"When my family was following keto strictly, we would have pizza once a week but could never find a pizza base that was both tasty and affordable." So she decided to try making them herself. Julie had hit on the right pain point because anyone doing keto knows that giving up bread is the hardest bit. Not because of its doughy goodness but rather because you need a 'base' for the food you cook or to mop up that curry.

Julie eventually traded in her mask and scrubs for an apron & chefs cap to pursue her dream of running and growing Keto Smart Bakes full time. The range of products she offers has continued to expand from pizza bases to bagels, tortillas and garlic bread, with more to come!

The unique thing about Keto Smart Bakes is that everything is made in small batches, hand-crafted and freshly baked weekly. "I work on a pre-order basis and that can be a bit challenging for new customers because we live in such an instantaneous world. But my customers know that I am a solopreneur and that I'm also a mom. They know that I put so much into my business and my products that it's worth the wait."

Specifically, we chat about:

• As a small business owner, finding the balance between work life and home life
• Working around production challenges when everything is hand-crafted
• Making 'convenience' products that are still worth the wait

Sachie's journey in entrepreneurship started rather serendipitously while she was working in hospitality sales. She went in one morning and learned of a colleague that had passed away from a heart attack at just 45. That same afternoon she heard of another friend that also passed away. "It was a lightbulb moment. If I die tomorrow, will I have any regrets? I went back home and drew a mind map. What do I love - food, what do I enjoy doing - I love cooking and sitting with others to eat, what skills did I have - I know how to cook Asian food really well. So I thought, that's it. I will teach those who love Asian food how to cook it. It's in my kitchen so I will call it Sachie's kitchen and so it began."

It has now been ten years since that day and Sachie's Kitchen has gone from strength to strength. It is now one of the most-awarded cooking schools in Australasia. To date, more than 50,000 New Zealanders have been through Sachie’s Kitchen with millions more watching her demonstrations on the small screen – her television show is broadcast in over 35 countries.

Her classes appeal to individuals with a passion for Asian cooking and also corporate teams who book events that cover Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Chinese, Indian & Korean cuisine. Sachie has gone on to launch her own range of branded food products nationwide and is now exploring virtual cooking classes as well.

Favourite quotes:

Growing up for me, food = people

When I opened the door to Sachie's kitchen in Parnell I had to really think of how people would find me and know about my kitchen. For me, the answer was media. So, I wrote it down on my mind map. I wrote TV, radio, magazine. And the law of attraction took over. When I write things, it attracts opportunities in my life. Over the next two weeks, my husband bumped into someone that ran a radio station and I got onto the radio. Same for my TV show, I wrote it down and then one day, the producer came through the door.

Opportunities are always around you. They are ready, for anyone to grab. But if you're not ready, you will not see them. You will miss the boat.

In front of my computer, I have a wall where I have a mind map. I write on it opportunities I want to attract, where I want to be and then I transfer it into my yearly calendar and then it does just happen.

To help her body recover, Monisha resorted to making lots of smoothies. "When it came to food, I always something a bit extra, so I'd make these pretty layered smoothies", says Monisha. When her son saw her pretty creations, he opened an Instagram account for Monisha. 

"I had no clue what I was doing. If you scroll down 1000 posts you will see I didn't even know how to write hashtags correctly. But I learned. And I made friends. And then companies started approaching me to give them ideas for dishes. But it's the smoothies that got me started".

On the episode we talk about:

• Being real on social media
• From influencer to recipe developer, the journey
• Adding colour to food and how that can change your meal

Follow Monisha and her colourful, fresh food on Instagram

Most of the biltong and jerky available in NZ is made by large manufacturing brands and has a long list of artificial ingredients. Ash didn't want to create another tough, rubbery jerky that "can last forever and survive a bomb blast". He decided that his company, Bootleg Jerky would make jerky that's free of nitrites, nitrates, MSG or other additives with unpronounceable names.

Since both Ash worked full-time, they had to partner with a manufacturer who would agree to make the jerky to their exacting standards. Since then, Bootleg Jerky has grown by leaps and bounds and they have now turned their garage into a custom-built licenced manufacturing facility inside - and no, they didn't actually tie up the MPI food safety officer (see their instagram video to know what I mean!)

Bootleg Jerky's secret to success is firstly creating a great product. "Our marinating process is simple. Meat plus marinade plus time, or rather, lots of time". On the episode we talk about:

• Why having a great product is important
• Direct to consumer or being on the shelves, what’s the better strategy
• Manufacturing journey - from garage to contract manufacturing to purpose built facility
• How Bootleg Jerky spread the word

www.bootlegjerky.co.nz

It took growing up, moving back to India and missing the oddly orange 'Kiwi' butter chicken, to realise that it wasn't anyone's fault. After all, butter chicken, tikka masala and naan were the only dishes they knew! How were us Kiwis to get a taste of real India if no one ever made us taste it? I parked that thought until I moved back to New Zealand in 2019. 

It clicked that if I wanted my friends and those around me to experience the true taste of India, I had to do more than talk about it. I had to bring those flavours into their kitchen and show them how truly versatile they could be! I wanted to show my fellow Kiwis that Indian spices can be used to make just about anything, from dahl to roast to pasta and everything in between. It was time to start the journey and move beyond butter chicken. Why are these notes in the first person? Because, this time around, I am a guest on my own podcast. 

Guest host Grace Kreft of the PepTalk podcast chat's with me this week. We discover: 

• The importance of sharing the stories of NZ food entrepreneurs
• How Kiwi Foodcast helped me launch my own business 
• Getting to the starting line of a food business - what's involved
• Dolly Mumma and how she inspired my love for food

Hungry for Indian food? Head to www.dollymumma.com and get a taste of the real India.

