Sweet but daring

Darina Allen meets chef Peter Gordon, who makes adventurous, multi-ethnic food in his restaurants

Peter Gordon of the Sugar Club in Wellington, New Zealand, started his recipe collection when he was just four years old. The chef, now famous as the master of the fusion style, used to pore over pictures of food in Woman's Weekly as his pals played footie.

He hated school and university wasn't much better. He toyed with joining the Navy to indulge his twin passions for travel and food, but opted instead to enter Roseworthy University to study to be a winemaker – that lasted one week. He then put his pack on his back and decided to do some hands-on research. He travelled and munched his way around Bali, Java and Sumatra, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, UK, Amsterdam and Paris for a year. He tasted everything from dogs to crickets, from mangosteen to smoked duck. This experience laid the foundation for his future culinary style.

When he opened the Sugar Club, in 1986, it was an instant success. Punters loved his inventiveness and cheek. Peter's style evolved from ideas he gleaned on his travels; it is multi-ethnic, bold and daring. He puts together all sorts of combinations that would be a gastronomic disaster for the rest of us, combining ingredients with the confidence of someone who really understands his basic products.

His latest restaurant is the Tapa Room and Providores in London, which he opened with Michael McGrath, Jeremy Leeming and Anna Hansen.

?More 109 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RU; www.theprovidores.co.uk; 0044 207 7935 6175

Peter Gordon's Truffled Leek, Sake and Banana Risotto

Serves 6

This may sound a bit odd, but the subtle taste of banana works well in this risotto. It is delicious served with roast or grilled chicken, scallops or pork chops. This technique is also interesting – a sort of "cheat" way to make risotto – but the result is very good indeed.

80ml (3 floz) extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium leek, finely sliced and washed to remove grit; 1 lemongrass stem, remove the outer 3 layers and finely slice the lower 8cm; 1 ripe banana, peeled and diced; 2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary); 400g (14oz) risotto rice; 1/2 teaspoon salt; approximately 1,200ml (2 pints) of simmering vegetable stock; 4 tablespoons soy sauce; 150ml (1/4 pint) sake; 100g (31/2 oz) finely grated Parmesan; 30ml (1 fl oz) truffle oil

Heat the oil in a largish pan, add the leeks and lemongrass and cook on a moderate heat until the leeks become slightly golden. Stir frequently. Add the banana and herbs and cook a further minute, then add the rice and salt and cook a further 30 seconds, stirring well. Pour on half the stock, stir well, then turn the pot to a simmer and stir from time to time. Once the stock has been absorbed, add the soy and sake and another cup of stock, stir well and leave until it needs more stock. Keep cooking the rice this way until it's cooked, a little 'al dente'. It shouldn't be soft, but also it mustn't be hard. Just before you serve it, stir in the truffle oil and half the Parmesan, taste for seasoning, spoon some onto each plate and dredge with the remaining Parmesan.