The Central App shares a story of our region’s artists each month. If you know someone with creative talent to nominate contact: [email protected]

Central’s Gabi Lind is a chef, inspired by the landscape, her garden and her love of food turning nourishment into art. 

She has 25 years of experience and believes Central’s beautiful backyard brings so much to the table.

Where do you live in Central Otago?

“I live in Bannockburn, on our small property in the heart of the township.

“We bought and built eight years ago. The reason for building there was I could see the potential for being able to build a great garden. The growing conditions were fantastic.” 

Bannockburn chef and gardener Gabi Lind.

How did you get started as an artist?

“I always loved cooking, I basically grew up cooking with my mum, she taught me a lot.

“I’d dreamed of being able to travel the world and I figured the best way to do that was to become a chef. I love food, I love feeding people. I think of cooking as my love language. 

“Nothing says love to me than a plate of food that I’ve made and placed in front of someone to nourish them.

“I think food can be part of the creative area. It’s how we look at a dish when we create it as a whole with taste first, then texture, how it makes us feel and then lastly how it looks, very much like how a painter or sculptor thinks.” 

Chefs are creating a feast for eyes and stomachs. PHOTO: supplied 

How have you ended up living and working here?

“I grew up very luckily all over the South Island. [I was] born on the West Coast, had my early years in the Catlins then moved to Stewart Island before going to boarding school in Invercargill. 

“My parents moved to Cromwell about 20 years ago and one summer I wasn’t working and came and spent a couple months here. One thing led to another and I found a job that I loved with a boss that really let me do my own thing.” 

What’s your favourite spot in Central?

“Nothing is better to me than being able to go walking in the hills, we are very fortunate that only a wee drive away we have some of the most beautiful countryside.” 

What else are you involved in within the community?

“[My] hope in the future is to become more active [in the community]. I’d like to get involved in the area of food sustainability and the availability of good nutritional food for everyone. To understand where our food comes from and the understanding of how it is produced.” 

What do you see as the biggest challenge for Central?

“I believe Central is at a crossroads. We were always this small area of New Zealand that nobody really thought about. We just went about doing our own thing. Producing incredible things; our wine industry, our horticulture and having the area for growth is immense but now we need to sit back and really think about what we really want from things.

“Where does Central want to be in 20 years time, 50 years time? [Currently] we are very fortunate we’ve managed to ride out some of the big issues the rest of the country is facing but now I think we need to future proof ourselves to be able to continue growing in a direction that is sustainable.” 

Gabi’s photography is eye-candy too, along with landscapes, dogs, gardens, and delicious looking kai (food) all feature on her social media accounts. PHOTO: instagram 

How can people find out more about your art?

“The Kitchen Garden can be found through our website.

“I’m planning a few pop-up events throughout the year [too]. You can also find us on Instagram @thekitchengardennz.” 

How did you manage through the pandemic and what are you doing differently post

Covid-19?

“The Kitchen Garden actually grew from lock down. I’d been working for other people for a number of years and had got to the stage when I was a bit over working for someone else’s vision.

“I had the time to step back and really think about what I wanted my future to be. When we’d built our place I’d had in the back of my mind that one day I’d be running something from it so had built the kitchen to be a commercial kitchen and had designed the gardens far bigger than we’d ever need.

“We’d lost our brother a couple of years previously from cancer and I was at that stage where I didn’t want to put off doing the things I wanted just because we had a mortgage or because we wanted to go on holiday. It was a case of now or never.” 

What does the future look like for you and your artistic work?

“Over the years of the business it’s grown and evolved. Now going into another summer season I feel I’m just about in the perfect place and with a wee bit more tweaking I’ll finally get that work life balance that [everyone] strives for.”