They're the newbies on the night market block and although their name may be Coffey it's dinkum Kiwi kai they're dishing up.
What can be more so than Maori bread rolls, fried and filled with whatever takes your fancy? Sounds like a hamburger? Not when it comes from the Coffeys' kerbside kitchen where their product's branded a gourmet Maori sandwich. Take our word for it, it tastes kapai.
And before the health police throw up their hands in horror Rangi Coffey, the "Fry Bread Queen" (their stall carries the same name) assures us she's substituted Canola oil for the traditional deep-fry dripping.
"We're very conscious of the need for healthy eating ... we've got a vegetarian version too," is Gerald Coffey's take on these sizzling balls of homemade dough.
The idea that the Coffeys become night market vendors came from their son, Tamati. Yes, that Tamati Coffey, the all-round nice guy who's flying high in television's personality polls. New Zealand's Got Talent and Seven Sharp are his present on-air gigs. Before that there was What Now and weather presenting on Breakfast. Then, of course, he was 2009's Dancing with the Stars winner.
Naturally his parents are proud, but as they repeatedly insist they're very ordinary people. 'Who isn't?' we say. That's little assurance to the Coffeys, concerned that by talking to us they'll be viewed as trading on their son's star status.
"We don't like to be seen as show-offs," Gerald insists.
Take it from us, there's nothing the slightest bit "show-offy" about this couple who met while fellow paint factory workers in Lower Hutt.
Gerald's from down that way. His whakapapa's Ngati Porou and Ngati Awa, Rangi's roots are Te Arawa. Ngapuna-raised, her iwi affiliations are Ngati Whakaue, Tuhourangi and Tuwharetoa. Gerald calls her his "Whaka penny diver". She was.
"Those were my best growing-up years."
However, at 15 she moved to Wellington "to have a good time", her first job in Woolworths.
After they married the Coffeys stayed Hutt Valley-bound "raising a family the best we could, working hard. We've always been hard workers."
Tamati has two sisters, Awhina and Lisa. He was the withdrawn one, so timid Rangi introduced him to drama.
"He was so painfully shy it was hard finding babysitters, then one day waiting for our fish and chips outside a [Hutt Valley] hall I saw a notice advertising children's drama lessons.
"I sent him along. At first he didn't like it one bit but I put my foot down and made him stick it out and he's never looked back." He became a Shakespeare fan and avid theatre sports performer.
Now we know why her boy's present persona's so polished and professional.
The Coffey kids had left the nest when Rangi's mother, Hine Hori, had a stroke.
"In 1998 I gave up a good job in a soap factory, coming home to Ngapuna. Mum's health issues were a rude awakening, making me realise how short life is."
Gerald stayed behind, "because that's where the money was", the couple making weekend commutes between Rotorua and the Hutt.
Gerald and Rangi Coffey. Photo / Ben Fraser
"That went on for several years but I realised how much I loved Rotorua and came up too, looked for work but I couldn't see myself smiling at tourists," Gerald said. Nor did forestry appeal. Instead, he enrolled at Waiariki, training as a chef. "I'd always liked cooking. I got my chef's certificate in my 40s."
Was being an adult student among so many youngsters difficult? "Not at all, the tutors liked it because I could help settle the young ones down and the young ones liked it because I was a bit of a mentor."
While studying, Gerald became a kitchen hand at the Distinction Hotel, moving on to hangi chef "working permanent part-time, there are now very few permanent workers in Rotorua". Last year Gerald quit after 13 years, Rangi took leave from her Justice Ministry job for "the trip of a lifetime".
Tamati talked them into it. He wanted his mum and dad to join him at his UK-raised partner Tim's parents' Merseyside home.
That Tamati's been openly gay since he was 15 has never bothered his family.
"We're open-minded people ... whatever your child is you still love them" is their response when we probe for their reaction to his civil union status.
They compare their time with Tim's family to living inside a travel agency.
"We were blown away, they'd be pouring over all these brochures finding us so many incredible places to visit, a Mediterranean cruise included."
Once home, the reality of Gerald finding work set in. Tamati and Tim came up with the night market idea after sampling the variety of food on offer.
"Tamati said we should give Maori fried bread a go. I've always made it for the family and the marae. The first week was an absolute disaster. We were late arriving, over-compensated with the food, but now we've pulled our socks up and are getting repeat customers."
Rangi muses that it's been all about getting out of their comfort zones. "Whether we succeed or not at our age, it's about change, which is the only thing certain in life. And that's not a bad thing."
Education: Gerald: Moera Primary, Hutt Intermediate, Hutt Valley Memorial Tech; Rangi: Whakarewarewa Primary, Rotorua Intermediate and Girls' High
Interests: Gerald: "I'm a sports freak", reading (historical novels, si-fi, fantasy), golf "I'm a hacker"; Rangi: Maori governance, whanau trust work, whakapapa, the computer. "I don't know how to relax".
On having a celebrity son: "At first we struggled with it but he's made it easy for us."
Personal Philosophies: Gerald: "Live for today." Rangi: "Make mistakes and learn from them."
