On a recent trip to New Caledonia, I was fortunate to be shown around Noumea by the delightful Gabriel Gate, the well-known French chef based in Melbourne. On our last night, we dressed up for dinner at the Escoffier School of Cooking, a training ground for local students, and one of Nourmea’s best kept secrets (mind you, when we pulled up outside, I thought it was a grand motel, not a cooking school).