Pascal Bedel is the first of two new head chefs (the other is Cavan Boyle, former head chef of Vivace in Fort St) to join Takapuna’s Zomer café. We talked to Pascal in early July about his background and shifting from Wellington to the North Shore.

Channel Magazine: Please tell us about the career route you have taken to reach Zomer.
Pascal Bedel: I’ve been in New Zealand 14 years and had a fine dining restaurant (Le Canard) in Wellington for seven years; I’ve been involved in competitions and fine dining cuisine for about 10 years. When we sold the restaurant we set up food trucks doing rotisserie chickens, duck and pork, and potatoes in duck fat. We ran that for four years – but the weather was not so good in Wellington for food trucks, and we decided to move to Auckland. I arrived on the Shore two months ago, and still have a food truck but we’re not operating it yet.

CM: Please tell us a bit about your plans for Zomer?
PB: I’ll bring my experience here; we’ll develop the catering, maybe open at night as well with a set menu or degustation. I’m working on the cabinet food to add pâtés and confits that people can take home – delicatessen style. We’re also increasing the options for food delivery. I aim for Zomer to be different to everywhere else around here – we’ll increase the range and quality for eating in and take away.

CM: What are your first impressions of Takapuna, and what do you think you’ll most enjoy doing outside work hours?
PB: It’s quite incredible. The beach is not too far and we’ll use that – as long as it’s nice weather. There’s no wind here – we can live outside! It’s Auckland – but Takapuna feels like a village; everyone knows everyone; there’s a real community, and I’m getting to know some of the regulars in here. I really like Takapuna; in summer it will be even better.