SkyCity welcomes Cassia –
Auckland’s award-winning Indian restaurant Cassia, led by Chef Sid Sahrawat, is moving to SkyCity.
The renowned restaurant in Auckland’s Fort Street was closed in January after severe weather events and flooding left the business inoperable, temporarily opening as a ‘Cassia Kitchen’ pop up in the private dining room at the Sahrawat’s restaurant, Sid at The French Café.
Owners, husband and wife duo Sid and Chand Sahrawat have now found a new permanent home for the much-loved restaurant and its 20-plus team members.
Cassia is scheduled to open in early May at the site formerly housed by The Grills and will continue to run its Cassia Kitchen pop up offering until the new restaurant is ready to open.
“Sid and Chand have changed the face of Indian cuisine in New Zealand with Cassia and we are thrilled to welcome them and their talented team to SkyCity. We know their fresh and interesting take on modern Indian cuisine will continue to delight our customers and all the loyal Cassia followers,” said David Allott, General Manager Hospitality, SkyCity.
“What is even more exciting is that this is going to be the first of many changes to come at our precinct, so we are thrilled to welcome Cassia to the SkyCity family,” he added.
“It’s great to join up with SkyCity,” said Sid Sahrawat. “It was really important for us to find a location where we could quickly get up and running again, but where there would be absolutely no change to the Cassia experience.
“It was also just as important to partner with people who are serious about great food, so we can’t wait to share SkyCity Federal Street with some of New Zealand’s best dining outlets.”
The race is now on to get Cassia ready to open in early May.
“We want to recreate the look, feel and warmth of the old Cassia but add a few new features to mark our new beginning,” said Sid.
Sid and Chand run several of Auckland’s most-awarded restaurants: Cassia, Sid at The French Café and Kol, as well as Cassia at Home, the couple’s lockdown-inspired curry sauces and spice kits range.
First Table serves new reservation system –
Foodie tech company First Table is changing the way people book dining experiences with the launch of its latest product, Regular Table.
The new product simplifies the reservation process by offering real-time availability for all participating restaurants, making it easier for diners to find and book a table, all in one place, without the First Table offer.
With Regular Tables, there’s no longer a need to search multiple websites for restaurants open in a city or call around to find a restaurant that can accommodate large parties. The platform seamlessly checks live availability and inserts bookings directly into the restaurant’s reservation system, providing an efficient and streamlined experience for both customers and restaurants.
“We understand that due to the current staffing shortage and restaurant capacity issues, finding a restaurant and making a reservation can be a time-consuming and frustrating process,” said the founder of First Table, Mat Weir.
“That’s why we’re excited to be launching this new product, which allows users to search participating restaurants’ availability and book a table, all in one place.
“First Table was able to achieve this as they have the largest number of integrations with restaurant reservation systems in New Zealand, offering a smooth and efficient booking experience.”
First Table’s integration strategy is uncommon in the industry where single connections between reservation systems and booking websites are typical, and the team is continually working on new exciting functionalities to enable real-time searching across multiple systems, streamlining the reservation process even further.
As a bonus, Regular Table bookings receive five times the amount of Status Points as First Table bookings, giving users a greater opportunity to reach Gold and Platinum status levels in the company’s national restaurant loyalty programme, Frequent Foodies™.
Launched on 1 February, the loyalty program rewards users for making bookings, sharing the platform with friends, and writing reviews. The new product is live in Queenstown, Christchurch and Wellington, with more restaurants being added daily. For more information, visit the First Table website at https://www.firsttable.co.nz/magazine/regular-table
From banking to hospo – meet Queenie Lai –
Claiming to have more eateries per capita than New York, Wellington has no shortage of restaurants and cafes to choose from. Fortunately, there are plenty of women-led restaurants in the capital which is fitting this week as we celebrate and support International Women’s Day, which was March 8 this year.
If you’re finding it hard to choose what to eat – you might want to do a DoorDash and support women-led businesses in the city!
