Style: October 01, 2021

Style | Feature 27
Chefs order using the operation’s cutting-edge
online platform.
Packed and distributed from Gravity’s own warehouse,
even the packaging is environmentally friendly, although
“I still had to know that the fish would arrive in Auckland
in the same state.”
“I’ve chosen a different path from the big fishery
companies, by cutting out the middleman concept in
supply – which is deeply ingrained and rather cloak-anddagger,”
he says openly. “There are only two people that
matter – the end user and the harvester. The end user
is the chef and we’re giving them the confidence to help
tell this sustainability story.”
ADVERSITY PROMPTS GROWTH
Becoming a kaitaki for Eat New Zealand in the middle of
2020 was a double-edged sword for Nate.
“It was a challenging year for me personally; I had a
lot of things going on. It was great that I was getting
somewhere – I felt elated and filled with joy. But until
then, I had just been focused on fish supplies, and six
months into the year Covid made Anna and I decide to
go down the food tourism route.”
He was partly motivated by seeing what “people I
cared about” in the hospitality and tourism sectors were
going through. Some, including Nate’s chef friends, had
to shut down their businesses due to the lack of visitors
to the country.
“It got me thinking. We’re locked in our own
beautiful country now, but we can still travel and do
things. Launching Gravity Experience showed that
we had everything in our back pocket to make for a
special experience.”
Next thing you know, “[Cory Campbell], arguably one
of the best chefs in the world, is producing a 22-course
degustation menu for four people over five days! It
showed the lengths we could go to,” Nate says.
A VOICE FOR GOOD
Also in 2020, Nate received the Emerging Leader Award at
the New Zealand Seafood Sustainability Awards. Taking his
mantle and exposure seriously, Nate applied for Ministry
for Primary Industries (MPI) funding to roll out his Gravity
Fishing model nationwide. Using his infrastructure model
and business learnings, Nate hopes other regions will
emulate what he’s done to reap the community benefits.
“It will restore sovereignty and security to people,
bringing fish back to them for an affordable price – it will
mean access for all parties, from harvester to consumer,
so they don’t have to buy into mass production. It opens
up the possibility of people reusing packaging, fishing for
regionally specific produce, keeping health and wealth
within the community,” he says. “It ticks all the boxes of
food resilience.”
Here is someone who lives by the values Angela
Clifford talked about. Like a true kaitaki, he aims to take
people – and communities – on the journey.
Closing the loop
Jackson Mehlhopt is always after
the source. The head chef at
Gin Gin in Christchurch wants a better
idea of where the restaurant’s food
comes from – and so do his diners.
H
aving worked with fellow Eat NZ kaitaki
Nate Smith for a few years at various
restaurants, Jackson loved experiencing the
Gravity story for himself.
“The mahi those guys put in is amazing.
Meeting people like Nate, who harvest our
food, is the quickest way for us to understand
where it comes from. It’s a story I want to tell.”
The first time out with Nate, Jackson and
his friends were looking for albacore tuna off
the Fiordland coast, but they only caught one
kahawai as water clarity was poor after rain.
“The trip gave me a deeper appreciation of
the wild elements harvesters battle with.”
Gin Gin is known for focusing on limiting food
waste; Jackson uses the whole product (fish
stock, skin, tail and all). He primarily repurposes
waste through fermentation; a natural step
for the guy who grew vegetables and raised
chickens as a youngster in Christchurch.
“There’s definitely a movement – I’ve noticed
that people are asking questions about where
things are sourced and how it’s processed in the
kitchen. That’s what gets me excited.”