‘He aha te mea nui i te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata’
‘What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people’
SANDER -Owner
A Hospitality Management degree from Amsterdam & Leeds saw Sander exploring all areas of Hotel life … although when it came time to help in the kitchen, he found it hard to leave.
His early fond food memory was Oma Rie’s pancakes because she cooked on gas with butter which made the edge crispy. Stints in Mayerhofen, Sydney, London & Barcelona restaurants secured his fate.
Landing in NZ Sander started furthering his wine - food knowledge working at Amisfield & Brancott Estate. Curious to try his taste buds at a new profession, Sander enrolled in the NMIT Winemaking & Viticulture diploma, which saw him jointly rewarded with the Wine Marlborough scholarship and being able to work in the boutique Mahi & Seresin wineries.
However a career in winemaking wasn’t to be as while funding his studies by being Head chef at Scotch restaurant and doing catering gigs on the side, Sander built a following that he could no longer turn his back on. The knives were sharpened, his notice was handed in, the Kaiaka mobile kitchen was created and he was on the road.
In late 2018 that road lead to Riverlands Estate, the catering kitchen, the dedicated team & further down that road, 'Kaiaka Central' in Park Terrace.
Chef inspirations - Marco Pierre White, Merijn van Berlo & David Everitt-Mattias.
Chef inspirations - Marco Pierre White, Merijn van Berlo & David Everitt-Mattias.
A proud Dutchman who enjoys football - Ajax & Arsenal his teams. He balances the buzz of kitchen life with runs in the withers or down the Taylor river and being with his whanau: partner Huia, sons Maui & Tamati & reluctant dog owner to Awha, although he is softening .. slowly
Why Kaiaka?
“Anything is possible!” Diversity of catering jobs, connecting with people in the cafe & learning off each other in the kitchen. A slick, fun, professional team.
HUIA - Sidekick & Cafe
Huia is Sanders partner in crime and the Kaiaka background support person. She can be found lending a hand with ordering for the shop, marketing, in the office & helping out in the cafe.
A devoted Mum to her two boys, dog Awha & the canaries, Whetu & Manu. When not at Kaiaka Huia can be found wearing her wellbeing hats - Medical Herbalist, Yoga teacher, Massage Therapist, Antenatal Educator & Zumba instructor. She also loves travel and the great outdoors.
Why Kaiaka?
The food is so so good! The quality of the ingredients used, everything made from scratch, the team spirit & the service our staff provide for the community. Appreciating all the years Sander has been chipping away perfecting his craft, the hard work and dedication, seeing it take root and watching it grow makes me really smile.
BIANCA - Head Chef
“The team are my second family”
Bianca is an invaluable ingredient in Kaiaka’s success. She is incredibly focused within the weekly workloads and provides structure to the kitchen.
Bianca enjoys balancing kitchen life with the change of scenery, being at home on her small farm, “I love that lifestyle for our kids. I like going home from the bustling kitchen to the quiet sounds of the swamp - the ciccadas, the bird life, the fantails chasing flies, kingfishers, herons, hawks and moreporks. The magpies tap on the window for bread but I like them as they keep the hawks away from our pet ducks.
I love animals - the cat and dog are important to me. We have fresh duck eggs, herbs and greens & we grow and butcher our own meat.”
Bianca is a Mum -she enjoys spending time with her adult boys and no longer being the taxi so she can immerse herself in her recipe books in her spare time - Ottolenghi, alternative foods such as raw or paleo like the Underground Kitchen. “I just love learning!” She relaxes by baking at home.
Why Kaiaka?
The diversity, the huge variety of jobs that we do - cafe, the large number of wineries that we cater for at vintage time, funerals, weddings, corporate lunches.
FAVOURITE FOOD CREATED:
Creating personalised platters gives me great enjoyment, especially the moment of handing it over and seeing the clients excitement.
