Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Opinion

Kerry Mackay: Caravan cuisine the way to go

Hawkes Bay Today
26 Jul, 2019 06:18 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Vagabond Jack's owner Kerry Mackay says the benefits of cheffing from a caravan outweigh its limitations. Photo Paul Taylor

Vagabond Jack's owner Kerry Mackay says the benefits of cheffing from a caravan outweigh its limitations. Photo Paul Taylor

Opinion

Culinary caravan Vagabond Jack's has partnered with Brave Brewery in a new move that owner Kerry Mackay says is ironically about creative space. The chef chats to Mark Story.

What was the spark for this venture?
Yeah I wanted to be in control, with low risk. It was a culmination of
a search for some sort of "lifestyle" as a chef. As a chef it's hard to get hours that approach normal. You are usually stuck in the bowels of some building, with the aural accompaniment of an extractor fan. Human interaction mostly limited to those you work with, who else has the same work/ leisure schedule? And generally there are culinary boundaries.

Is there a culinary genre you're pitching?
There is no real culinary theme. The original concept for Vagabond Jack's was sandwiches from around the world. That evolved into great dishes from around the world, and now at Brave it seems to have come back to the sandwich theme, as predominately at the moment the dishes are there to be picked and eaten by hand. But hey there is a good chance that will change.

Vagabond Jack's now sits alongside Hastings craft beer identity Brave Brewery. Photo Supplied
Vagabond Jack's now sits alongside Hastings craft beer identity Brave Brewery. Photo Supplied

It looks a nice fit with the brewery. When you first started cooking, was there such a thing as matching food with beer?
I started cooking a long time ago, and no not really. Back then everyone in New Zealand was only just getting used to the idea that you could match wine and food. And let's face it, back then, the flavour profiles of our beers did not differ greatly. However, toward the end of my time in Wellington I had some success in the Monteiths Wild food challenge, getting the best food and beer matching one year. There've been a number of people who've commented that the menu we're offering is perfect to have with drinking beer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

'Vagabond' would sum up many journeymen chefs - does it characterise you?
Vagabond by business Vagabond by nature. And it's a recurring theme. As a chef employment is transferable, businesses generally change quite quickly and long term employment is not common. In my first few years of cooking I tried to stay in one place no longer than six months. On the plus side it makes for an easily transferable skill set for travel, also the first caravan my wife and I bought was a Light Weight Vagabond.

What are the upsides and downsides of cheffing from a van?
The Good? The ever changing. The view from the kitchen window is always different, it's never the same for long. Also we can change menus on a whim, much to the chagrin of the employees. Plus there's the ability to say no. The Bad? The clean-up in cramped surroundings can be a drain.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay’s $100m private hospital finished after five-year build

10 Jul 12:56 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Drive-through sushi restaurant opens at former Hastings petrol station site

10 Jul 12:00 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Napier woollen yarn producer to close, 26 job losses

09 Jul 10:31 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay’s $100m private hospital finished after five-year build

Hawke’s Bay’s $100m private hospital finished after five-year build

10 Jul 12:56 AM

Kaweka is the first hospital to be built in Hawke's Bay in almost a century.

Drive-through sushi restaurant opens at former Hastings petrol station site

Drive-through sushi restaurant opens at former Hastings petrol station site

10 Jul 12:00 AM
Napier woollen yarn producer to close, 26 job losses

Napier woollen yarn producer to close, 26 job losses

09 Jul 10:31 PM
Watch: Close call as ute nearly hit by heritage train

Watch: Close call as ute nearly hit by heritage train

09 Jul 08:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP