History
When Kaiaka started back in 2014, from our humble home kitchen (council registered, of course ;-) with no place for the children to create their school lunches, Sander would work on location to fund his full time wine making studies & support his young whanau. The next big leap was when he decided to leave the winemaking industry and focus solely on catering. The arrival of the Kaiaka mobile kitchen 3 & a half years later, in 2018, gave the family back their own kitchen & the long nights perfecting his craft were underway. Later that year the remarkable Kaiaka Riverlands crew entered the scene, giving roots to our business, a venue & the creation of our team culture. Kaiaka had really arrived in the Marlborough Food scene.
Roll on 2020, that 'unprecedented year'. Kaiaka Central' was opened at 2A Park Terrace, the beginning of a long held dream for Sander - the place where a European style Kiwi-flavoured neighbourhood deli met, where people came together to share good food & take home delicious products to keep the connections & memories lingering 'til the next visit.
Roll on 2020, that 'unprecedented year'. Kaiaka Central' was opened at 2A Park Terrace, the beginning of a long held dream for Sander - the place where a European style Kiwi-flavoured neighbourhood deli met, where people came together to share good food & take home delicious products to keep the connections & memories lingering 'til the next visit.
Fast forward to today, the biggest leap yet, the opening of our catering branch at Kaiaka Westwood! Although we make all our food from scratch & delicious frozen meals ready to heat + eat, we also align with others who share our views and create wonderful high quality artisan foods & products that we proudly stock in our small store.
These are our people, our Kaiaka Team. We cannot thank you enough for giving it your all & trusting us enough to share the journey together.
To our Marlborough community, "Thank You" for giving us the opportunity to cater to your important life events - your businesses, weddings, births, funerals, celebrations & parties. It is a true honour that you share your daily lives with us. Let the adventure continue ... It has been a whole lot of learning, a lot of crazy and a whole lot of fun. With good food being created along the way!
To our Marlborough community, "Thank You" for giving us the opportunity to cater to your important life events - your businesses, weddings, births, funerals, celebrations & parties. It is a true honour that you share your daily lives with us. Let the adventure continue ... It has been a whole lot of learning, a lot of crazy and a whole lot of fun. With good food being created along the way!
Our Name
‘Kaiaka’ means 'mastery' in Te Reo Maori, New Zealands native language.
Our Kaiaka logo is also the colour 'Oranje' tracing back to the very heart of The Netherlands. Sander being a proud Dutchman and a long way from home, ‘Kaiaka’ marries our two worlds - his roots and her home. Huia is of Maori ancestry - Te Rarawa & Te Aupouri iwi from the Far North, Muriwhenua.
The font is scraped by a fork & a recent edition is the 3 crosses dotted above the 'i' is the symbol of Amsterdam.
‘Kaiaka’ in a playful way also enhances our business: 'Kai' meaning 'food' and 'Aka' meaning 'Vine' intertwining to beautifully place us on the map in the gourmet province, Marlborough, NZ; world famous for its fine wines or 'Food from the Vines'!
Kaiaka Family
Kaiaka Catering is a family owned business so you may well see these two young men being trained up being involved in the school holidays or after school hours.
Why Kaiaka?
Maui:
‘the free food and drinks. I like helping in the cafe and Camille with baking’’
Tamati:
‘the good food. I like the wifi & flash tv for venue hire too’