It's a quandary many of us have faced. Not wanting her family secrets to be lost, Jayshri started noting the recipes down in a wee notebook when her parents sold the family dairy. However, when she told a few Kiwi friends what she was doing, they all said, "oh my God, we need it because our mums are the same". The project turned into a cookbook that Jayshri has self-published with her mum and the duo's book won the Best in the World Gourmand Cookbook Award in 2018. 

On the episode we talk about:

• Intuition, a key ingredient for cooking Indian food

Food, the recurring theme in Indian culture

• New to cooking Indian food? Here are the key fundamentals
• Self-publishing a cookbook, why do it

My favourite quotes from the episode:

"Back in the 80s when I went to school, we were the only Indians in my school at Christchurch. Back then no one knew about Indian food. They didn't even know what a samosa was."

"My mum was used to just cook with her own teaspoon she had in her home. So she would use her spoon, then we would tip it into the measuring spoon and that's how we figured out the recipes."

"You walk into an Indian household and straightaway they are sharing food with you."

We all know that developing a new product or process can be an exciting journey. But it's also exhausting. FoodBowl provides support and resource for companies and innovators not only with expert advice and connections to experts but also with access to a huge range of equipment. While the facility and therefore the manufacturing runs are partially funded by the tax-payer, all companies pay to use the FoodBowl. Whether you're looking to make something cheaper, faster, safer or better or you're ready to grow beyond Kiwi shores, the FoodBowl can help. 

Businesses like Pure Food Co. have used their facility to commercialise their product before investing in a plant while established companies like Sanford Ltd have used FoodBowl's equipment and importantly, engineers to fast-track their research in fish oils, mussel extracts and proteins. 

"We are a bridge between a kitchen recipe and a contract manufacturer", explains Alasdair Baxter, Business Development Manager at FoodBowl. On this episode, I talk to Alasdair to find out:

• What exactly is the FoodBowl and how they help food innovators
• Is the FoodBowl right for your business?
• How innovative do you need to be to secure support from the FoodBowl
• Culley's, Citizen and The Apple Press, how the FoodBowl has helped these Kiwi companies

Learn more about the Food Bowl and how they can help you

At the end of 2020, Singapore hawker culture was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A whole generation of Singaporean bankers, lawyers, engineers and more have had their studies funded by their parents' hawker stalls. Each stall often sells only one or two items that they are known for and its where the country's best food can be found! 

On the episode we talk about:

• What does 'shiok' even mean?
• Food vendors in the Asian subcontinent and their 10000 hours of expertise
• Singapore noodles
• why you will never find them in Singapore
• Is there such a thing as Singaporean food?
• The Super Shiok Eats journey

Back in 1981, Tom and Ben's father, Eddie, started Dads Pies in a small pie shop at Red Beach. Word spread fast and they went from a small pie shop to a pie factory in Silverdale to being stocked at Wild Bean Café's across the country. It's fair to say therefore that both Ben and Tom grew up around pastry and pies. In their own words, they were the cool kids in as their dad delivered all the pies for Friday pie day at school.

On the show today we talk about:

• Why do Kiwis love pies so much
• High quality pie fillings and why that makes a difference
• Vegan pies - is that even a thing and do they taste good?
• Running a multi generation family owned business and the associated complexities
• Key learnings from exporting pies globally
• Creating a new brand and how that rejuvenates a business that's been around for decades

On the show today we talk about:

• Dairy farming in New Zealand - how it's different from the rest of the world
• A2 milk - what is it really and what's the fuss?
• Growing a dairy farming business and how icecream came in to the picture
• Whacky flavours v/s the originals v/s the best ingredients, the secret to being a successful icecream brand

Quotes:

"Having been involved in a few startups before, I can say that it always is more difficult than you expect, it always costs more and it always takes longer."

"95% of the dairy cow population live in a corral or a shed. They are industrial factory farms. In comparison, in NZ our animals stay outside all year round and are able to express a lot of their natural behaviours. This leads to a really high quality product"

 Today, he owns his own food truck, Indy's Curry pot which serves up delicious Srilankan curries and fusion Srilankan food on Waiheke Island. But the journey to this seemingly 'dream job' has taken a serious amount of hustle on Indika's part. He's gone from cooking a curry as the staff meal at the vineyard he worked at to hosting a popup Curry Monday on his only day off in the week to now owning his food truck. How did he do it? You're going to have to listen to the whole episode for that!

 On the show we chat about:

• Is there a thing like too much curry?
• How is a Srilankan curry different to an Indian one
• Where in Auckland can you tuck into some Srilankan food
• Following the slow path to food entrepreneurship
• Doing business on Waiheke Island - is it hard?

 Favourite quotes:

“Growing up, was it curry every night? Oh yes. Sometimes, it was curry three times a day, even for breakfast!”

The Restaurant Association supports NZ's diverse and creative hospitality businesses. They give advice, provide buying groups, give discounts and make sure our industry's voice is heard in both the media and the government. 

A common misconception is that the Restaurant Association is just for cafes and restaurants. In reality, CEO Marisa Bidois shares that they can help any business for whom food is the hero. From food delivery businesses to meal kits to even rest-homes, the Restaurant Association has helped them all. They act as a link between good food and good business. "We’re like your silent business partner, available at a moment’s notice to answer questions, offer advice, navigate the terms of your lease or advocate on your behalf, we've got your back", says Marisa. 

On the show today we chat about:

• The size and diversity of NZ's hospitality industry
• Mentors, buyer groups, legal helplines and job boards, why all of these are important support systems
• Stories of hope and resilience, how the hospitality industry has pivoted
• Importance of advocacy in times of strife
• Minimum wage, finding the right balance

Find out more about the Restaurant Association and how they can help you. 

