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Story: Restaurants and food outlets

The Sugar Club menu, late 1980s

Wellington restaurant the Sugar Club (which ran from 1986 to 1989) was a pioneering exponent of the Pacific rim style of cooking, which combined classical French cooking techniques with fresh local produce and pan-Mediterranean and Asian ingredients – things like the lemongrass and wasabi in dishes on this menu. The owners, including Sugar Club chef Peter Gordon, opened a restaurant with the same name in London, England, in 1995 and introduced Pacific rim food to British palates. Gordon became one of New Zealand's best-known chefs.

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Peter Gordon

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How to cite this page

Perrin Rowland, Restaurants and food outlets – New dining experiences, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/39612/the-sugar-club-menu-late-1980s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Perrin Rowland, published 30 November 2012.

Comments

Sandi Champaneri
13 September 2016
Hi, Can you remember the name of a French Restaurant in Wellington in the 1980's? I was quite young but I think the owner/chef was called Volker (or was that the name of the restaurant?). He was very friendly. I think his wife worked there too. When you walked into his restaurant he had a glass cabinet filled with beautiful lladro ornaments. I remember trying his garlic snails (delicious). I think my sister ordered veal. Would love to know if someone remembers this place. I can't even remember where it was. It wasn't Petit Lyon. Cheers Sandi