• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Palate & Table logo
  • Browse Recipes
  • About Me
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
Home » About Me

About Me

Hi there! I’m Ben, the creator behind Palate & Table.

I’ve always loved cooking, and food has always been a big part of my life. My day job (which is actually a night job) is working as the manager of a 2-hatted fine dining restaurant in Auckland. Outside of work, I love hosting casual dinner parties with friends, good food and wine. I try to balance this with weight training and running and chilling out with my cat, Billie, in front of the TV.

With nearly 20 years’ experience front of house in the hospitality industry, I’ve learned a great deal about cooking from the chefs I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. I have also run my own pop-up restaurant, Dinner Party Club, where I was cooking five-course meals for up to 20 guests.

Portrait of Ben Walls in his kitchen wearing a green t-shirt, holding his tortoiseshell tabby cat, Billie.
Portrait of Ben Walls in his kitchen wearing a green t-shirt and a pink apron, holding a glass of white wine.

Palate & Table grew from my passion for cooking and throwing dinner parties. These are the dishes I have cooked for friends and that have been enjoyed around the table. My hope is that you will find recipes here worth sharing with your friends and family too!

I would love to hear from you!

If you have any questions, comments, requests or would like to work with me, get in touch via my contact page.

  • Contact
  • About Me

Copyright © 2026 Palate & Table