Top Quotes:

"I've been exposed to a lot of diverse food from traditional Māori kai to American cuisine, if that's a thing. I also lived in Arizona and I have fond memories of a family friend Olga who taught me how to make tamales and tortillas." 

"Owning a business is lonely. It's nice to have someone that you can regularly check in with who has been there, done that who can help you figure out what to do next."

If you nodded yes, then you need to know about FoodStarter. It's a nationwide search for NZ's most innovative food and beverage products with the ultimate prize being the chance to have your product on New World shelves across New Zealand. 

We talk to Marian Johnson, CEO of Ministry of Awesome, the incubator behind FoodStarter as well Tim Campbell, Category Manager at Foodstuffs about what it means to create an innovative product. "The challenge with innovation is walking the tightrope between creating something that is new and something that the customer wants", says Tim. So do be on trend and go plant based or make kombucha or could you innovate in other ways that focus on the provenance of food or the founder story? In the episode we talk about:

• Foodstarter, who it’s for and why you should apply
• Can innovation happen beyond the product itself
• The one thing category managers look for in your food product 
• Where to begin if you want to stock your product at a NZ supermarket

Find out more about Foodstarter on www.Foodstarter.co.nz

Applications close 7 February 2021.

Quotes from the episode:

"Going to the supermarket and watching people shop is actually quite interesting. What people say they are going to do versus what they actually put into their shopping trolley is often quite different." - Tim Campbell

"When you're investing in a startup, you're investing in the founder. It's not often that you go from no to go in a year. With FoodStarter we are giving you the skates, the network and the opportunity. But you still have to do the running, no one is going to do that for you" - Marian Johnson

I was in the same boat until I came across the Thermomix. The Thermomix claims to be a smart connected kitchen that in our guest Odette’s words changes your relationship with food. Owned by Vorwerk, the Thermomix is a staple in many European kitchens and in recent years has been making headway into Aussie and Kiwi homes. 

It’s easy at first glance to dismiss the machine as a “$2,500 blender” just like Odette’s husband did which is why you need to really see it in action to get a feel for how it could be used in your kitchen. Thermomix consultant, Shernaz Petigara shares that she has clients who use the machine just for their businesses to make jams or ganache for cakes. She also knows a 13 year old boy who loved it so much he now cooks all weeknight dinners in it once he comes home from school! What is this sorcery? We find out!

In this episode we talk about:

• Is the Thermomix really just a bloody expensive blender?
• Can a machine really change your relationship with food?
• Why is the Thermomix not just available in a retail store?
• How you can finally get your husband to cook!

To see the Thermomix in action or to get weeknight meal envy follow Shernaz Petigara on @peacewiththermo and Odette Smith on @thermodette . You can also email peacewiththermo@gmail.com if you’d like to see it in action for yourself or head to the Thermomix NZ page on Facebook and join one of their virtual cooking classes! 

When Akemi came to New Zealand in 2009 she started working as a kitchen hand at a vineyard in Matakana and in her own words she “somehow became a chef”. She has no formal training as a cook. Akemi first made gyoza for a wedding at the vineyard. The Head Chef loved them so much they became a regular feature on their menu. Fast forward a few years and Akemi’s Gyoza was born in 2016 selling first at Matakana Farmers’ Market. 

Today she is a regular feature at the Mangawhai Tavern market on a Saturday and the Clevedon market on a Sunday. She also caters for events and in the summer features at 2 – 3 other food events a month. On an average, she sells anywhere from 8,000 to 15,000 gyoza a week!

On our episode we talk about:

• The difference between a Chinese dumpling and Japanese gyoza
• Akemi’s journey of learning to make gyoza
• Why Akemi loves being at farmers’ markets
• How Akemi’s Gyoza evolved during the pandemic

Follow their journey on https://akemisgyoza.nz/

Their aim is to nurture a new approach to kai. One that encourages a behaviour change towards healthy food while also tackling food insecurity. On the surface they run a café. However, what this multi-use space is really doing is making good food accessible and affordable to the local community while also creating a hub where people can connect and share new concepts related to food.

Their partnership approach has seen them working with farmers in Pukekohe to rescue surplus produce and turn it into soup for local schools in Papatoetoe. They have made available indigenous food like hangi and umu available in Papatoetoe and they regularly also provide work opportunities for Papatoetoe youth and locals. 

Since October 2019 the Papatoetoe Food Hub has also worked with Papatoetoe New World to rescue some of the supermarket’s surplus produce. This has resulted in approximately one tonne of produce being rescued each week to create healthy, affordable meals and juices at the Food Hub.

When Lulu lost her job during the Covid lockdown they put their heads together and came up with an 8th baby. Their business, Secret Kiwi Kitchen. Secret Kiwi Kitchen makes all natural, artisan baking mixes like a brownie mix, fudge sauces as well as a molten marshmallow sauce. 

Not only do their baking mixes bring families together but they also empower kids! Lauren shares, “We got an email from a mother who shared how our mixes are empowering their kids. Her son had a shared morning tea for his rugby team and she got him our blondie kits so that he could make them himself”.

From launching in August to being stocked at Smith & Caughey’s just five months later, this is an incredible story you want to listen to!

On the show we talk about:

• How can baking at home be made easier?
• Getting the word out about your business in the really, early days
• What exactly is marshmallow fluff
• Rapidly scaling a food products business, what it takes

Craving some brownies? Head to Secret Kiwi Kitchen and order a mix, or two.

