The path
Every chapter feeds the next: cafes, dough, radio, revelation, consulting, and the tables and ventures still ahead.
Opened multiple cafes on one question: can I make a living doing something meaningful? Learned food cost, labour, breakeven the hard way. Fell in love with the craft.
Hands in dough. Hydration, lamination, fermentation. Sixteen-hour pastry days. The technical ground under every plate and brief.
Food culture on air. Chefs, trends, stories. The edge: translating rooms so the world can feel them.
Auckland as lab. Best doughnut, coffee, plate: reverse-engineer, refine, return better. Method became mantra.
Out of the grind into consulting and brand. Rooms from struggling to destination. Still: tea before pitch.
Owners over tea. Guests at the table. Ventures not yet named. Same through-line: palate, being, soul.