Darren Conole -

In 1991, a young Australian Chef started as the Saucier in the well-known ‘Chandelier Room’ at Menzies at Rialto Melbourne. Over the next thirty years Darren Conole was to relocate to 5 Star properties around the globe.

On to the U.K. working for Sheraton in Edinburgh and stints in red ‘M’ restaurants in Scotland and then moving to London and undertake one of his favourite roles as Sous Chef at I-Thai, in Europe’s principal Michelin-starred boutique hotel, The Hempel.

With his Kiwi Bride, they moved to New Zealand, where he took the role of Chef de Cuisine at Pescatore, at the George Hotel Christchurch.

Working as Executive Chef and Director of F&B, the next two decades saw Darren move to Korea, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, and back to China with hospitality giants Hyatt, InterContinental and luxury hotel brand Shangri-La.

2015  brought Darren “home” to NZ where he commenced as the Executive Chef at The George, Christchurch.

After two years as a Hospitality recruiter, Darren moved back into operations as Executive Chef for The University of Canterbury Students Association.