The Wairarapa really is my home ground. I'm part Maori on my father's side and our family marae is in Greytown.

My mother's family is from the region's main city, Masterton and two of my favourite places in New Zealand are here - Cape Palliser, the southern-most tip of the North Island, and the dramatic rocky outcrops of White Rocks. As kids we would have family holidays on a friends' farm in the area, gathering seaweed from the beach, and getting paua and kina (a native sea urchin) off the rocks. A few years ago I was back filming a show for an American network and we gently opened the kina and scooped out the roe - it was a culinary revelation. The golden eggs are a prized delicacy around many parts of the world. Dad would also go crayfish fishing and catch lots in the pots. The coastline has to be seen to be believed as it's dramatically beautiful with wild seas.

Venison

A dish of tender Cervena.
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Smoked eel

In London I like to cook with smoked eel which is a fantastic culinary product from this area. I take eel fillets, skinned and off the bone and lightly saute them on one side so they're crisp, and add them to a salad of steamed kumara and capers with a squeeze of lemon juice and local olive oil.

Destinations

There's a lot of dramatic coastal scenery in the Wairarapa and a drive to Cape Palliser where you can sometimes see seals and penguins makes a great day trip. Well known Wellington restaurateur Marcus Darley has opened a terrific boutique hotel in Greytown called The White Swan Country Hotel. It's close to the Martinborough vineyards and has 11 uniquely decorated rooms plus it serves unpretentious New Zealand cuisine using lots of locally sourced produce.