Tāmaki Makaurau’s dining scene is welcoming ambitious chefs from tiny food-truck kitchens to permanent locations. How are these rising restaurateurs making the move work for them? Madeleine Crutchley visits three brick-and-mortar spots to find out.
The announcement of a new restaurant opening stokes great excitement within Auckland’s dining-out scene.
What might this chef share with hungry diners? Will their culinary tricks evoke delight or dismay? Can they nail the flavours that our multicultural city covets and craves?
The buzz often heightens if there’s a familiarity with the establishment. In recent years, food enthusiasts have revelled in the presence of a new generation of hospitality talent — celebrating fresh brick-and-mortar openings from chefs who forged their beginnings in food-truck kitchens.
The new generation of hospitality talents commands a long list. An overly-abbreviated version would include Peach’s Hot Chicken (Panmure), Butter Baby (Westgate), Jo Bro’s Burgers (Titirangi) and Banh Mi Boy (Māngere).
Maggie Gray, of the Food Truck Collective, says it’s a real joy to watch these ambitions materialise.
“They have a place in your heart, because they started with you, and you see them grow and flourish.”
After co-founding the collective in 2016, with Tim van der Werff of Double Dutch Fries, Maggie has become a real steward of Auckland’s food truck scene. Since its inception, the collective has aimed to showcase the talent behind food trucks, creating greater visibility for a vibrant niche of local mobile kitchens.
“I remember the first one so clearly. We did it in Kingsland in this tiny little venue,” says Maggie.
“We packed in probably six or seven different trucks. There were queues around the block, trying to get in. We got the momentum of running these events and we’ve been doing it eight years now.”
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Advertise with NZME.This long-running sense of solidarity has brought Maggie close to many vendors who’ve opted to open permanent brick-and-mortar premises. She recognises the shift as a big step.
“There is still an expense in starting a food truck, though it’s a lot less than brick-and-mortar stores, less risk of commitment — to a lease, for example.”
However, Maggie has seen smart approaches from local chefs who have made the move. She points to the expansion of The Rolling Pin (Wynyard Quarter), Cheese on Toast (Mount Eden) and Jo Bros Burgers. There’s an advantage, Maggie says, in starting in a form that you can make your own.
“A food truck has the flexibility and it can be morphed into something else.”
Flexibility is the maxim for the team behind The Muriwai Deli.
The West Auckland eatery is helmed by a trio of brothers, Cameron, Boyd and Bryce Steel, who are of Ngāti Kurī descent and grew up in Muriwai, and a close-to-adopted-friend, Damian (Damo) Watson. They’re known, Maggie says, for a cruisy attitude.
When Bryce, the youngest, meets me in Muriwai, I’m greeted with a casual wave.
He explains the team fell into hospitality while travelling and working through Europe. They nurtured their cooking and baking skills in kitchens from Italy to Austria, while also working in tourism.
He says that upon returning home to Aotearoa, the mobile and flexible ownership of a food truck suited their breezy approach and passion for kai.
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Advertise with NZME.“That’s why we started the food trucks. We could just park it up and then go away. We’re not very good at committing.”
The Steel twins, Cameron and Boyd, teamed up to launch Double Parked in 2018, with an ever-changing blackboard menu focused on seasonal fare. After supporting his brothers’ venture, Bryce began working with friend Damo on Double Shot, a “coffee and pud” truck with a similar seasonal focus.
And then came the brick-and-mortar commitment.
As the hospitality scene sputtered back into action with lifting Covid restrictions, the trucks ran takeaways next to the historic 102-year-old Muriwai Lodge (Bryce recalls visiting the spot for “$1 lolly bags” in childhood). The vendors built up regular traffic from locals and got to know the lodge’s new director, Clare, which led to the invitation to officially open the deli in 2021.
Their tight-knit community loves the new spot, known by locals as “the top shop” — Bryce says there are playful grudges if the spot unexpectedly closes.
But like most of Auckland’s west coast, Muriwai was hit hard during Cyclone Gabrielle. The storm caused a huge slip near the lodge and cut off access to the deli and food trucks. It’s been a long process of rebuilding and restoring the deli after the storm.
But, Bryce says the dust is clearing. The team is working at capacity, running the deli, prepping for the trucks and tending their newly opened bar, located at the back of the deli with a stellar west coast view.
“It’s always busy here. It might not be busy in [the dining room], but you’re constantly behind the scenes whipping stuff up.”
The menu at The Muriwai Deli, just like the food trucks, is seasonal and inspired by various European cuisines. Bryce shares the current recipe brainstorming: feijoa doughnuts and an autumnal Italian long lunch.
Although the Deli gives them a base for prepping for the trucks, Bryce is looking forward to potentially winding down to focus on the permanent spot instead.
“It’s pretty hectic. You’ve got to balance it. Next summer, we might look at focusing more on this spot ... It will, hopefully, be our first one with no interruptions.”
