Sharing culture through food

Last August, a special project expanded into Franklin.

The Kitchen Project has been running since 2017 and has launched more than 100 new food-related businesses across Auckland. It has an emphasis on culture, healthy and sustainable food business practices and building community wealth.

Since August 2024, it has operated out of 1 Roulston in Pukekohe, offering local food entrepreneurs the opportunity to make their food business dreams come true.

Kitchen Project manager Connie Clarkson said that so far, 13 businesses, spread across three cohorts, have participated in the part-time 20-week Franklin programme.

With learning both in and out of the kitchen, the programme covers everything from regulations, food safety, and business planning to finance, branding, and marketing, drawing on the vast experience of high-level mentors and partners. The Kitchen Project also offers access to dedicated commercial kitchens at subsidised rates.

The Kitchen Project’s latest Pukekohe cohort recently held a tasting session, offering a culinary world journey that highlighted food and celebrated New Zealand’s diversity.

Budding entrepreneurs lined up, presenting dishes from Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States, Germany and New Zealand – though with an impressive take on Indian chutney thrown in for good measure.

Thuy Nguyen and Holly Vu swapped Vietnam for Papakura and presented the traditional pho they hope to market as an all-in-one frozen noodle soup. Beef types from the north and south reflect the different parts of the country they hail from, with a chicken pho also on offer.

At the next station, Californian Mario Campa has his Bite Me Bagels to taste. Now living in Ardmore, Mario and his wife longed for a classic New York style bagel but could never find them, so decided to solve that problem themselves through their own small business, adding classic spreads to the offering.

Those cherished tastes from home motivated Filipina Imee Rafeal to start making her own longganisa, a chorizo-style sausage, as well as the pimento cheese spread that’s a staple in the Philippines.

Sophia Reyes yearned for the cakes and treats so beloved by her community, but as a mother of five already operating a small cleaning business, she’s called on the Kitchen Project to learn how to transition from mops and dusters to sugar and spatulas.

Likewise, Ginni Ardargie, a multigenerational beef farmer and retired nurse, now makes marmalades and chutneys from everything she grows on a farm that’s been in her family for a century. She’s a feature at markets with hand-crafted delights and hopes the Kitchen Project will transform her pastime into a viable business – and given an outstanding Maharaja Chutney, she might well be on to a winner.

Rounding out the tasting is German Charlotte Schlichting, who is keen to introduce Kiwis to the much-loved German staple Spaetzle, an egg noodle, tossed in a creamy, rich, cheesy sauce and topped with crispy speck – smoked pork. She’s interested in getting a foundation before heading into the market world, and who can offer Mate, a natural ingredient energy drink.

Clarkson said New Zealand’s diversity means more food dishes are transitioning out of immigrant communities and into the mainstream.

“People who have chosen to make their homes here often crave the dishes that transport them back, and we get the benefit of that by being able to sample and experience them too.

“If the people who miss those things and decide to do something about it, add to our food landscape and establish their own businesses along the way, that has to be good for all of us.”

The Kitchen Project Tasting was held at 1 Roulston, supported by The Auckland Urban Development Office, Pukekohe Business Association, and Franklin Local Board.