When she moved to New Zealand, she was not only in search of a new career but also in search of better bread. Having come up empty in the bread department, Isabel decided to open her own bakery. “I would save us all from the dreaded ‘white fluff’ that New Zealanders, at the time, considered to be bread”.

On the show we chat about:

• The history of bread
• Why does bread have such a bad reputation?
• Naturally leavened bread and why it tastes better
• Not compromising on taste and all that it entails
• Sourcing wheat grown locally and why that’s important
• Scaling a bakery business

Learn more - www.breadandbutter.nz

Connie believes that food is the cornerstone of a great neighbourhood and that cookbooks are history books. “It’s an amazing thing, food. We all have to eat. More than that, food has the power to transcend age, place and wealth to give a voice to our experiences”, says Connie.

Various coffee and energy drink brands have built their fortunes on the back of this need for flow. Though, as we are finding out now, those aren’t the most optimal beverages to be addicted to and can have adverse effects over the years.

Angus Brown started questioning this a few years ago. “As a student that hardly drank any caffeine myself, selling energy drinks didn’t sit well with me. I started thinking if we could create a brain drink. What would a natural and healthy brain drink look like? Could we create something that helps with stress or flow while also protecting your cognitive function in the long term?”

It took Angus and his co-founder Zac five years of working with internationally recognized neuroscientists and food technologists to develop a patented formula that aids mental clarity in moments of pressure. Their answer was Ārepa. 

Made from NZ sourced extracts of pine bark and blackcurrants, Ārepa is part of a small but fast-growing natural smart drink category for people that want to feel less wound up and more in-the-zone. 

Try Ārepa for yourself by taking part in our giveaway to win a week-long supply. All you have to do is leave a small review for Kiwi Foodcast on Apple Podcasts or over on the Kiwi Foodcast facebook page. Entries close 30 November 2020.

Zealandia don’t make their own honey. Instead, they collaborate with beekeepers across New Zealand, most of whom have been beekeeping for generations. Zealandia then tests all the honey at their ISO17025 certified laboratories where they test the quality, potency, authenticity and purity of the honey. 

“In the right conditions, honey can be matured like a whiskey or a fine wine. The amount of methylglyoxal (MGO) in the honey will increase. However, there are about 50 different variables that must all be exactly right, honey with a high MGO count is rarely harvested”, says Sunil. 

When Zealandia Honey was offered a high MGO honey for sale, they jumped at the chance. They then bottled this honey and created a batch of 120 bespoke jars, selling each for $3100. 

On the episode we talk about their high growth journey. Specifically, we talk about:

• Creating a product that’s primarily targeted to export markets
• What makes Manuka honey special
• Identifying a great honey – UMF or MGO?
• Why is honey testing important?
• Is there a market for a $3000 jar of honey?

 https://shop.zealandiahoney.com/

For Mat and his family, having the discount meant they could sample daring local delicacies and a good bottle of wine, without breaking the bank. 

Already a tech entrepreneur, Mat saw an opportunity to build an online marketplace to solve the problem of slow starts to evenings, at scale. 

In September 2014 he launched First Table with ten restaurants in Queenstown. He then set off in a relocation campervan, driving from Christchurch to Auckland pitching to restaurants along the way. By day, he’d meet with restaurant owners, and by night, he’d drive to the next city. Fast-forward to today, restaurants and diners are using First Table in over 50 cities around the globe.

On our episode we talk about:

• The First Table business model and why it’s a win-win
• Getting those first customers and doing whatever it takes
• Running a startup in Queenstown, what’s that like
• What it really took to launch into international markets
• Challenges of scaling continuously

www.firsttable.co.nz

Quotes from the episode:

“Empty tables don’t make money. If we can put people into those tables that’s incremental revenue for the restaurant. People also don’t like going into an empty restaurant. So if you can fill those empty tables at the beginning of the night it get’s everyone’s night off to a great start!”

“Getting those first customers was tricky. As a tech entrepreneur I had spent most of my life sitting behind a computer not talking to anyone. At first, I tried getting others to do the selling but that didn’t work. I realized I was the one that knew the most about First Table and what we were trying to achieve so I had to suck it up and do the talking myself. It was hard to do but restaurants were really interested in this new approach.”

On the show, we talk about:

• Being a chef v/s a cook: overcoming the Asian mentality of hospitality not being a great career choice
• Innovating on the traditional dumpling and the importance of condiments
• Having a food truck in a corporate location v/s central Auckland
• Why having a hospitality business in NZ is much harder than other Asian cities

Love dumplings? You need to try their Tsingtao pulled pork and Penang pulled beef dumplings. Get your fix of delicious dumplings delivered.

Quotes from the episode:

“As a commis, I used to come to work really early in the morning so I could do stock-take with the Head Chef and learn all the names of the Western ingredients. After hours, I would watch plenty of You Tube. No movies, just videos about food. That really helped me get familiar with the food I had to cook at work.”

“How many times did I eat Sweet and Sour Pork in China? It’s rare to go to a restaurant in China and ask for fried rice or sweet and sour pork. These dishes are just something Chinese people cook for others”.

Kai West is the group behind the birth of the Te Puna market. Kai West is a collaboration between Healthy Families Waitakere, Panuku, and other community organisations that work towards connecting people to local growers so we can be aware of what we are eating and where that food comes from. 

On the show, Jason and I talk about:

• Utilising unused space to create something new that connects the community
• Building sustainable food systems by supporting local backyard growers
• Shopping hyper-local and what that teaches us about where food comes from
• The challenges involved in taking a farmers’ market online

Are you looking for a new farmers’ market to visit? Head to Te Puna market this Saturday or check out Te puna Market on Facebook.

