How a global pandemic has impacted a single strip of Dominion Road

Tourism and hospitality industries are buckling under the weight of the Covid-19 response. With the government set to announce a relief package, small businesses on Auckland’s Dominion Road describe just how needed it is. At a small travel brokerage on Dominion Road, five or six staff members sit at their desks taking calls. The phone … Read more

The Bulletin: Facing the Covid-19 economic shock

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New travel restrictions make Covid-19 recession all but certain, further cases of the virus confirmed, and March 15 commemoration called off. Major new travel restrictions were announced over the weekend, making a recession this year all but certain to happen. Toby Manhire has put together the essential … Read more

‘We’ve never seen anything like this’: Covid-19 hits NZ hospo hard

As the pandemic escalates, New Zealand’s already-struggling restaurants and bars are wondering how they’ll get through. The New Zealand hospitality industry is bracing itself as the coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate.  Chinese restaurants have been hit hardest, with many entering their second month of seeing business down by up to 50%. But now, in the … Read more

Why I love: Christchurch’s elusive but brilliant Afghani restaurant

Sure, you might turn up to find the lights off and the doors closed, but if you can catch it open for business, The Afghan Restaurant on Lincoln Road offers an unparalleled culinary experience. You can’t call a restaurant a hidden gem when it’s on one of Christchurch’s busiest roads. The Afghan Restaurant may be … Read more

Food podcast: We check into Hyderabad Hotel for biryani and beer slushies

Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by Jos Ruffell of Garage Project and Sammy Akuthota of Satya to talk about their exciting new venture. In our first field trip of the year, the Dietary Requirements … Read more

Auckland restaurants struggling as coronavirus fears keep diners away

The cancellation of this weekend’s Lantern Festival isn’t the only knock-on effect from the novel coronavirus outbreak to reach Auckland, with the city’s Chinese restaurants reporting a decline in custom. The ban on inbound travel from China combined with overly cautious local diners avoiding their establishments has hit Auckland Chinese restaurateurs hard, with some even … Read more

The couple behind Bar Céleste, Auckland’s critically-acclaimed new restaurant

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Emma Ogilvie and Nick Landsman from Bar Céleste. You’ve probably seen their food on Instagram: people ripping into … Read more

The Sawmill Brewery on fires, feuds and forging an identity

In the near decade since Sawmill Brewery’s new owners came on board, they’ve made some of the best beers in the country, won awards and watched their brewery burn down. And their former landlords at the Leigh Sawmill Cafe accuse them of acting unethically. Alice Neville reports from Matakana. Every Monday, when the Sawmill Brewery’s … Read more

An ode to Food Alley, 1992-2020

A downtown Auckland institution, the 28-year-old foodcourt Food Alley is soon to be demolished. Alice Neville and other Spinoff staff visited at lunchtime the day after the news broke to see how diners and stallholders were feeling. My earliest memories of Auckland life revolve around Food Alley. ‘Twas the summer of 03/04 and I’d come … Read more

The fall of Queen’s Rise? Auckland’s hot new dining precinct feels the pinch

Summer reissue: It was supposed to be Auckland’s answer to Melbourne’s laneways or New York’s Chelsea Market, but the empty sites at Queen’s Rise paint a very different picture. Alice Neville reports. First published 31 October, 2019 In June 2018, to much hype, a new “laneway-style dining destination” opened in downtown Auckland. Housed behind the … Read more

How the hospitality industry incentivises smoking

The reward for being a smoker in the hospitality industry? Extra break time than non-smokers, causing many hospo workers to pick up the bad habit.  For years it’s been a running joke in the hospitality industry that in order to get more breaks, young workers should start smoking. But it turns out there’s actually some … Read more

The fall of Queen’s Rise? Auckland’s hot new dining precinct feels the pinch

It was supposed to be Auckland’s answer to Melbourne’s laneways or New York’s Chelsea Market, but the empty sites at Queen’s Rise paint a very different picture. Alice Neville reports. In June 2018, to much hype, a new “laneway-style dining destination” opened in downtown Auckland. Housed behind the historic facade of the QBE Centre building … Read more

NZ chefs question Taste of Auckland headliner choice after sexist comments

To many, Marco Pierre White is a legend, but his controversial remarks in a recent interview have some New Zealand chefs questioning why the former enfant terrible has star billing at Taste of Auckland. A celebrity chef who recently made global headlines for his sexist comments about female chefs is headlining Auckland’s biggest restaurant festival, … Read more

A restaurant owner on how immigration changes will hurt her industry

Two years on from her open letter to Andrew Little on his vow to slash immigration numbers, Israeli-born Yael Shochat, who owns Ima Cuisine in Auckland, writes about the harm the changes to the work-to-residence visa will do to the hospitality industry. Last week I, like many who employ immigrants, received an email from Immigration … Read more

‘Not a level playing field’: NZ restaurants speak out on Uber Eats

Small businesses have told The Spinoff that hefty commission fees from the global delivery giant are pushing them to the brink, and are asking why global fast food chains get a discount. Small hospitality businesses are paying substantially higher commission rates to Uber Eats than fast food giants using the food-delivery app, and some say … Read more

