Kiwi icon Al Brown is as talented and innovative as it gets. 

He is an entrepreneur, world-leading chef owning some of New Zealand’s greatest restaurant brands, a fisherman and a TV presenter. 

But, with 2024 being a tough year for the hospitality sector, Al faced some of his biggest challenges yet.  

Al tells Tim Beveridge the palate of the nation has changed “dramatically” in his 40 years as a chef - “we travel and we can magpie from all the other sorts of cuisines and styles from around the world.” 

“I think our eating scene in New Zealand is magnificent.” 

LISTEN ABOVE 

Kiwi icon Al Brown is as talented and innovative as it gets.&nbsp;
He is an entrepreneur, world-leading chef owning some of New Zealand’s greatest restaurant brands, a fisherman and a TV presenter.&nbsp;
But, with 2024 being a tough year for the hospitality sector, Al faced some of his biggest challenges yet. &nbsp;
Al tells Tim Beveridge the palate of the nation has changed “dramatically” in his 40 years as a chef - “we travel and we can magpie from all the other sorts of cuisines and styles from around the world.”&nbsp;
“I think our eating scene in New Zealand is magnificent.”&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Don't miss a thing while you're on holiday, with Newstalk ZB Holiday Breakfast. We deliver the best in news, views and opinion to keep Kiwis informed and entertained while you're on the road, at the bach, or relaxing at home.

Don't miss a thing while you're on holiday, with Newstalk ZB Holiday Breakfast. We deliver the best in news, views and opinion to keep Kiwis informed and entertained while you're on the road, at the bach, or relaxing at home.

Don't miss a thing while you're on holiday, with Tim Dower and Newstalk ZB Holiday Breakfast.

Holiday Breakfast

Don't miss a thing while you're on holiday, with Tim Dower and Newstalk ZB Holiday Breakfast. Tim delivers the best in news, views and opinion to keep Kiwis informed and entertained while you're on the road, at the bach, or relaxing at home.

Al Brown: Kiwi chef on changing palates, changing times, and doing it tough

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/2088a3a7-1ba4-471f-b1de-b258000795c4/transcript

US taxpayers could be on the hook to subsidise the rebuilding of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.  

The US launched strikes over the weekend and took President Nicolas Maduro into custody, shipping him back to New York under duress and detaining him on drug-trafficking charges. 

It’s pressuring Venezuela to end drug smuggling and let in American oil companies. 

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US subsidising energy companies for the rebuilding of the country's oil production and distribution infrastructure. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Andrew Dickens Trump has been focused almost entirely on the oil, saying, among other things, that they’re going to get the oil “flowing the way it should be”.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

US taxpayers could be on the hook to subsidise the rebuilding of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. &nbsp;
The US launched strikes over the weekend and took President Nicolas Maduro into custody, shipping him back to New York under duress and detaining him on drug-trafficking charges.&nbsp;
It’s pressuring Venezuela to end drug smuggling and let in American oil companies.&nbsp;
US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US subsidising energy companies for the rebuilding of the country's oil production and distribution infrastructure.&nbsp;
US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Andrew Dickens Trump has been focused almost entirely on the oil, saying, among other things, that they’re going to get the oil “flowing the way it should be”. &nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the US' actions in Venezuela, Trump's focus on oil

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/984a355e-d8d9-4826-bcc4-b3ca016a1ca9/transcript

Despite a wobble in the polls last year, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick thinks the party is in a good place. 

Over this term the party's reached as high as 15% in some surveys, but it dropped to 7% in the last 1News Verian poll of 2025. 

Swarbrick told Andrew Dickens she’s proud of the plans they’ve put on the table and thinks they’re in a really good place going into election year.  

She says New Zealanders have agency, and so they shouldn’t just watch the polls and think that’s their future set in stone. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

Despite a wobble in the polls last year, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick thinks the party is in a good place.&nbsp;
Over this term the party's reached as high as 15% in some surveys, but it dropped to 7% in the last 1News Verian poll of 2025.&nbsp;
Swarbrick told Andrew Dickens she’s proud of the plans they’ve put on the table and thinks they’re in a really good place going into election year. &nbsp;
She says New Zealanders have agency, and so they shouldn’t just watch the polls and think that’s their future set in stone.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Chlöe Swarbrick: Green Party Co-Leader on the polls, 2025, plans for 2026

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/4ea12be1-016f-4db9-b91a-b3ca01634944/transcript

The days of cyclone recovery are over, and the Coromandel is open for business this summer.

Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Peter Revell joined for a chat about the region’s recovery, rates, and all the gorgeous places you can visit on your summer roadtrip. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

The days of cyclone recovery are over, and the Coromandel is open for business this summer.
Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Peter Revell joined for a chat about the region’s recovery, rates, and all the gorgeous places you can visit on your summer roadtrip.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Summer with the Mayors: Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Peter Revell

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ed692cec-c90a-4c42-bb28-b3ca015ed787/transcript

Al Brown: Kiwi chef on changing palates, changing times, and doing it tough

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