Fire & Feast Street Festival

Inati

Simon Levy is the Michelin one star chef and co owner of Christchurch's acclaimed Inati restaurant. Originally from the United Kingdom, he built his career in some of London's leading kitchens before bringing his passion for seasonal, locally sourced produce to New Zealand.

At Fire and feast, Simon showcases his signature creativity over the open flame, celebrating the exceptional ingredients and producers that make Canterbury's food scene so special.

Food By Fire

Rod Thomson is a landscaper by trade and founder of Base Woodfired Pizza, Food by Fire, and Element Tipi.

After the 2010 Christchurch earthquakes, Rod and his three sons launched a pizza trailer at Re:Start Mall to help bring people back into the city. What began as a community initiative quickly grew into a thriving hospitality business.

Today, Rod combines his passion for design, craftsmanship, and open fire cooking to create unique food and event experiences, delivering custom built Bedford trucks and Nordic tipis for events across the South Island.

Crisp And Vale

From her beginnings as an English chef honing her craft in the UK to embracing the vibrant energy of Queenstown and the refined dining scene of Christchurch, Hannah Crisp has spent over a decade redefining stylish, flavour-forward catering. Grounded in classical French technique from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Tante Marie School of Cookery and refined in the kitchen of Rick Stein’s legendary Seafood Restaurant, Hannah pairs elite Michelin-star experience with a playful, creative imagination.
At Fire & Feast, Hannah keeps the elite technique, bringing Crisp & Vale’s signature flair, impeccable presentation, and bold flavours straight to the open flames of Cathedral Square.

Base Woodfired Pizza

With a lifelong passion for hospitality and proud Samoan roots, Sam joined Base Woodfired Pizza in 2018 after beginning his culinary career alongside Rod Thomson at the Court Theatre. Within 18 months, he became Head Pizza Chef at Base Woodfired Pizza, helping shape the pizzas Base is known for today.

In 2023, Sam headed north to expand his experience as a Head Chef in commercial kitchens, but Base was never far from his heart. After returning for events along the way, he came home in 2025 to once again lead the pizza kitchen. Known for his cool, calm presence and perfectionist approach, Sam takes pride in every pizza that leaves the oven and loves creating great food that brings people together.

Odeon

Born in Uruguay, I grew up surrounded by the culture of asado, where gathering around the fire every Sunday is a family tradition. I have 10 years of experience in professional kitchens and have lived in New Zealand for the past 8 years, continuing to grow as a chef while bringing my roots and love for fire cooking into everything I do.

Jae-Ju

JAEJU is a chef-led Korean street food concept founded by chef Cian Curtin, a 2024 Canterbury Hospitality Awards Outstanding Chef Finalist, and Yebitna Hong. Driven by a passion for honest cooking and bold flavour, JAEJU blends Korean culinary traditions with modern technique, focusing on cooking from scratch and letting quality ingredients shine.

For Fire & Feast, JAEJU will present an exclusive menu created especially for the event, inspired by Korean comfort food and live-fire cooking. Guests can expect handcrafted flavours, house-made sauces and a fresh take on Korean classics, created exclusively for this event.

Native Kitchen

Craig Martin is the founder and chef behind Native Kitchen, a boutique private dining and culinary events company based in Christchurch, New Zealand. With over 25 years of experience in fine dining, luxury lodges, and private hospitality, Craig is known for creating produce-driven menus that celebrate the best of Aotearoa through modern techniques and global influences.

Smokey T’s

Tristin Anderson of Smokey T's BBQ is a Christchurch hospitality veteran and award-winning pitmaster with more than 25 years in the industry. After leading large kitchen teams as an executive chef, he turned his passion to authentic low-and-slow BBQ, building one of New Zealand’s most respected barbecue brands. Known for bold flavours, wood-fired cooking, and creating memorable dining experiences, Tristin continues to push good Kiwi hospitality—one brisket at a time

Odeon

A Filipino-born and New Zealand-based chef. Marion leans into cooking over fire, seasonality, and simple ingredients.

Greystone

At the heart of Greystone Restaurant is Executive Chef Cameron Woodhouse, whose cooking is guided by a simple philosophy: let the land lead the plate. Drawing inspiration from North Canterbury’s seasons, Cam creates menus that celebrate locally grown, foraged, and farmed ingredients, bringing the story of the region to every dish.