Laura and Aldrin Tabora of Hapunan, who have worked alongside the Deli chefs at Food Truck Collective events, made the move at a similar time. After years of working within Auckland’s hospitality scene, the couple’s family encouraged them to tackle the industry on their terms.
After becoming engaged in the Philippines, they poured their savings into launching their kitchen in 2017.
“Instead of spending our money on a wedding, we decided to buy a food truck,” Laura says.
Head chef Aldrin cut his teeth in hospitality in a range of Auckland’s kitchens. He started in a Farro butchery (where he and Laura met), before choosing to study culinary arts at AUT. He then progressed within the kitchens of Ponsonby fine-dining restaurant Vinnie’s (now-closed), Takapuna’s Madam Woo and Birkenhead’s Mulan. Laura’s expertise in hospitality developed in roles that focused on front-of-house, operations and social media.
Aldrin explains that starting in a food truck created crucial access to a customer base, without overextending their capacity.
“We couldn’t afford a restaurant or a shop at the time. And, even if you have enough money to start a restaurant, people don’t really know you. The food truck was our way of building a following — step number one.”
The Hapunan menu is inspired by both the street food of Manila and Aldrin’s time in Auckland kitchens. He talks about putting a distinctive spin on the nostalgic food of his childhood, with cheffy flourishes he picked up in Auckland kitchens to create his take on Pinoy dishes.
The reception, Aldrin says, has been humbling. The truck has been booked for weddings and their most popular dish, the adobo del diablo, has been listed in the top 100 Iconic Eats list (“better than my mother’s” reports the enthusiastic nominator).
After building a loyal following through various events (including some hosted by The Food Truck Collective), Hapunan made the leap to open a permanent location in 2021. It’s a cosy spot in Huapai that caters mainly to takeaways — though there is a window seat big enough for a handful of people.
Laura says the move came as they were seeking a sense of stability.
“With food truck life, it’s hard. You can prep, something stupid can happen, and your whole week is wiped. Whereas at the shop, we can keep going. Everybody knows where we are, our hours are the same each week.”
Huapai was also hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle and the Anniversary Weekend floods. There have also been the usual operational difficulties — learning to delegate and trust their growing team, maintaining the quality of their food and balancing the supplementary food truck events Hapunan still attends.
However, as evidenced by their Iconic Eats nomination, Hapunan has been embraced by the local community. They’ve shown up, Laura says, even in times of flooding.
“People have really come with us along our journey,” Laura says.
They plate up a small sample of the menu: vegetarian-friendly lumpia (spring rolls with slaw, sweet chilli and lemongrass) and vegan pares tokwa (fried tofu and shiitake mushroom rice bowl). At first bite, the distance between Auckland Central and Huapai shrinks.
Closer to the inner city, an iconic food truck has also expanded to a brick-and-mortar location. Siblings Max and Maia Washer sing out cheery greetings as they’re opening the Karangahape Rd branch of The White Lady at 10.30am (a bit earlier than my typical visit).
“If you ask anyone in the city, the stories are absolutely insane. You hear everything.”
Max ponders whether the stories are encouraged by the apparitional nature of the truck’s night-time shift. He recalls tall tales from punters, claiming they’d jumped on the towing vehicle and taken the truck for a spin.
He’s more sure of the history.
Bryan “Pop” Washer, Max’s grandfather, started serving out of the first White Lady pie cart on Shortland St and Queen St over Easter Weekend in 1948 (after a short stint serving milkshakes in another location). Max says the truck was set up to serve the “6 o’clock swill” — the hungry crowds of pubgoers leaving their watering holes when pubs closed at 6pm.
The cart became a crucial institution for Auckland’s night-time economy and a downtown fixture. Not many other businesses were open, so shift workers and other nocturnals would flood the truck seeking comfort food.
And, though comfort remains key, the menu at The White Lady has seen great variation over the past 76 years. The pies are long gone. Now, the kitchens hand out burgers, cheese toasties and milkshakes (frequently accompanied by chips and hash browns).
In 2022, The White Lady opened its first true brick-and-mortar. Why did they make the move after 74 years in operation?
“A turnkey option is always attractive in the ease of it,” Max says. “We’re able to use this as a prep kitchen now, that services our other carts.”
The Karangahape Rd addition maintains the distinctive vibe of the famous truck (which is still in operation), with gleaming white tiles, rounded windows and a lengthy kitchen. The White Lady has previously had offerings for other spots, but Max felt that the kitchen just had to be present on a street front. Then came the opportunity at St Kevins Arcade.
“We are a hole in the wall here. We built this shop in the truck’s image. We’re also in a historic building — it just felt right coming up here for us. We’ve loved being a part of the community up here.”
From Max’s perspective, Auckland needs to nurture the old and new guard of food-truck operators in its hospitality scene (especially if it wants to see growth from those usually locked out of a sometimes-brutal industry).
“You need people to be able to operate to bring vibrancy and add flavour to the city. Food trucks allow smaller passionate operators, who might not have massive capital behind them, to show Auckland what they’ve got.”
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