Born in Fiji, Vikrant is very much a Queenstown local, having lived here since he was six. And after having “always been in hospo”, he’s now a year into his role as Food and Beverage Manager at Sudima Queenstown Five Mile. “I originally wanted to work in IT but I’d always enjoyed watching my Mum cook at home, so I got my first hospitality job at 16 and decided that was the way to go.”

Joining Sudima in 2022 as Head Chef, he loves how the company is built around their values. “They’ve helped me grow so much and now having learned about the operational side of the hotel they’ve expanded my world past the restaurant doors”.

“I now know where we source our local beer, am helping to cut down our carbon footprint and work on ensuring our supplies are as local as can be.”

Favourite dish? “My Mum’s tomato and eggplant chutney with a nice lamb curry. You can’t go wrong.”

Love FiveMile? It’s so cool, everyone knows each other so well. Tenants and business owners are like extended family, and I love building new relationships. Queenstown Barbers give the best haircut.”

Family life? “Misaki and I have been together nearly four years and we adore our nine-month-old baby Mirei, who’s half Japanese, half Fijian. I can’t wait for her to be older so I can take her fishing!”