Fail File: Peter Gordon, ONZM, chef and restaurateur

Fail File: Peter Gordon, ONZM, chef and restaurateur
Peter Gordon: In a crisis, he stays calm, even when confronted by a menacing chimp in Nepal. (Image: Liz Clarkson)
Victoria Carter
Each fortnight, Victoria Carter speaks to someone about failure and disappointment and what they learned. This week, she talks to Peter Gordon, ONZM, a chef, restaurateur, writer and food consultant looking for the next way to bring community, good food and food producers together. I was really disappointed when I was turned down for an apprenticeship with Air New Zealand in 1978. I wanted to be a chef. I grew up in Whanganui, and we never ate at the few restaurants there, just a fried-food place called Big Tex, so I’m not sure why c...

More Fail File

Fail File: Simon Power, Fisher Funds CEO
Editor's Picks

Fail File: Simon Power, Fisher Funds CEO

“I know that people at their core are fundamentally good.” 

Victoria Carter 22 Nov 2025
Fail File: Tim Alpe, LyLo managing director
Editor's Picks

Fail File: Tim Alpe, LyLo managing director

“A crisis shared is a crisis halved. You don’t have to carry it all by yourself.”

Victoria Carter 08 Nov 2025
Fail File: Christine Rankin, Hospice Taupō CEO
Editor's Picks

Fail File: Christine Rankin, Hospice Taupō CEO

“My children, stepchildren and grandchildren are everything to me.”

Victoria Carter 25 Oct 2025