Burger Expert Tries Fish Slider, Gets Pleasant Surprise

George Motz has eaten approximately 35,000 burgers in his lifetime, but the fish slider at a 22-seat Wellington wine bar just did something remarkable: it changed his mind.

The 57-year-old New Yorker, called "the foremost authority on hamburgers" by The New York Times, came to Wellington for the first time to judge the annual Burger Wellington competition. He's an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, chef, and author who built his entire career around one simple food.

"I've had only bad fish burgers," Motz admits with characteristic honesty. But Max Gordy, head chef at Graze Wine Bar in Kelburn, was about to challenge that streak.

Gordy created a seafood extravaganza slider featuring butterfish, octopus chorizo patty, mussel fritter, smoked kina and pāua. His tiny venue sold around 200 of these creative burgers each week during the festival, a huge success for a spot with barely two dozen seats.

For a traditionalist who believes "the technical definition of a hamburger is ground beef that is cooked and then served on bread," trying a fish burger required an open mind. Motz is famously particular about his burgers, rejecting both ketchup and bacon as ingredients that overwhelm the beef flavor.

But when he bit into Gordy's creation, something unexpected happened. "That's very tasty, really good," Motz said, clearly surprised. "I've never had anything like it before."

Sunny's Take

This moment represents something bigger than one food critic changing his opinion. Motz travels the world with strong convictions about what makes a proper burger, yet he remained open enough to be delighted by something completely different.

His visit is also helping Wellington's hospitality scene thrive during what used to be their slowest month. Festival director Beth Brash notes that Wellington On a Plate, started in 2009 after the global financial crisis, has transformed August into the second busiest time for restaurants, right after the Christmas rush.

"You just have to have a look around, and places are humming," Brash says.

Gordy sees the festival as more than revenue, calling it "a great marketing tool" that helps small venues reach audiences who might never discover them otherwise. For a seafood-focused wine bar in a quiet suburb, that exposure is invaluable.

Sometimes the best discoveries happen when we're willing to step outside our comfort zones, even after 35,000 attempts at finding perfection.