Quotes from the episode:

“We always had a vegetable garden at home. It gave me an appreciation of our connection to the natural world, how great it is to get your hands into the soil and know exactly where your food came from.”

“At Te Puna, we focus on small scale growers and help them create micro incomes for their family. A local market is as much about local food and affordability as it is about social connection.”

At Eat with Me, Archana cooks for you and you eat in her dining room or she will come cook for you at yours. From the stock to the salad to the meat, everything is made by Archana from scratch. She also runs a monthly supper club where you can get together with other strangers and come together over a meal that she’s cooked for you. Such home dining experiences are quite unique in New Zealand but have become a big industry overseas, especially in India

On the show we talk about:

• Growing up in a Keralan home
• India vs New Zealand – how different is the commercial kitchen?
• Will home dining become as popular as it is in other parts of the world?
• The joys of sitting around a table with strangers
• Why it’s important to have a job that pleases your soul

If you are after a personalized and comfortable dining experience curated just for you, get in touch with Archana Kurup of Eat with Me: www.eatwithme.co.nz

Sue has always loved cheese. Living in Waikato, she has been surrounded with the perfect dairying conditions for more than 20 years. On her travels around the world she saw that despite New Zealand having such a big dairy industry, our supermarket shelves were lined with just the basic edam and cheddar cheese – she wanted to fix that!

As she got started learning how to make her own cheese, she realized that there was no cheese school in Aotearoa where one could go to learn the practical and theoretical elements of making cheese at home. By early 2008, Sue had not only setup Over the Moon but also its affiliate the New Zealand Cheese School. A few months in, Over the Moon then made its first cheeses and won a gold and two silver medals at the Cuisine New Zealand Champion of Cheese Awards.

Over the years, Over the Moon has embraced its passion for innovation and created some really unique cheeses like the Black Truffle Brie, The Black Sheep and Galactic Gold. They are one of the few dairies in Australasia that makes cheese with four different types of milk. 

On our episode we talk about:

• Evolution of the production and availability of specialty cheeses in New Zealand
• The magic of cheese making
• The journey of starting a cheese factory and a cheese school all at once
• Importance of mentor and contractors to move past the business humps
• How innovation is at the heart of Over the Moon

Where to buy buy some cheese and learn more about Over The Moon.

She wanted flexibility on the job and the ability to work around her kids’ needs, something her corporate career was unable to give her. Maggie was on a run in her local park while training for the half marathon when she spotted a Mr. Whippy truck pull up and people start gravitating towards it. As a busy mum she was an avid smoothie drinker and seeing the truck made her realise how amazing it would be if there was a similar truck but one that sold smoothies instead of ice-cream.

This was in 2015 and despite what the movies showed, running a food truck selling quality food was extremely difficult and still a relatively new concept in Auckland. People associated food trucks with low quality hot chips and hot dog vendors. During winter there was a lack of events and so she partnered with a fellow food truck owner Timothy van der Werff of Double Dutch fries to organise their own street food event. 

Amazingly, hundreds of people were lining out the door to support their favourite food trucks and that is how the idea for the Food Truck Collective was born. An organisation that is dedicated to showcasing the brilliant people behind the food trucks we all love to eat at. 

Five years on, Maggie and Timothy use their knowledge of food trucks and what makes an outstanding event to organise events all over Auckland. Auckland Fried Chicken Festival, Auckland Vegan Food Festival and Food Truck Fridays at Britomart are just some of their popular events.

On our episode we talk about:

• Realities of running a food truck while also being a Mum
• Why appearances are key, both for the food you serve as well as your food truck
• What it takes to organise a successful street food event
• Working in partnership with food truck owners – why that’s key to a successful event

Social Links:

Food Truck Collective on Instagram @foodtruckcollectivenz 

. Learn more about Maggie’s journey and what she’s going to be up to next by also following @foodtruckmamma.nz 

Essentially, it is a part-time 26-week programme that covers everything from regulations, food safety and business planning, to finance, branding and marketing. What makes the program really stand out is the access it provides to its cohort and alumni to dedicated commercial kitchens thereby addressing one of the biggest hurdle food entrepreneurs face in their early days.

Another unique aspect about the program is its commitment to celebrating the diversity of Auckland’s vibrant community.

Many of their alumni include business owners that have chosen to make New Zealand their home and don’t have the built-in support networks that come with living in the same place for decades. The Kitchen Project holds their hands and providers not only strategic mentorship but practical guidance and access to their valuable networks. Carmel’s Israeli Street Food, Sweet and Me, The Red Hot Kiwi Company and Banu’s Spices are just a few of their alumni that are today successfully selling their delicious food to Aucklanders thanks to The Kitchen Project

Joining us on this episode is TeReina Norton, Founder of The Little Plant Pantry who is also an alumnus of The Kitchen Project. Using the training and mentorship of program, Te Reina now makes and delivers delicious plant-based meals and treats to homes all over Auckland. In her own words, “In 25 weeks I have gone from being a stay at home mom who likes to cook and has an idea to being a business owner”.

On our episode we talk about:

• Why is The Kitchen Project focused on West and South Auckland communities?
• How a business incubator can help celebrate the diversity of Auckland’s communities
• Could a program like this be replicated across NZ?
• Challenges of growing a business when you don’t have a support network
• Addressing one of the biggest barrier to entry, access to a commercial kitchen

The Kitchen Project is currently recruiting for its next cohort: www.thekitchenproject.co.nz

To order some treats from The Little Plant Pantry follow TeReina Norton on Facebook.

They settled on cast iron skillets, which have been around since the Iron Age. Also, both their families have had grannies that cooked in them and they’ve seen how cookware that lasts for years has the power to create a connection through time.

