About the Author

Alan Brown is a senior chef lecturer at the AUT, where last year he was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Academic Excellence Award, as well as becoming the first New Zealand recipient of the London City and Guilds' International Medal for Excellence in teaching culinary arts. Alan has 17 years' international cooking experience, and has trained some of New Zealand's best chefs, including Michael Meredith and Ben Bailey. He is also a national culinary judge for Beef and Lamb New Zealand, Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge and New Zealand Venison, among others. Alan spends most of his spare time tinkering with new food and cooking techniques, such as hot and cold smoking, cheese-making, sausage-making, sourdough bread-making, distilling and, of course, cooking in his pizza oven.