If you’re after chicken waffles for breakfast, scrumptious burgers, mouth-watering milkshakes, and classic American-style cheesecakes, Wellington institution, Mama Brown, might be just the ticket.
Mama Brown is led by Queenie Lai, who swapped a career in banking and technology for hospitality. As General Manager, she is focused on making Mama Brown an inspiring place to work and delivering a standout experience for customers.
Queenie has been in hospitality for enough time to see the change that the pandemic and evolving dining preferences have brought to the industry. Technology has changed the way people dine – from how they make reservations and orders, through to where they eat. Given the last few tumultuous years for the industry, Queenie has observed how technology has helped restaurants like themselves survive through lockdowns.
“Mobile delivery apps such as DoorDash have been a game-changer for Mama Brown, and a lifesaver during the pandemic. They have enabled us to reach a broader audience and expand our reach beyond our physical location, meaning we can share Mama Brown’s goodies with more Wellingtonians.
“In my experience, using DoorDash has been fantastic – who doesn’t love having delicious food delivered right to their doorstep for a marathon Netflix session or a brekkie in bed after a fun Saturday night out, right?”
Having seen Mama Brown make it through the pandemic, Queenie and the team are excited to see what the next few years have in store.
When asked what tips she’d give to other women considering careers in hospitality, Queenie has some simple advice.
“Do not hesitate to speak up and demonstrate your capabilities. Always stay true to your values, be persistent, patient, and always be yourself.”
Passionfruit – a survival story –
The 2023 passionfruit crop has survived the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle with the country’s small team of commercial growers based in sub-tropical areas such as Northland, the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki pleased to deliver the seasonal delights to consumers.
Passionfruit is a labor-intensive crop that requires careful management throughout the growing season.
Debbie Baxter, President of the New Zealand Passionfruit Growers Association, says this season has been a particularly challenging one for growers.
“Like many other growers, we faced difficult weather conditions throughout the season. Many of our growers were affected by the severe frost in October and the vines have taken some time to bounce back from that,” he says.
“While we haven’t lost a large amount of fruit, the lack of sunshine hours this summer has delayed production by as much as four weeks in certain areas.”
Baxter notes that get passionfruit to customers is a delicate balance that requires a lot of care and expense.
“Growing passion fruit is a real labor of love. High costs are incurred from pruning and daily picking for months. Passionfruit vines are prone to disease, and, despite careful management, we have a high rate of replacement for plants that have died. In the past year alone, some of our growers lost 100 percent of their vines, while others left the industry altogether,” says Baxter.
Plant & Food Research Principal Scientist and 5+ A Day Charitable Trust spokesperson, Dr. Carolyn Lister says that passionfruit provides significant nutritional value for their size.
“The cost of two passionfruit equals to a cup of coffee – but at the same price, passionfruit delivers the nutritional benefits of dietary fiber to keep your gut healthy, and powerful antioxidants such as vitamins C and E to support your immune system. Plus, their intense sweet and tangy flavor is unbeatable,” she says.
5+ A Day suggests that passionfruit is perfectly scooped out and eaten as is or added to a wide range of sweet and savory dishes.
Passion fruit can add a tropical twist to salads. Add passionfruit pulp to a dressing for a classic green salad or mix the pulp with chunks of cucumber and peach, add baby spinach and cherry tomatoes and drizzle it with chilli and lemon for a deliciously sweet and spicy combination.
Make the most of this season’s passionfruit which are in stores from March through to September by trying out some of the tasty recipes on the 5+ A Day website, www.5aday.co.nz, or by following on social media channels for more great how to use this tropical flavor bomb.
Humble rescued cauli becomes ice cream from HELL –
It’s cauliflower but not as you know it – the humble vegetable is the hero ingredient in HELL’s newest plant-based offering, a unique ice cream made by Kiwi start-up EatKinda.
Launching nationwide across HELL’s 77 stores in Strawberry Swirl and Mint Choc Bikkie flavours, the ice cream is believed to be the world’s first of its kind being made commercially. It includes the use of cauliflower which would otherwise go to waste purely for cosmetic reasons.
