Lily is Damian's grandmother...
At 7 years old, helping my grandmother in her garden in Christchurch, then shelling peas afterwards, was probably the biggest turning point in my life. with a sweet juicy spring pea in my mouth only an hour or so from the garden, my fate was sealed, I was going to be a chef.
I cut my teeth in Wellington, most notably at Nikau Cafe. There I learned an enduring lesson in the importance of sourcing quality, local ingredients and organic if at all possible. Also the appropriate respect of those ingredients we love so much. Thanks to chef Kelda Hains, I am still more excited about beatiful ingredients than almost anything in life.
From there I went to London, worked with one of my heroes, Georgio Locatelli, at Locanda Locatelli and later, most importantly at The Anchor & Hope.
The Anchor & Hope was my next big turning point. Owners, chef Jonathan Jones (God) and bar manager Robert Shaw, both hailing from St John, came together with a touch of The Eagle to produce an award winning, influential site. While The Eagle was London's first "Gastropub" (adding a pub to the kitchen not the other way around), The Anchor & Hope perfected it.
A shared love of the duck hearts, pig's head terrine, braised rabbit and pithivier, led Melanie and I to each other. I couldn't bring the Anchor & Hope back to New Zealand, but I did bring Melanie, and thus, Lily & Andree's Cuisine was born...
Damian Langman