In 2019, they started The Ironclad Pan Company. All their cookware is 100% New Zealand made and hand-poured to order. They are also the only company in NZ that manufactures cast iron pans as it is a old school process and there are not many foundries in NZ that are willing (or have the ability) to make cookware.

What’s great is that their pans come with a unique guarantee that lasts a 100-years and you don’t need to worry about taking care of the receipt because their guarantee is forged into the pan itself. 

The Ironclad Pan Company’s pans are  a versatile piece of cookware  and have been endorsed by the likes of The Topp Twins, Peter Gordon and many other chefs. 

On our episode we talk about:

• Importance of creating something meaningful that stands the test of time
• Why everyone needs some cast iron cookware in their kitchen
• How does a 100-year product guarantee work when you are a startup
• Cooking and caring for your cast iron cookware
• Can cookware be an heirloom you inherit?

Follow The Ironclad Pan Company story on www.ironcladpan.com or on Instagram @ironcladpan

Like many Chinese families that moved here in the early 2000’s, Enna’s parents too owned a takeaway. While other Kiwi kids spent their evenings in after school sport, Enna has memories of wrapping spring rolls, folding wontons, flipping burgers and eating yummy takeaway food.

Enna’s love for food has seen her take part in the NZ edition of My Kitchen Rules with her cousin May. They vowed to showcase as many Asian delights as they could while they were on the show and Enna has continued that journey of documenting what she eats and cooks through Instagram and her blog. In addition to this, she also works as a Marketing Manager at Ceres Organics and runs her own matcha business.

“Growing up, there was a time when I didn’t really care about my culture.” Like many immigrant kids, Enna struggled between wanting to fit in and pleasing parents who didn’t want their kids to forget about their heritage.

It’s taken growing up to understand the importance of heritage and why we all need to celebrate our individual cuisines. 

On our episode we talk about:

• Growing up in an Asian immigrant family, what it was like
• Indian Chinese and how its so different to regular Chinese food
• The landscape of Chinese food in New Zealand and how it has changed
• The reality of being on a reality tv show
• Importance of documenting not just recipes but also food memories.

Follow Enna on Instagram: @cookwithenna or read her blog: www.mayandenna.com

Foodprint is a food-tech startup that addresses the food wastage problem while providing win-win solutions for both eateries and consumers. Eateries list the products that they have a surplus of and make them available to users of the app at a discount. On the other side, customers can prepay and order their discounted meal and collect it from the café before they close.

Eateries benefit by having access to a database of new customers and a platform where they can minimise their food waste (and all the painful logistics associated with it) while recuperating some of their food cost. Customers benefit by discovering new eateries where they can buy tasty meals for a fraction of the price while playing an active role in tackling our society’s food waste problem. 

On this episode we talk about:

• Having too much food and not enough customers at the end of the day, a real problem
• The logistical problems of food waste – donating it v/s throwing it away
• How Foodprint has evolved during lockdowns to help their eateries
• Food tech in NZ – a growing sector?
• Starting and scaling a food tech business, what it takes

Download the Foodprint app on Apple Store or Google Play or learn more at www.foodprint.app

Added Bonus: Review our episode with Michal on Apple Podcasts or on the Kiwi Foodcast Facebook page and be in to win a $50 Foodprint voucher!

Quotes from the episode:

“My simplistic 16-year old thought why are we growing these crops to feed animals which we then eat when we could instead eat the crops myself.”

“Many eateries are quite good at using their sales data to predict how much food they should make. At the same time, there are so many variables that you never know what is going to actually happen. Eateries want to strike a balance between making sure you sell out and still having options for your last few customers of the day. That’s where Food Print steps in.”

Today, Kiwi Harvest operates in Auckland, Dunedin, Hawke’s Bay and Queenstown. They rescue food from all parts of the food chain from the grower to the retailers and rescue 170,000 to 200,000 kgs of good quality surplus food every month and diverts this back to people who are struggling with food poverty across New Zealand. 

No food business wants to waste food, but most do not have the systems or networks required to find suitable new homes for their excess produce. KiwiHarvest provides businesses an easy solution for this problem while also working actively within communities to address our glaring food insecurity issues. Since they started in 2012, Kiwi Harvest has rescued 4.5 million kgs of food that was destined to be thrown away. 

On this episode we talk about:

• How one man’s waste can be another’s treasure
• The meaning of food insecurity and the scale of the problem in New Zealand
• Why food insecurity leads to health issues within our communities
• The role of collaborations in growing a non-profit like Kiwi Harvest

Get involved as a volunteer or fundraise for Kiwi Harvest. www.kiwiharvest.org.nz

Quotes from the episode:

“One of the great things about food is that it is the great connector. It connects us to our culture, to our land and to people as sit and eat together”

“People are quite aware of why food is being wasted at the consumers’ end. But food is also wasted across the food chain for a variety of reasons like the grower has reached the quota of food they had to supply and so they don’t even harvest the food on the other paddock or because there has been a problem during manufacturing and the labelling in incorrect. It costs the manufacturer more to relabel this food than to simply dump it into landfill”.

Supermarkets today are stocking a growing range of organic products and it feels like as a population we are getting more curious about where our food comes from. However, as Pablo says, “We have a really long way to go and part of the challenge will be address through education. Education about what organic farming is and education about what actually is in the food we eat”.

