'Innovative' eatery nabs cafe of the year award

NZ Herald

9 Feb, 2017 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Rotorua's Capers cafe was praised by judges as consistently delivering passion and integrity. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua's Capers has been named the 2017 Meadow Fresh New Zealand Cafe of the Year.

The award was announced at an event in Auckland last night.

The Eruera St cafe was also presented with the national Tararua Best Metro/CBD award after winning that category award for the Upper North Island region in December.

Judging, tasting and deliberating was conducted by a highly-experienced panel led by Kerry Tyack, who praised Capers.

"The food is fresh, beautifully presented and [the menu delivers] uncomplicated and innovative cuisine. Capers inspires loyalty from its customers by providing great food and coffee on site, as well as takeaway meals and salads and a retail larder full of local artisan and organic produce. Capers is superbly organised and managed.

"The engaging staff are proactive in determining and meeting customers' needs," he said. "Capers is a ... local cafe that consistently brings passion and integrity to its customers."

Along with the title, Capers won a trip to Melbourne valued at $7500 and a feature in Dish magazine.

"The judging team has been hugely impressed, proving cafe owners around the country know how to dish up a vast range of satisfying food, to accompany some of the best coffee in the world. It has been a real treat for the panel to see first-hand how truly dynamic the Kiwi cafe scene is throughout the nation," said Tyack.

Brian Woodcock, national business manager, foodservice, Goodman Fielder New Zealand, congratulated owners Gregg and Susan Brown and their team headed by manager Liz Todd.