Zealand, Meredith worked his way through the best of Auckland's kitchens: Antoine's, Vinnies, and then as the founding chef of The Grove. In 2005, while at The Grove, Meredith won the Lewisham Award for Outstanding Chef.

In September of 2007, and after a year of searching for the perfect space, Meredith opened his eponymous restaurant in the Mt. Eden neighborhood outside of Auckland. Since its opening, Merediths has received numerous accolades, including the 2009 Metro Audio Restaurant Award of Supreme Winner & this year's Supreme Winner of the Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year. Meredith is currently working on a cookbook, and hopes to one day take his extraordinary cooking back home to Samoa.