On this episode we talk about:

• Has the landscape for organic food in NZ changed?
• How organic is the organic food we are eating?
• Why is organic food so expensive? What can we do to make it more accessible?
• Perfectly formed fruits and vegetables come at a price and drives up the cost of organic produce
• How does eating organic food help save our land and water

Learn more about Chantal Organics product range or explore their recipes on www.chantalorganics.co.nz

Quotes from the episode:

“People start to become hyper aware of what they are eating when they get sick. More and more people are thinking I don’t want to get to that stage and so we start thinking about what we are putting into our bodies.”

“When I think back to why Chantal Organics was setup, it was setup as a co-op to make it affordable for families to be able to buy organic products.”

“Children today are not aware of where food comes from. Where does a carrot come from for example? When we are growing produce at home, even if it’s just chilies and herbs, our kids can go outside and pick the fruits and vegetables and understand the work it took to grow the food we eat. The food we grow in our gardens also just naturally happens to be organic as we don’t really spray it with chemicals.”

A 2014 global survey found one in six Kiwis ran out of money for food, meaning we have one of the worst food insecurity problems in the developed world. Additionally, our society is becoming increasingly fragmented and we need more opportunities to come together and meet people from different walks of life. Everybody Eats addresses both these problems by inviting anyone and everyone to join each other for a meal at shared tables where food is cooked by volunteers

On this episode we talk about:

• How the monotony of kitchen tasks instils focus and discipline in cooks
• Building a supportive culture inside the commercial kitchen
• What it takes to run a restaurant where the menu, and staff changes daily
• Why food is both fuel and comfort
• How a plate of food, served in a dignified manner has the power to turn someone’s life around

Get involved as a volunteer or go for a meal to their Onehunga restaurant. www.everybodyeats.nz

In our conversation, she rightly identifies that, ““You can love cooking and be really good at it, but you may not have the time or the inclination to cook seven days a week.” To solve this problem, Becky Erwood co-founded Get Fed, a company that provides ready-made meals delivered to your door. The menu rotates weekly and customers can either place a one-off order or can subscribe to a weekly family plan. When compared to meal kits or takeout, the difference is that there is no cooking or planning involved, simply reheating.

On this episode we talk about:

• Being a foodie but not wanting to cook daily
• The process of researching, creating a business plan and finding a co-founder
• The growing trend of ready to eat meals in New Zealand
• Ready to eat meals compared to takeout, is it the same?
• The evolving stay at home economy and what it means for services like Get Fed

Get Fed has meal options for people that are health-focused, for children or even for those that like to explore new cuisines. 

 www.getfed.co.nz

Cookie Dough Collective started as a side project which soon turned into something Katie now pursues full time. She is on a mission to introduce Kiwi’s to the joys of eating raw cookie dough. Cookie Dough Collective encourages families to come together, gives people a playful alternative to traditional dessert and encourages nostalgia of being a kid making cookies again! 

On this episode we talk about:

• Bringing the US trend of eating cookie dough to New Zealand
• The changing dessert landscape of New Zealand
• The growing trend to support small, local businesses as a result of Covid-19
• Staying fit when you make cookies for a living

Cookie Dough Collective makes pre-mixed cookie dough that is ready-to-bake for soft, chewy cookies, or to eat straight from the tub, just like ice cream! 

 www.cookiedoughcollective.co.nz

Quotes from the episode:

“I want cookie dough to be recognized as a legitimate dessert. Something that sits on a shelf next to the ice-cream at a supermarket. A dessert that you consider eating after dinner, not just something you eat when licking the bowl clean after making cookies.”

“I really believe in having a good sense of balance in our life. I don’t have cookie dough for breakfast.”

“Prior to Covid-19 buying packaged food online wasn’t common. Now, people recognize that it is fine and in fact a convenient thing to do. This has helped us create a new base of customers.”

Love Street Food dream and bring to life some of the best food events in Auckland. Previously they have organized the Mediterranean Night Market and Christmas markets at Victoria Park. Most recently they hosted the Brunch at French Bay. As if that’s not enough, Love Street Food helps you curate and book some of the best food trucks for your parties, weddings and other gatherings. It would therefore be fair to say that Marc knows his street food. 

On this episode we specifically talk about:

• Is owning a food truck as glamorous as the movie make it out to be?
• The early struggles involved in getting a food truck on the road.
• Would you book a food truck for your wedding?
• The role of street food in creating the culture of a city.

If you have been dreaming of owning a food truck or if you’re like me and attend every single food festival out there (or at least as many as you can), you’re going to love this episode!

Quotes from the episode:

“My magical sofa is an old sofa in our home where I’ve sat and come up with many business ideas. Once upon a time I was on my magical sofa and I turned to my wife and said hey, I think we should do a food truck. And then I said, I think I found a truck.”

“The food industry is a really warm and welcome industry. Partly because it is so hard to survive here.”

“People enjoy direction. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Three to five dishes are all you should aim for when it comes to a food truck menu.”

Follow the Love Street Food journey or hop on their website to book a great food truck for your next event: journey or book them for your next party: https://www.lovestreetfood.co.nz/

She started the business on her own and her partner Tomer joined her as the business grew. Today they both work as a team with Carmel focusing on being the creative that cooks while Tomer handles taking the orders and sharing their story with the world. Their dream is to showcase the variety of Mediterranean food to Kiwi’s and take them on a gourmet journey without travelling too far.

Today, Carmel – Israeli Street Food has grown and takes part in events and markets around Auckland as well as catering weddings and private functions.

On the show, we chat about:

• Importance of food in Israeli culture and the tradition of Friday night dinners
• Lack of knowledge about Mediterranean food in NZ and how Carmel is solving that
• The versatility of pita and falafel in making great meals
• The reality of running a food business with your life partner

Quotes from the episode:

“Food is a really massive part of Israeli social events. Friday night dinners with your family, eating dinner just before Shabbat is a tradition that I really enjoy.” 

