Top chef fills vacancy
New taste to replace Cicchetti
IN the two days since the company behind popular restaurant Cicchetti went into administration, a new restaurant has popped up in its place and its celebrity chef is ready to welcome its first customers.
Former George’s Paragon head chef Alex Kaihea will run Moana Restaurant and Bar with partner Danielle Niuhulu, offering Pacific Rim cuisine.
Cicchetti, which hosted 300 VIPs at a lavish launch in 2015, reportedly did not reopen after the Easter break.
The company behind the Isle of Capri venture went into administration on Monday.
By Wednesday, however, new operators were shifting furniture and stocking the bar, with fellow tenants of Capri on Via Roma informed of the changing of the guard via email.
“A cuisine of medleys, Pacific Rim cooking combines Pacific Island foods, Asian cooking techniques, Califormia freshness and a host of other cultural and culinary influences,” fellow tenants were told.
“Celebrity head chef Alex Kaihea and partner Danielle Niuhulu moved from New Zealand four years ago with their three children to the Gold Coast.
“Previously owning top restaurants in New Zealand, they now want to bring their Pacific flair and passion for food to Capri on Via Roma.”
The business had its tables set, doors open and menus out yesterday.
Before heading up the George’s Paragon kitchen at Sanctuary Cove, Mr Kaihea owned The Beach House Restaurant Bar in Auckland and became a familiar face across the ditch appearing in national television shows including Good Morning and Real Pasifik.
A profile written for Sanctuary Cove in 2017 said Mr Kaihea was 19 when he established The Beach House at Auckland’s Bucklands Beach, where he refined his signature fusion of Tongan-European cuisine before going on to open two other restaurants, including The Esplanade on Eastern Beach, Auckland, and a cafe in his native Tonga. Company records show Mr Kaihea registered the business name on April 8 this year.