Talent Pool Something to Write Home about

From Lorde to Gin Wigmore, to chef Matt Lambert and model Ashleigh Good (pictured), New Zealand punches above its weight, writes fellow New Zealander Kirsten Matthew for the New York Post.

It’s not just pop music in which New Zealanders are stealing the limelight, Matthew says.

“In October, Matt Lambert, 32, was awarded a Michelin star for the New Zealand-inspired cuisine he serves up at his Nolita restaurant, the Musket Room.

“That same month, novelist Eleanor Catton, 28, became the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious Man Booker prize [for The Luminaries].

“And Ashleigh Good, a 21-year-old model from Auckland’s North Shore, was last month featured in W Magazine, as well as in Vogue UK and on the cover of Italian Vogue – and she’s the face of Karl Lagerfeld’s 2014 Cruise collection for Chanel.”

Last year, Matthew returned to New Zealand having spent 10 years as a journalist in New York. She is currently editor of Urbis magazine and urbismagazine.com.