Bootleg Burgers

Head Chef and Co-Owner of Bootleg Burgers. Fun fact: we operate in both Jakarta, Indonesia and Christchurch! But right here in Christchurch we do Indonesian inspired burgers, grilled over charcoal, see you on Fire on Square for some Rendang Burgers! Terimakasih!

Bones Pickles / Glizzys

I'm a chef, food manufacturer and creative based in Ōtautahi. I'm an owner operator of Bones Pickles And Glizzys. My current focus across both businesses is design, packaging and media.

Butter Patisserie

After moving to Ōtautahi in 2017 to turn his passion for food into a career, he completed a Diploma in Patisserie and quickly made his mark on the local culinary scene, including winning gold at the 2019 Nestlé Toque d’Or.

When the global pandemic put his plans to gain experience overseas on hold, he created BUTTER as a way to continue developing his skills, exploring his creativity and learning everything he could about pastry.

His approach is simple: he makes the food he loves to eat. Food created for life’s special moments, shared with the people we love.

Satay Society

Stevie Tiwa is an Indonesian chef based in Christchurch. He is the former owner-operator of Indo’s Loveat and is now behind Sate Society. His food celebrates Indonesian cuisine with global influences, bringing traditional flavours together with ideas from around the world.

Glizzys

Hey, I'm Max. I love good food, great people, and building cool things. Always working on the next idea and keen to create experiences people remember.

Odeon/Edizi

Shafeeq Ismail is a Christchurch-based , chef, and business owner with over 20 years of international hospitality experience. Born and raised in India, he trained as a chef before building his career across India, the Middle East and other parts of world.

Origin

Jonny Schwass is one of Canterbury's most respected chefs, with a career built on honest food, exceptional skill, and a deep connection to the land. An Ōtautahi legend and co-owner of White Tie Catering, Jonny brings serious credentials to the fire. As the culinary creative behind Origin, he has long championed cooking directly over heartwood flame, using custom wood fire ovens, smokers and grills to coax extraordinary flavour from fresh, local, seasonal ingredients.

At Fire and Feast, Jonny brings that philosophy to life in its purest form. This is cooking the way it was meant to be.

XOLO

Xolo is a fun mexican spot in the heart of Cristchurch.

Our passion is to share fresh & delicious food

using the best local ingredients and to create traditional mexican dishes with a modern twist.

We’ve designed Xolo to be a welcoming spot for everyone, families, friends or a quick solo bite. More than just a meal, we want each visit to feel like a celebration of good food, good company, and great conversation just like we do it in México

Marlowe

Opening this September on High Street, Marlowe believes that great hospitality is about making people feel like they're in good hands from the moment they walk through the door. Led by Olly Le Maitre and Santiago Burgos, the restaurant celebrates exceptional New Zealand produce, serving vibrant, flavour-driven food that feels both timeless and approachable.

Whether you're stopping in for a quick bite and a glass of wine or settling in for a long lunch or dinner, Marlowe is meant to feel warm, familiar and effortlessly welcoming.

Food By Fire

Josh Hunter (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is an Ōtautahi based chef, open fire specialist, and Head Chef at Food by Fire.

Inspired by te ao Māori, Josh creates menus that combine indigenous New Zealand ingredients with live fire cooking, using fire and smoke as key ingredients to produce bold, honest flavours that celebrate the land.

He is the co founder of the acclaimed Whakapapa of Your Kai dining series, which celebrates Māori cuisine and local produce, and is also a driving force behind Christchurch's annual Fire and Feast festival.

Bar Yoku

Bar Yoku is a modern Japanese Izakaya in the heart of Christchurch, where fire, smoke, and bold flavour take centre stage. Inspired by Tokyo's vibrant yakitori culture, our food celebrates premium New Zealand produce through Japanese techniques.

For Food by Fire, we're bringing a menu that showcases everything we love, charcoal, skewers, crispy textures and punchy flavours. Expect things along the lines of smoky wagyu, juicy chicken, koji-aged pork, vibrant seasonal vegetables, and fresh slaws layered with umami, all designed to be shared and enjoyed over the fire.