“Pita for me is the ultimate street food. You can make a whole meal inside the pita pocket.”

“The key to working with your partner? Focus on being interested, not interesting.”

Follow their journey or book them for your next party: https://www.bycarmel.co.nz/

The idea for Smokin Cole BBQ started by sheer accident. An idea born from a trip across America on Croydon’s Harley two years earlier riding across 14 states in four months solo to investigate the origins and flavours of the different barbecue there. His joint has the only fresh barbecue in Central Auckland and Croydon is in at 4.30am on most days to start prepping for his dinner service. Some of his cuts take up to ten hours to achieve the perfect smoky texture and taste! 

Croydon started Smokin Cole in December 2019 and already his ribs have been voted as one of the best in Auckland City.

Specifically, we chat about:

• How the Auckland restaurant scene is getting more specialized and diverse
• What it’s like to cook when food cost is not an issue
• The joys of travelling for food, especially 7500 miles on a Harley!

Quotes from the episode:

“Cooking is something you either you love and have a passion for or it’s just too hard.”

“You’ve never really eaten a tomato until you have eaten one that is grown in Italy.”

“I was in America, the home of barbecue, low & slow. So, I bought a motorbike, and decided I would learn more about barbecue. I rode from South Carolina to California over four months eating barbecue, tasting it and learning how to cook with it. And, 7500 miles later here we are with Smokin Cole BBQ”.

There were never any measurements or recipes, just an oral passing down of generations worth of food memories.

Shobha has always dreamt of writing a cookbook and so the duo began the painstaking process of documenting the food they wanted to write about. In 2019, two years after they first began, “Pass It On” was released, a gift to Keryn and her two sisters and a preservation of their culture. The book is a bright and inviting collection of Gujarati recipes that have been handed down over generations. Shobha found translating the 103 recipes into simple instructions a hard task while Keryn, who had no photography experience, watched YouTube videos and painted backdrops to create the beautiful full-page images in the book.

On the show I talk to them about secret recipes and why we need to uncover them. We talk about our joint Indian heritage and why it is so important for immigrant Kiwi’s to have a way to access their past through their food. 

Specifically, we chat about:

• Importance of passing on family food memories
• What it takes to self-publish a cook book in New Zealand
• How do you get your book out there?
• Fundamentals of Gujarati cooking

Quotes from the episode:

“With self-publishing you can have full creative control of your book. So, you can choose how you want it to look and how long it took you to write it. It helped us take control of how we wanted our book to be”

“When you self-publishing you’re essentially creating a small business. You’re doing the marketing, the distribution, hiring freelancers to fill gaps in your skills”

“It was mum’s dream for so long and it’s been awesome being able to make it happen.”

“Writing a recipe is actually really hard, thinking about all the components that’s needed and then making sure we are weaving our family stories through all the dishes featured there”

Pass it On Cookbook: https://www.passitoncookbook.co.nz/

Maker2u enables Kiwi markers and growers of food, drinks and other consumables to set up a store and sell directly to the public. Since their launch in March, they now have nearly 400 amazing Kiwi businesses selling their artisan products through their platform  Maker2u.com and Maker2uCellar.com

Families can shop online directly with boutique manufacturers across the country which means that you can now buy the hot sauce you spotted at the farmers’ market in Napier, online. 

The platform’s smaller commissions also mean that businesses get more of the final retail price of their products than they would get from the supermarket duopoly and in the long run Maker2u also plans to open the platform up to export orders from target markets offshore. We chat with Hamish and Suzy Hutton to find out more about Maker2u, how they got started and their plans for the future.

Specifically, we chat about:

• When you are launching a food product how do you meaningfully test the product with your audience?
• Can being a part of a joint platform help you access economies of scale that would otherwise be out of reach
• Is the start of a national lockdown really the best time to start a new business?

Quotes from the episode:

“The supermarket game can be very cut-throat and we were sad that makers were not getting back more of their margins.”

“There are so many talented people like our friend who makes some great food but there hasn’t previously been an ecosystem which allows them to easily see how well their product can sell.”

“If your success becomes our success down the line, then it’s worth doing.”

“Our shop owners know that together we are better. They have that community mindset which makes working with them so great.”

Maker2u:

https://maker2u.com

https://www.instagram.com/maker_2u/

> This episode was recorder during Covid-19 Lockdown.

In 2019, National Geographic claimed that Fix & Fogg were “makers of divine peanut butter” and more recently their Everything Butter made with hemp, chia, sesame, sunflower, flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds with peanuts and almonds was named Farro Earth Champion. We chat with founder, Roman Jewell to learn more about their story. He talks about how the stars aligned when a super-market buyer spotted their butter at the one shop they used to stock at and why sometimes “just going for it” is a great business approach. 

Specifically, we chat about:

• All things peanut butter – Are you team peanut butter or team PB&J?
• Becoming horizontally skilled v/s vertically skilled
• Doing one thing well v/s having a big product range

Quotes from the episode:

“There were some failed attempts at cheese making and beer brewing. I did some bee keeping courses, tried a bit of sewing, a bit of pottery. I spent almost a year just doing hobbies and peanut butter was meant to be just another one of those hobbies.”

“The best part of starting small and local is that you get instantaneous feedback about your product. Everyone has an opinion and when you’re small you can quickly implement on all that feedback.”

“We had a supermarket buyer see our peanut butter in the one shop we were selling it in on her evening walk and that’s I guess when the planets aligned.”

“We’re like that little goldfish that keeps outgrowing its fishbowl.”

Fix and Fogg:

http://www.fixandfogg.com

https://www.instagram.com/fixandfogg/