EatKinda is the brainchild of Jenni Matheson and Mrinali Kumar. The duo has gone from making ice cream on their kitchen bench to scaling up to commercial production to take their products nationwide with HELL.
A passionate vegan of more than 20 years, Matheson first came up with her cauliflower ice cream recipe while looking to use up vegetables from her garden.
“After initially trying pumpkin and other vegetables I had grown, it quickly became clear that cauliflower was the perfect base. It has a beautiful texture without an overpowering taste, meaning you can create flavors easily,” she says.
Matheson took her recipe for a start-up weekend in Taranaki in 2020, where she met Kumar, who was completing a Bachelor of Food Technology at Massey University. EatKinda was soon born, making a premium ice cream that is creamy, delicious and, most importantly, plant-based.
Kumar says they use “rescued” cauliflower for their ice cream whenever possible, a deliberate decision given a large amount of New Zealand’s crops don’t even make it to the shelves.
“Apart from cosmetic imperfections, such as being the wrong size, an odd color, or not pretty enough for the supermarkets, the cauli we use is completely fine to eat. We source it from suppliers including Perfectly Imperfect, a social enterprise that saves cosmetically imperfect food from rotting in the ground. It’s a win-win for everyone,” she says.
Callum Davies, founder of HELL and equally passionate about plant-based alternatives, says the team was amazed by how delicious the cauliflower ice cream was when they tasted it.
“It sounds like it will be good for you but not tasty – yet we were blown away and knew we had to offer it to our customers. We’re always pushing the envelope in offering plant-based alternatives and think people will be just as in love with it as we are. It’s a pretty sweet aftertaste knowing that it’s dairy-free and uses rescued cauliflower,” he says.
Ben Cumming, CEO of HELL, says sustainability is one of the brand’s core values, which is why it’s important for them to support companies like EatKinda as they tackle issues around climate change and food waste.
“We’ve always been big on plant power – from our Burger Pizza using Impossible Beef to the recent Steak & Cheese Pie Pizza using Fable Steak (a mushroom alternative). For us, it’s about showing amazing plant-based alternatives and showing people that being kinder to the planet doesn’t mean compromising on taste.
“While we have very little food waste in our own HELL kitchens, it is a significant issue for the wider food industry, so we are thrilled to support EatKinda’s work in addressing that by adding their ice cream to our menu,” he says.
EatKinda wants to revolutionize the ice cream industry – changing how science and technology are used in the primary sector to create sustainable and animal-free sweet treats. Davies says HELL has been working closely with Matheson and Kumar to ready them for nationwide expansion, something he is familiar with after opening the first HELL store in Kelburn 27 years ago.
“It’s really hard building a business and a brand from nothing, so we are stoked we can share our knowledge and experience with other generations of Kiwi businesses. After hearing EatKinda’s story and tasting the ice cream, it was an easy decision for us to work with them to launch through our network and help take their business to the next stage,” he said.
Montana Group appoints Mark Wylie as new CEO –
Montana Group has announced the appointment of Mark Wylie as its Chief Executive Officer, effective from 23 February 2023.
The new position was established to lead the company into its next phase of growth and development as the Montana Group looks to meet the growing needs of its customers and stakeholders.
Announcing the move, directors and shareholders, Dallas Fisher and Troy Reid said they are thrilled with the appointment and are confident that Mark’s leadership and vision will help Montana Group to achieve its strategic goals and lead them into the next chapter of its growth and success.
“We believe that this is the next step in the evolution of our company and will enable us to continue to grow and succeed in a rapidly changing environment, and Mark’s experience and vision make him the perfect candidate to lead our company into the future” says Dallas Fisher, Director of the Montana Group.
“Having someone of his caliber leading the team, along with the timing of this move, has set a perfect platform for all of the Montana Group to work together to take our success to the next level. Very exciting times ahead.”
