NO ORDINARY LOVE

Sarah Pollok talks to Auckland restaurant couples about their recipes for a successful partnership

Sarah Pollok talks to Auckland restaurant couples about their recipes for a successful partnership

Giapo

It was 2006 when two high school sweethearts immigrated from Italy with a dream of starting their own patisserie. However, one failed pastry shop, a change of direction and 12 years later, the couple behind Giapo know just how sweet an accident can be.

Summon everything you think you know about icecream parlours. Now, forget it. Your conventional expectations have no place at Giapo according to Annarosa and the eponymous Giapo Grazioli, whose personal mantra — “Don’t be Normal” — is scribbled on their inspiration wall.

“We wanted to change the way people experience icecream and make it something that inspires them,” says Giapo. With 1200 customers queuing up every day for edible selfie-sticks, Auckland Sky Towers, and wearable rings that have caught the interest of international media, it’s fair to say Giapo has well and truly changed the game.

So, where do the weirdly wonderful ideas come from? Anywhere and everywhere, say the couple, who keep a notepad beside their bed so they are ready when inspiration comes. “The challenge is less the ideas and more making them a reality,” said Giapo.

Decades on, the couple have learned a lot about the frozen dessert but say when it comes to the important lessons, they are one another’s best teacher.

“She is resilient and very passionate,” Giapo says of his other half. “She makes it happen and that is the most important quality”.

Annarosa says Giapo’s ability to turn failures into successes is a constant inspiration. “He taught me that if you focus on the failure, you’re not going to move forward,” she says. “You always must focus on the positive.”

If they had to describe one another using icecream instead of words? “Giapo doesn’t often do coloured icecream, but he would be colourful,” says Annarosa, who, according to Giapo, would be a rose-shaped icecream. “It is the most beautiful flower,” he says.

Growing up, most of us dream of being a dessert taster, but when your parents run Giapo, it’s a pretty sweet reality. “As you can imagine, Francesca and Pasquale love icecream,” says Annarosa, adding that, while the kids often suggest crazy new flavours or creations, they always end up with a Kiwi favourite: hokey pokey.

With the rush of summer coming, it’s too busy for anything too spectacular. Instead, the couple will focus on developing seasonal flavours and securing quality ingredients for their most popular flavour, citrus sorbet. When they have to duck out for some much-needed caffeine, you’ll find them anywhere stocking Millers coffee. Giapo, 12 Gore St, Auckland.

La Peche

It started like any other dinner party, with a few friends, some good food and a bottle of wine in a Paris apartment. But, as Emma Ogilvie and Nick Landsman’s gatherings got bigger and better, they realised their knack for dinner parties was a business waiting to happen. Enter, La Peche, an Auckland pop-up that gives the old school cool of French bistro a fresh, affordable spin.

Inspired by their time in France, Nick says La Peche is all about doing food the European way, where menus are crafted on the day, depending on what’s good at the morning markets. “Chefs literally invent new menus daily; there’s nothing fresher, nothing better,” he says. After steady success in Paris, the couple returned to Auckland where they spend every spare minute on their side-hustle.

While the pop-up game is a tumultuous one, they say there is no one else they would rather be beside than each other during the stresses and successes.

“Sometimes we have disagreements or whatever,” says Emma, “but there is always this layer of trust that we’re backing each other.”

Case in point? The runaway success of their latest event at Ponsonby’s Dear Jervois. Despite prepping triple the amount of food for the third and final night, word had got around and La Peche was hit with record-breaking numbers. Just hours in, the food was low, the crowd was hungry, and the pair were stressing out. “It was a massive stress having a full restaurant of people waiting to order,” says Emma. Fortunately, free bread and cheese tided the mob over until dinner could be served. “There are always near-misses and full-on hiccups with pop-ups, that’s the nature of it,” she says.

“It’s kind of like opening a brand new restaurant every night — a bit of a logistical nightmare.” Stress aside, the sight of a full house is unbeatable.

So where do the hip couple go to celebrate their latest success? The equally hip K Rd restaurant, Cotto. “It feels like being back in Europe,” says Emma, complimenting the rich, wholesome dishes and casual service. As summer evenings get longer and lighter, you’ll find them on Cotto’s outdoor balcony, eating pasta and planning future travels before committing to bricks and mortar.

