Kai means food in Māori. But it means more than that. It means the people around the table, the stories shared over a meal, the connection that happens when someone cooks for you with care. That's what started this. That's what it's still about.

Everything in the range is made in small batches in London — smoked, infused and crafted properly. Real ingredients, treated with respect, designed to make your food taste better without getting in the way. The kind of thing you reach for at the end of a cook and wonder how you managed without it.

The flavours come from everywhere. Māori food culture. Live fire. Thirty years of professional kitchens. A one-bedroom flat in London during lockdown where the first batch of BLAK FIRE was made for the neighbours. From that flat to Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason — the ingredients haven't changed and neither has the reason we make it.

Food connects people.

That's the kaupapa. That's Kai.

WHO AM I?

A proud New Zealand Maori, Matt Burgess, known professionally as matblak, began his culinary journey in Wellington, cutting his teeth in some of the city's most celebrated kitchens including Dockside, Cafe Laffare and the legendary Matterhorn. 
In 1998, Matt relocated to London, joining the newly opened Soho House on Greek Street before going on to hold senior chef positions at Bluebird in Chelsea, Gordon Ramsay's Maze Grill and Jamie Oliver's Threadneedle Street.
In 2015, Matt was appointed Group Executive Chef at Caravan and Vardo Restaurants, playing a pivotal role in scaling the brand from two to seven locations across London.
In 2022, with over three decades of professional experience behind him, Matt launched Kaiwhenua Ltd, his food consultancy business. Kaiwhenua, meaning food from the land in Maori, now develops innovative recipes and menus for some of London's most respected restaurants and hospitality groups including Goodman Steakhouse, Zelman Meats, Beast, Caravan Restaurants and Busaba Ethai, among others.
A passionate live fire and BBQ cook, Matt is a brand ambassador for Big Green Egg UK and OFYR, and has created content and collaborated with some of the world's most respected food and lifestyle brands including Maldon Sea Salt, HexClad, Rowse Honey, McCormick's, Le Creuset, YETI, Gozney and Weber. His content sits at the intersection of fire cooking, modern Maori cuisine and premium ingredients, reaching a highly engaged audience of home cooks, chefs and food lovers.
Matt's sell-out supperclubs and masterclasses have taken him across the UK and beyond, with appearances at The Big Feastival, Rock Oyster Festival, Download Festival, Smoke and Fire Maldon, Truro Food Festival, Pasifika Fest UK, Twickenham Stadium, Balgone Estate in Scotland, Hawarden Estate in Wales, Hunter Gather Cook in East Sussex and the prestigious Fortnum and Mason. He has also delivered masterclasses for Borough Kitchen and Birstall Garden Buildings, among many others, and cooked private dinners everywhere from Salcombe pontoons to lobster boats off the Scottish coast.
Alongside his consultancy and events work, Matt has created and launched Kai by matblak, an award-winning range of best-selling condiments, marinades and hot sauces, including the celebrated BLAK FIRE winner of two stars at the great taste awards 2024, BLAK ELDUR and maple smoked pineapple vinegar, now available at Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason.
In 2025, Matt introduced Kai at Home, a bespoke private dining experience bringing restaurant-quality food to your home, and Hopu Wairua (spirit catcher), his photography and videography arm documenting the stories behind the food.
Matt is currently writing his cookbook memoir, an extraordinary account of a life lived through food, fire and culture across two hemispheres.