Mark has been General Manager, Montana Food and Events for the last 10 months and brings thirty-five years industry experience to the role. He has a proven track record in hospitality operations and management with a varied and interesting career working in reputable kitchens across New Zealand and internationally. On return to NZ, he has been part of SKYCITY Auckland, Hip Group, and Southern Hospitality in an array of sales, operations, and leadership roles.
”I’m honored and excited to take on the role of CEO for Montana Group,” explains Mark.
“This is an incredible opportunity to work with such a diverse and talented team to continue building on the group’s success and momentum. I truly believe that the Montana Group is an employer of choice with development pathways and opportunities for growth.
“We are known as innovators in the market, with a focus on collaboration and partnerships that have led us to where we are today. I’m personally very excited for the future and the opportunities this will present for our staff and customers.”
Mark will also act as Executive Director, and alongside Dallas and Troy will form part of a six person board with three final board members currently being recruited.
About Montana Group:
Montana Group (MG) is a specialist food and events management business, operating several brands in the upper North Island with a range of food, service, and event operations.
With 10 brands and more than 30 kitchens across two cities, the Group is now recognized as the largest, privately-owned caterer in New Zealand, employing close to 1,000 people across Auckland and Waikato.
MBIE survey highlights hospo workplace challenges –
New Zealand now has better data on working conditions in tourism and hospitality, for those on the frontline as well as for managers, following a survey of more than 900 people working in the industry.
the Hey Tangata survey, conducted by AUT, was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and helps to inform the work of the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan Better Work Action Plan, launched by the Minister of Tourism Peeni Henare, today in Queenstown.
The Better Work Action Plan is a partnership between government, unions, industry and Māori and seeks to address workforce tourism challenges, including those highlighted by this research.
The 68-page survey report found that 59 per cent of staff were either planning to leave their job within a year or were unsure if they would stay. Of those planning to leave, about a third wanted out of the industry altogether.
“It is particularly worrying that senior staff want out at a similarly high rate to frontline staff,” says David Williamson, report co-author and a Senior Lecturer at AUT.
“The main reason people gave for wanting to leave the sector was that the workplace had bad conditions, stress or was a toxic environment. This was followed by bad pay and conditions and then by wanting a better work-life balance.”
Dr. Williamson said that although there was a lot of concern about the base pay rate among employees, people also felt that training or promotion was not recognized properly. Sometimes it was just $1 an hour extra for greatly increased responsibility, he says.
Hey Tangata is one of the largest surveys of employees in the sector to date. Participants in the survey were invited via a link circulated in the tourism and hospitality sector. It ran in mid-2022 with 902 employees sharing their experiences, generating 25,000 comments for analysis.
The report raises many concerns concerning employment relationships and work issues, including problematic pay and working conditions, disturbing reported rates of bullying and harassment and significant levels of non-compliance with basic employment laws. Its findings include:
- 9% did not sign employment agreements before starting work.
- 29% did not get paid correct holiday pay.
- 42% did not always get rest breaks.
- 45% are either elements or not planning to have a career in the sector.
- 27% thought they would leave their current job within the next 12 months, and a further 32% were undecided.
- Of those that said they would leave their current job, 34% were going to leave the sector and a further 47% were unsure if they’d stay in it.
- 23% had experienced bullying and harassment and 34% had witnessed it.
- When bullying and harassment was reported, 50% were elements or were not told if any action was taken afterward.
- Bullying and harassment was only reported half of the time.
- 53% didn’t know what the health and safety risks were in their workplace.
- 35% did not say that health and safety risks were well managed in their workplace.
- 13% had no training at all, and a further 38% have received only on the job training.
- Only 4% belonged to a union, but 43% indicated they’d be interested in joining one.
Hey Tangata also found that workers often got into hospitality and tourism in the first place because they wanted to work with people – but that wasn’t the only reason.
“We often talk about the casual nature of work as a negative, but for a significant number of employees this freedom and flexibility is a positive.