La Peche can be found under the name “French Fried” on Facebook.

Sometimes we have disagreements or whatever but there is always this layer of trust that we’re backing each other. Emma Ogilvie

Freaky

They say good things come in small packages and at Freaky, this couldn’t be more true.

If the line of loyal customers doesn’t lead you to the Wakefield St hole-in-the-wall, the smell of fresh coffee and fried chicken will.

Despite only being in their mid-20s, Logan Birch and Diva Giles are no strangers to the hospitality industry. Meeting in Prego’s kitchen in 2014, the couple soon moved to London for a two-year stint at top restaurant, The Dairy, before returning home with a new ambition: a place of their own.

However, it was easier said than done. “The morning we were supposed to start renovations, we woke up and Diva turned to me and said, ‘Maybe we should wait another week.’” says Logan. “That was a real moment of, Ooh shit, should we really do it?”’

If Freaky’s steady stream of regulars is anything to go by, they made the right call.

The five-item menu seems light at first, but when you see the size of the kitchen, it’s nothing short of magic. Logan delivers high-end restaurant-quality meals from the shoebox space like a culinary Dynamo. Logan credits both the Parnell Markets and La Cigale as his go-to spots for fresh, quality produce that make all the difference in his food.

Like most couples, they have good days and not-so-good. However, conflict is a little more complicated when you’re stuck in a 6x3m box. “Arguments can definitely get tricky when you’re so close,” said Diva, “but you learn how to put it aside because we both know the customer is the priority.”

They’re also quick to acknowledge each other’s strengths. Diva says that Logan’s knack for remembering customers’ names never ceases to impress her. And Logan says that when things get tricky, she’s an unbeatable bad cop. “She is so good with customers or suppliers. We call her ‘the bulldog’.” With summer in full swing, the pair shows no signs of slowing down, after snagging the catering gig for Rhythm and Vines’ artists. “We didn’t really think about how massive it is,” said Diva, who said 500 meals in five days will be their biggest challenge yet. Freaky, 15 Wakefield St, Auckland.

Calm but quick, Taku Hida moves with a steady focus from pot to pot, constantly stirring, seasoning and sampling.

Miso-Ra

Drive slowly down the long stretch of Onehunga’s Victoria St and you might just spot the friendly faces of Noriko and Taku Hida, a Japanese couple serving some of Auckland’s best ramen in the most unassuming of places.

Just a few months ago, the couple parked their dark blue van and pop-out tent here and started Miso-Ra and trust me, you’ll be glad they did.

At 10.30am, the couple is preparing for the Thursday lunch crowd, Taku clanging and clattering over four large steel pots. Calm but quick, he moves with a steady focus from pot to pot, constantly stirring, seasoning and sampling. It’s a talent that has taken more than 10 years to perfect. However, for Noriko, Miso-Ra is her debut into hospitality.

The couple also balance their two sons with the responsibility of nurturing a new business. “We start the day dropping the kids off at school and go straight to Miso-Ra,” says Noriko. “At 2 o’clock it’s pick-up from school, then working from home until 9 o’clock when we usually fall straight asleep.”

The Hidas admit there isn’t much time left for eating out. But when they do have a spare night, Noriko says they love visiting fellow friends’ food trucks like Crate Kitchen and Guerilla Grill.

Noriko is FOT (front of tent) at Miso-Ra, and she loves cooking traditional Japanese food at home for her boys. When it comes to favourite foods, Noriko says they are classic Kiwi boys. Miki, 7, loves mince pies while his 4-year-old brother Jun’s pick is always fish and chips.

Like many Aucklanders, the Hida family celebrate Christmas in the city before escaping to the coast for the New Year with friends. Although this year they’re excited to stick it out in town and make the most of the summer crowds, with a line of pop-ups planned at UrbanAut and K Rd’s Cross Street Market already on the cards.

Miso-Ra is based at Onehunga but check out their patch before they start their summer wandering.

Miso-Ra, 71 Victoria St, Onehunga.