Good food and service to Relish
Electra Business and Innovation Awards finalist profile: Relish Cafe´ and Catering
■ Tell us what your business does. We are a cafe´ and catering business. The cafe´ , at 12 Elizabeth St, Waikanae, is open Tuesday to Sunday 8am to 3pm. We also offer out-catering to functions in private homes, various clubs, retirement homes and funerals on the Ka¯ piti Coast.
■ How did the business start and grow to where it is today? Relish Cafe´ was the dream of Anne and the late Alan McNair. They opened in 2001 and established a successful business operating for 16 years. They were forced to close due to Alan’s ill health in December 2017. I purchased the then closed cafe´ in January 2018 with my former partner. I prepared budget forecasts and was confident that we could re-open the cafe´ and increase the sales and profit. In my budget I had factored in revenue from out-catering as there appeared to be an opening for a good caterer in Waikanae. Once the cafe´ was tracking well we began to focus on our outcatering however we had to temporarily cease this part of our business as I was diagnosed with cancer. I took six months away from the cafe´ and recovered. Upon returning we commenced the outcatering. Covid then struck and all our bookings cancelled. The cafe´ temporarily closed during Covid as we were not equipped or set up to provide takeaways. When we returned to the Covid red setting we recommenced our out-catering services which are now flourishing.
■ What sets you apart from others in your field? We are a destination cafe´ providing excellent fresh food and first class, friendly service at an affordable price. We can cater for special events, service clubs, private parties at our venue or at a venue of our clients’ choice. We also have a lovely garden setting for al fresco dining.
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What was your reaction to being named as a finalist? What category/s did you enter?
I wasn’t surprised to be named as a finalist. We anticipated and deserve to be one of the finalists. We entered the small business of the year category and the hospitality, entertainment and tourism category.
■ What do you like about operating your business in the Ka¯ piti community? I am very passionate about my business. I am blessed with exceptional organisational skills and a flair for creativity and presentation. I love making people happy by providing excellent food and outstanding service to the Ka¯ piti community.
■ What does a general day at Relish Cafe involve? A general day at Relish Cafe´ and Catering involves food preparation from 6am, this includes baking the scones and ginger gems which are baked fresh daily and icing the vanilla slice and carrot cake. The slices and savoury cabinet food are put out into the display cabinet. The coffee machine is set up for the day. The phone starts ringing from 7.30am with customers making bookings for morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea. The cafe´ opens its doors at 8am and the customers soon start to come in. We have a lot of loyal regular customers and we always have new customers coming in due to word of mouth who then become regulars.
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