“It is also worth pointing out that our research found that 52% of workers had careers of six years or more in the industry, which looks poised to begin its return to being a major contributor to the New Zealand economy.”
The research was headed by Dr David Williamson from AUT’s School of Hospitality and Tourism, with Professor Erling Rasmussen from AUT’s New Zealand Work Research Institute.
It provides an overview of employment relations and working conditions in the tourism and hospitality sector at a crucial time as it re-emerges from Covid disruption.
Previous research by AUT, Voices From The Front Line, highlighted similar employment problems but looked only at frontline workers in the hospitality industry. Hey Tangata expands this to tourism as well as to managers, and looks at the issues in more depth.
In the latest Times Higher Education university rankings, AUT ranked first in New Zealand for its global research impact.
Hey Tangata can also be downloaded with this shortened link: auto.ac/hetangata
Ready for the ultimate toastie taste test? –
Think your toasties taste top? The Great NZ Toastie Takeover is back and organizers of the annual competition are once again on the hunt for the country’s supreme toasted sandwich.
With free entry, the popular competition has gained momentum year on year, with 2022 attracting more than 180 entries and a whopping 140,000 toasts served up over the duration of the search.
Now in its sixth year, and after a big jump in entries last year, organizers Cook & Nelson and McClure’s Pickles have made the call to cap entries at 250.
As always, the competition remains open to all New Zealand eateries, from cafes, bistros and hotel eateries, to bars, pop-ups, hole-in-the-wall eateries and food trucks.
Like last year, food truck entries will be judged on a designated weekend in May with the entrant required to provide exact date, time, and location details prior to the judging weekend.
Other competition rules remain the same. Each creation must be sandwiched between two slices of bread and able to be eaten by hand if necessary. The toasted sandwich must also contain cheese – or an acceptable vegan substitute, and pickles from the McClure’s Pickles range. Everything else is up to the toastie maker’s imagination.
Each entry must be on the establishment’s menu for the full duration of the competition, during lunch hours and/or dinner hours, from Friday 14 April to 31 May 2023 inclusive. Finalists must have their toastie on the menu until 20 June 2023 inclusive.
As in previous years, each toastie will be scored using set criteria. This includes presentation, effectiveness of preparation technique, eat-ability, taste, provenance and innovation.
The People’s Choice Award will also return in 2023 giving Kiwis the power to vote for their favorite participating eatery and toastie. The eatery with the most votes from the public will take away this year’s People’s Choice Award.
Entries open today (February 28) and close on March 31. Judging will begin from April 14, with the competition finalists announced on May 31. And the supreme winner will be revealed on June 20.
Last year’s battle saw finalists hail from Auckland, Ngatea, Okere Falls (Rotorua), Ohakune, Havelock North, Palmerston North, Greytown, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown, Twizel and Dunedin, and encompass local eateries, rural roadside cafes, breweries, a food truck , a fish farm, a burger bar, an artisan food store and a dedicated toasted sandwich shop.
Head judge Kerry Tyack said last year’s challenge saw imaginations run wild, presenting his team of 30-plus judges with an extremely tough task in choosing the finalists and eventual winner.
“With the competition heating up and a record number of toasties served up to last year, it really feels like the humble toastie has reached the lofty heights of the great Kiwi pie, the whitebait fritter, the perfect pav and the South Island cheese roll.
“In 2023, we’re expecting even more delicious and exciting entries, with the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover now a firm feature on the local foodie calendar and those taking part reporting a notable increase in custom.”
Chef Rich Johns from Rotorua’s Okere Falls Store and Craft Beer Garden won the hotly contested title of the country’s top toastie for 2022 and had this to say at the time.
“Winning the 2022 Great NZ Toastie Takeover has been a wild ride, going from selling 10-15 toasties a day to 60+ every day, with over 10,000 toasties sold since winning! Best of all we still love making the toastie and seeing the delight on people’s faces upon the first bite.”
To submit your own entry or view the full terms and conditions of the competition, go to the entry page on www.toastietakeover.com.