Stalks, pests and beer gone bad: Tricks of the trade from a no-waste dinner

Inspired by the ethos of food-rescue organisation Kaibosh, chef Kelda Hains looked to the past to champion unloved ingredients and showcase clever waste-minimising techniques at her All Taste, No Waste dinner during Visa Wellington On a Plate.  Ever glanced at those supermarket bags of pre-cut broccoli florets and wondered what happens to the stalks? Kelda … Read more

The beloved Auckland eatery that quietly opened an UberEats ‘ghost restaurant’

The popular and staunchly independent Auckland eatery Coco’s Cantina has launched a ghost restaurant on UberEats, and it ‘shows that our industry is not in a healthy place’, says its owner. Over the past couple of weeks, as they idly scrolled through the mind-boggling array of dinner possibilities, Auckland UberEats users may have noticed something … Read more

Auckland bar owner left Canada under cloud

Cave à Vin founder Zane Kelsall says he has been in ‘intense therapy’ following sexual misconduct claims in Halifax. Last week, The Spinoff published a story about Cave à Vin, a new wine bar on Auckland’s North Shore. The story hailed the vision of its owner, Zane Kelsall, who had recently emigrated from Canada with … Read more

A plea to the cafes and restaurants of Aotearoa: stop playing shit music

Enough of those inoffensive, latte-sippin’ jams selected purely to appease the baby boomers: the most memorable places to dine use music as just one more way to express themselves. If you’ve worked in a restaurant or café in the past 20 years – even if you’ve dined out a whole lot – you’ll likely be familiar … Read more

How one small business absorbed the minimum wage increase, and you can too

While the minimum wage rise took a toll on many small businesses, particularly in hospitality and retail, Christchurch company Switch Espresso absorbed the increase almost without breaking a sweat. Its founder talks to Alice Webb-Liddall about how other businesses can do the same. Post Christchurch earthquake, life is rapidly surging back into the city. Along … Read more

A few crusty councillors can’t change the fact that Hamilton is cool now

Thanks to a rapidly increasing population and some savvy young returnees, these days the Tron oozes quiet self-confidence.  Follow the motorway south from New Zealand’s biggest city, past the fertile vegetable-growing soils of Pukekohe, the Hampton Downs race track and the historic battle site at Rangiriri, along the mighty Waikato River (where at every bend … Read more

The Bulletin: Trees aren’t a climate change credit card

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Climate change report recommends major changes to land use and policy, Westland hit by heavy flooding, and St John in trouble with paramedics over donations call. The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has released a major new report into New Zealand’s approach to greenhouse gas emissions. There’s … Read more

Dietary Requirements podcast: The Gilmour girls on hospo life, hot cross buns and 80s excess

Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. We back! It was a real family affair on the latest Dietary Requirements, with Sophie’s most excellent mum and sister, Emerald and Mimi Gilmour, joining us in the studio. The Gilmours are a … Read more

‘Time’s up for shitty bosses’: one woman’s fight for exploited hospo workers

Chloe Ann-King wants to set up a digital union providing hospo workers with tools such as a ‘Rate My Boss’ scheme and an online pay checker. In Chloe Ann-King’s 14 years of working in the country’s bars and restaurants she has seen staff underpaid, harassed by members of the public, and exploited by employers. This … Read more

Taking intimate dining to new levels: Pasture, the amazing shrinking restaurant

Why would a business owner choose to reduce customer numbers? The couple behind high-end Auckland restaurant Pasture explain their philosophy.  Some key rules for running a successful restaurant are keep your food costs down, keep the average spend high, and maximise your floor space. Get as many customers in and out as possible. A popular … Read more

Chef Ben Bayly on why hospo needs to up its game on mental health

Facing criticism, comparison and scrutiny every day takes its toll. Heaping even more pressure on someone who’s suffering isn’t the answer, writes chef and MKRNZ judge Ben Bayly. It’s no secret that restaurants are high-adrenaline, high-stakes workplaces. The hours are long, it’s highly competitive and with the added pressure of maintaining impeccable customer service, there’s … Read more

How the restaurant industry is finally opening up about mental health

For chefs and restaurateurs all over the world, hospitality’s pressure-cooker environment is no joke. As we increasingly grapple with the consequences of depression and anxiety among those working in our food industry, what’s New Zealand going do about it? Le Suquet à Laguiole in the south of France enjoyed the highest accolade in fine dining for two decades. … Read more

Morningside for life: How Crave cafe reinvests in its neighbourhood

Crave café has been serving locals in Morningside, Auckland for almost a decade, and is spearheading plans for a major regeneration of the suburb over the coming year. Alice Webb-Liddall talks to Crave manager and co-founder Nigel Cottle about the neighbourhood-orientated social enterprise. In 2009, Morningside existed as an in-between suburb. A train station was the landmark that kept … Read more