The General returns…

While some generals return as promised, The General in Tuakau never really left. Now under new management, the cafe – located near the corner of George Street and Dominion Road – is again set to provide top brass, first class food and beverages.

“We’ll be serving paninis, salads, mac and cheese and pies, of course,” owner, Olivia Kelly says. “We’ll have an a la carte menu too. Almost everything will be made here, on site so it’s fresh and tasty.”

Although Olivia is the business’ new owner, she’s a veteran of the hospitality industry with decades of experience under her belt. As a fully trained chef, she will be running the kitchen while also managing the business as a whole.

“It will be tough but, when I trained as a chef, people still had to clock 3000 hours to get their trade cert’ and I’ve been in some very busy kitchens since then,” she says. “Also, as anyone who’s worked in hospitality knows very well, ‘busy’ hits a higher level in commercial kitchens, but we’re prepared for that.”

Olivia will draw on the skills of a few heroes too.

“I’ve assembled a top team of locals who are ready to get stuck in and help make The General the place to be in Franklin for hot or cold food, coffee and anything else you’d come to expect from a first-class cafe.”

But chief, chef and bottle washer, she is not.

“I spent too many years in the trenches washing up when I was starting out to be doing that now,” she laughs. “Seriously, though, I’ll help out wherever and whenever I have to – that’s one of the worst-kept secrets about hospitality, you have to be able to work as a team, which means you need to adapt to cover for each other when required.”

While Tuakau may not have had Olivia’s cooking at its doorstep before, those venturing a little further down the line may well have already had a taste of things to come.

A (now former) head chef at in Pokeno’s bustling central business district – Pokeno CBD Cafe, that is! – Olivia has gained a solid reputation for the quality of her food.

“I’m a well-rounded chef overall, so I have quite a few signature dishes, but my lamb shank pie is probably the most popular.”

Open from September 24, The General will hold an official opening event on the 26th before charging ahead.

“We’ll take some time out to celebrate,” Olivia adds. “But we’re really looking forward to cooking up a storm and showing Tuakau just how good our food really is.”