NINA - Cafe Manager
An invaluable member of the Kaiaka team. Nina has over three decades of experience in the hospitality sector. It started when she travelled to Japan when she was younger and worked in a cafe which she loved. It then lead to studies in Hotel Management, stints in retail and the Sydney Olympics but it was hospitality which Nina kept returning to. Wither Hill
"I enjoy seeing the little smiles on customers faces which gives me a kick and makes my day"
Why Kaiaka?
"Because we're fun and family friendly. I love using all the skills I've acquired over the years in the one venue!"
CLAIRE - Chef
“We personalise everything as much as we can”
A traveller at heart Claire loves exploring the globe in search of food, trying different cuisines, getting out in nature, listening to stories and learning histories.
Originally childcare qualified, she found herself working in countries such as The Dominican Republic, Egypt, Finland and Thailand and kitchen life began to evolve from there, cooking in French and Swiss chalets for childrens’ camps.
“I’ll try my hand at everything and anything! “
Claire relaxes by pole dancing, cooking, reading, climbing hills, zumba
I enjoy the adventure in being open to adventure of what life brings.
Why Kaiaka?
I love a challenge - every day it’s different working here, always different - different customers, different jo briefs. It’s fun, it’s a great team, great atmosphere.
Abi - Senior Chef
“I enjoy thinking on your feet, coming up with new recipes & making stuff from scratch, I love learning & I enjoy being appreciated.”
Alongside Sander & Bianca, Abi completes the senior management of Karaka. She arrived at Kaiaka with close to two decades experience in the kitchen scene. She is passionate, professional, eager for knowledge and we’re damn blessed to call her one of our own!
Abi wanted to leave school at 15 but to achieve that she needed to find a full time job before her Dad would agree. Kitchen life began washing dishes at the Speights Ale House in Timaru and over the five years there she worked her way up to kitchen hand, sous chef and gained a Certificate in Cookery from Aoraki Polytechnic too. The Chch earthquakes offered a unique opportunity to be a part of the rebuild where Abi helped to reopen three restaurants “it was a good experience I learnt a lot from other chefs - the placement of equipment, the art of training staff, organising menus” with an array of different cuisines - Japanese, Italian, Chinese.
A seven month stint at the Meatworks came to an end when she came to Marlborough for the weekend and fell in love - “the weather, the Marlborough sounds, the beauty”. Marlborough’s gain was Queensland's loss (which was to be her next destination) as Abi spent the next decade sharpening her skills in bakeries, cafes & at the Woodbourne air base.
Abi relaxes from busy kitchen life with friends, doing jigsaw puzzles, enjoying beer at the weekends, camping, going out for dinner and cuddling her cats.
FAVOURITE FOOD TO EAT: Japanese! FAVOURITE FOOD CREATED:
Seafood dishes with food my husband catches. I also love creating platters with cheese & thoughtful design.
Why Kaiaka?
The variety! Every order or function that we cater for is different. “I’m really growing & evolving in myself, I love learning”
Stef - Events Coordinator
A native Parisian, Stef has traded the culinary capital of the world to call the gourmet province of NZ her home. With stints in London restaurants she has a wealth of knowledge to draw from to personalise your Kaiaka experience. It was in London that she flatted with Huia and the friendship grew.
Stef is a well loved Marlborough hospitality personality. The French winemaker, Georges Michel, was the first to open her eyes to Marlborough wines more than two decades ago. In the years that followed Stephanie worked with Sander at the iconic Brancott Estate Heritage Centre, she opened her own restaurant at Highfield and worked at the Wither Hills restaurant.
We feel very blessed to call Stef a valued member of our Kaiaka team. Her level of customer care and pride in her work is exceptional, you will very much enjoy Stef supporting your Kaiaka catered events!
EDDIE - The Reinforcement
Eddie hails from South Germany, near Munich. He strengthens the Karaka team when needed like no other. He enjoys exploring - a people person who has travelled the world cheffing and enjoys the way connections gift new countries and the flow of ever evolving new colleagues to visit.
