‘Kaiaka’ means 'mastery' in Te Reo Maori, New Zealand's native language.
The Kaiaka logo is prominently displayed in 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 their 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 the business: 'Kai' meaning 'food' and 'Aka' meaning 'Vine' intertwining to beautifully place them on the map in the gourmet province, Marlborough, NZ; world famous for its fine wines or 'Food from the Vines'!
When Kaiaka started back in 2014, from their humble home kitchen 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 their 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.
Fast forward to today, the biggest leap yet, the opening of their catering branch at Kaiaka Westwood! Although they make all our food from scratch & delicious frozen meals ready to heat + eat, they also align with others who share our views and create wonderful high quality artisan foods & products that they proudly stock in their small store.
