In the early dawn light, chef Hercules Noble can usually be found running along Auckland’s picturesque Orakei basin. He likes being out by the water first thing, before driving back home to start his day with Quincy – AKA, a Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 SUV City Edition. 

“I had to name it,” the Auckland native laughs. “I name all my cars.”

Social media sensation by day, personal chef by night, Hercules’ skills in the kitchen are mostly self-taught. After four years working as a professional chef in New Zealand and London, today he enjoys the freedom of running his own private chef business – which includes everything from catering corporate events to preparing mouthwatering meals in private homes.

We spent a day with Hercules to explore New Zealand’s unique food scene and get a taste of life as a private chef.

Sensational sourdough

During the busy summer season, Hercules is heavily booked up with private dinners and corporate events, plating up what’s considered some of the best food in New Zealand. 

“I’m in the kitchen anywhere between 7am and 8am,” he says. “The beautiful thing is I do a lot of the prep from my own kitchen. Having your workspace from home is really fantastic."

Morning is also when he preps his signature sourdough. Hercules exploded on the New Zealand food scene with his series Will It Sourdough?, where he blends increasingly weird and wonderful ingredients into sourdough bread, including chocolate brownies and beef wellington (attracting the attention of one of his culinary idols, Gordon Ramsay). 

Initially inspired by influencer chefs like Thomas Straker and Joshua Weissman, Hercules’ online series Will It Sourdough? grew in popularity, giving him a large platform as a chef across New Zealand. 

“But I'm always trying to think: How can we elevate it?”

Hercules has experimented with everything from fresh truffle to native ingredients like kawakawa. 

“It’s a beautiful leaf that grows everywhere. You pick the leaves and if you eat them or the tiny little fruit, it’s almost like Sichuan pepper, which is spicy and gives you that little zap,” says Hercules. 

“You can fry the leaves off with butter and it gets super crispy, infusing the flavour in the oil but also being a beautiful garnish, just like sage.”

Food for thought

After doing kitchen prep and filming for his series, Hercules usually heads to the historic Auckland Fish Market in Wynyard Quarter to pick up fresh seafood (tuna, kingfish, snapper and unshucked oysters are his go-to), plus another produce or farmer’s market like the Wesley Market, depending on the day of the week. 

“I like to go and buy my things in person,” he says. “I don't like to order provisions online. I always like to see ingredients and get excited about them.” 

Hercules also enjoys changing up a meal if he spies a fantastic fresh ingredient at the market – like spring peas or strawberries coming into season.

“It fulfills your creative drive,” he laughs. 

Back home, he’ll peruse the 10 different varieties of edible flowers he grows in his garden or finish off some ingredients in his woodfired oven for flavour. 

He then packs the food into Quincy’s practical boot, and heads to his client’s houses to cook, travelling to locations all over Greater Auckland and beyond.

“Especially over summertime, I'm often driving to really beautiful locations for work, whether that's in central Auckland, or getting on the ferry to go over to Waiheke, or staying with a client for a few days up north or down south,” he says.

For his own dinner, he often grabs a bite at local jaunt Amano, which serves up authentic rustic Italian food. 

Retreat to nature

When he’s not working, Hercules enjoys retreating to his family's land on KariKari Peninsula in the Northlands near Maitai Bay. 

“Our family property is called Brodie’s, named after one of the early settlers in New Zealand. It’s four hours north of Auckland. Nice easy-going roads, and once we arrive, we’re in a completely secluded location, right on the ocean. We grow a lot of our own produce, too… it’s somewhere we can almost completely switch off from the outside world.”

For Hercules, being a private chef offers both freedom and creativity. 

“I feel very lucky to be in control of the food that I want to make, because obviously I've worked in kitchens where you're making fantastic food, but it's the same thing over and over again,” he says. 

“Being a private chef… no two days are the same.”

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