“And food! Everywhere is good food!”
Why Kaiaka?
“A good team. That’s the best. There are no worries. Nowhere in NZ you have a team like this - it’s very unusual. There are no sick days or no shows, it’s pretty unique. One day it’s this, the other day it’s that. It’s always different, it’s good”.
When not at work Eddie enjoys listening to heavy metal music, eating mangoes, golf and tramping - from Cape Reinga to Bluff & Stewart Island - “The nature is good here”
Molly - Senior Front of House
Molly has been one of Kaiaka's longest serving employees, migrating from school girl sundays at BV Gourmet to join Kaiaka Central days at Park Terrace. Throughout her university years and testing covid times Molly evolved into a solid Kaiaka team member bringing a depth of knowledge to earn a senior leadership role in the company.
Why Kaiaka?
The people, the ambience, the laughter and vibes ... and definitely the food ... the coffee is good too!
CAROLINE - Baker & Chef
Caroline's calm cool experience and team spirit are a welcome asset to Kaiaka.
I gained my love of cooking from my Mum, all five of us kids are pretty good with food. I initially trained in Christchurch before moving to Sydney where I worked and studied for four fun years.
Why Kaiaka?
The people - we’re a team, they care and the variety of jobs, never the same thing.
The quality of the food is excellent, the ingredients are of a high standard.
FAVOURITE FOOD : Asian .. I love full flavoured punchy food .. infact, we've just booked a holiday to Vietnam!
JESSIE - a la carte Chef
Jessie started her hospitality journey as a 10 year old in Rai Valley making sandwiches before school at The Brick Oven. Her first holiday job was at the Mussel Buoys restaurant in Havelock as a 14 year old and she hasn't looked back since.
Jessie owned a cafe in Nelson 'Jack's Island' for eight years straddling the covid chapter. Upon selling her adventurous spirit saw her travelling to remote locations in Australia. First Jessie moved to the outback of Australia to work in the Kimberley's cheffing at a safari camp before then moving on to the Great Barrier reef, Lady Elliot Island, 80 nautical miles from Hervey Bay in the Coral Sea catering to large tourist groups.
We warmly welcome Jessie to the Kaiaka team and back to her NZ homeland.
Kaiaka Cafe Tip:
“I love that we use lots of local suppliers and the variety of choice in the deli"
MARC - Chef
Marc joined the Kaiaka team for the Vintage '26 experience and to our delight hasn't left. Handily skilled and versatile Marc is valuable background support which keeps the Kaiaka show humming.
Why Kaiaka?
The people - we’re a team, the big variety of jobs, every day is different.
The quality of the food is excellent, the ingredients are of a high standard.
JACOB - Cafe
Our newest Kaiaka recruit! Jacob is keen to learn all aspects of the Kaiaka experience - from the front of house team to supporting in the kitchen out the back so you're going to see him a lot.
Kaiaka Cafe Tip:
Delicious kai! A happening place to be!
ANK - Administration Extraordinaire
Ank is our phenomenal background Kaiaka glue - overseeing accounts and all officey things, occasional driver, a people person who gives us structure. A great support for Sander with the Dutch connection.
A devoted Mother of three who is heavily community focussed and a selfless volunteer. An outdoor enthusiast - under and above the water. Ank loves to travel and explore new places. She was brought to NZ by a possible career in the wine industry … And over dinner she met the free diving Bryan & that was over 20 years ago!
Why Kaiaka?
“Great vibes & amazing food! Awesome people, lifts the spirits, very encouraging supportive atmosphere”
PHIL - Head Barista
Kaiaka's Coffee King! A well loved Marlborough hospitality figure with decades of experience, Phil started his journey in hospitality in lively West Coast pubs.
Kaiaka Cafe Tip:
I'm obsessed with Kaiaka's Vitamin Shot Juice (freshly made with oranges, carrots, ginger and turmeric)
