MATTHEW BURGESS

A proud New Zealand Maori, Matt started his career in Wellington, cutting his teeth in some of the city’s most iconic restaurants; Dockside, Cafe Laffare and the legendary Matterhorn.

Matt moved to London in 1998 starting at the newly opened Soho House in Greek Street. He went on to work as a Senior Chef at Bluebird in Chelsea, Gordon Ramsey’s Maze Grill and Jamie Oliver’s Threadneedle Street.

In 2015, he was snapped up as the Group Executive Chef at Caravan and Vardo Restaurants, where he was part of the team growing the brand from two to eight sites.

With over 30 years experience, Matt Burgess, often known as matblak on Instagram, began his next move in 2022 with a step into his own food consultancy business, Kaiwhenua.

At Kaiwhenua, which means food from the land in his native Maori, Matt now creates innovative recipes for companies including Provenance Butcher, Busaba Ethai, YETI, Goodman Steak House, ZELMAN MEATS, BEAST, PURE NEW ZEALAND, Caravan Restaurant Group, OFYR AND Big Green Egg.

IN 2024 Matt Burgess created a range of award winning HOT SAUCES under the brand Kai by Matblak, NOW BEING STOCKED IN THE UK’S BEST RETAILERS NAMLEY SELFRIDGES, BIG GREEN EGG, TURNER AND GEORGE, PROVENANCE BUTCHER, SOCAL BBQ SHOP ,DELLI AND HG WALTER.