Changing the face of food in the CBD

‘‘We have got to keep it fresh, we don’t believe in keeping things the same.’’

If you stop by CBD cafe´ on Blenheim’s Queen St, you will find a food whisperer in the form of Tania Godsall.

Having been around food all her life, Tania can remember being about 8 years old and getting placed upon the pass at her father’s restaurant, watching the food go by.

As her ardour for food flourished, Tania joined the RNZAF while gaining experience in fine dining, and passed both her London city and guilds chef’s qualifications with excellence.

‘‘My mum said to me, ‘when all your friends were out partying, you were at polytech doing cooking courses,’’’ Godsall said.

Tania, along with husband Mike, took on CBD cafe´ back in 2016 and began to transform the local food scene led by their passion for change, Tania and Mike hate things to be plain.

‘‘We have got to keep it fresh, we don’t believe in keeping things the same. We would get bored otherwise.’’

The menu changes all the time at CBD, but some traditions remain – the pair use a 120-yearold family cookbook to make preserves and sauces.

Tania was chuffed to hear about her nomination for business person of the year but insisted that she could not have done it alone, especially not without her husband Mike.

‘‘Mike is bloody awesome, I couldn’t do it without him.’’

Godsall said it was the little things that have made CBD a success, sometimes it is as simple as smiling at a customer, providing nice tea cups for elderly ladies, or putting a cushion on a cold chair outside.

‘‘We will leave little stickers on our coffee cups because someone might be having a rough day and a little message like ‘you’re looking gorgeous today’ can go a long way.’’

‘‘It’s about going that little bit further,’’ said Godsall.

On top of her love for food is a sound business mind - Tania likes to quote billionaire Richard Branson.

‘‘I think Branson said, look after your employees. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients,’’ said Godsall.

Branson is one of her role models, as is fashion mogul Trelise Cooper.

Tania has big dreams for the future of CBD and other projects but they are under wraps, for now.

CBD Cafe´ was also nominated for business of the year.

CBD owner Tania Godsall’s passion for food is matched by her passion for change.