After gaining a Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, Philippa Potaka spent 20 years overseas working in five star hotels and high-end restaurants.
Latterly, she helped set up The Bach Eatery – an award winning Kiwi-inspired restaurant in Sydney. Despite success in Australia, she yearned to come home to be closer to family and began dreaming up a home based business in Matakana. Philippa came up with Village Picnic, which supplies carefully-curated gift and picnic hampers for all occasions – whether it be for a mystery date, a corporate function or Friday night nibbles after work – with the emphasis on locally sourced contents.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of this region and the products that come out of it. Some of them we used with great success at our restaurant in Australia,” she says. Order a Village Picnic hamper and your choices to fill it include Matakana smoked salmon, Puhoi cheese, Foundry Bean to Bar Chocolate, and Daily Organic Kombucha from Omaha.
To complement the local selections, Philippa has scoured the country for artisan producers of the best charcuterie; pate, seeded crackers, spicy mixed nuts and smoked snapper, to name a few.
“I have an eye for detail with my hospitality experience, and I do like quality over quantity,” she says. Gift selections can include but not limited to - beautifully crafted Matakana Sawmill chopping boards, soy scented candles from Earth Candles, natural soap using Sawmill Craft Beer, Matakana, The Village Table Cookbook, and even a large platter in the form of a mini picnic table with fold up legs. Meanwhile, picnic baskets come with an eco-friendly compostable, insulated pouch to keep chilled items suitably cool.
In addition to having the right items, Philippa says presentation is a key part of the Village Picnic approach. She uses traditional Maori woven flax baskets or wooden crates with woven jute ribbon, depending on the recipient’s style and taste. I like to get to know them a little so the gift can be tailored around them.
“I love to see people enjoying good quality food and products around the people they love,” she says.
VILLAGE PICNIC, T: 027 912 0710, E: philippa@villagepicnic.co.nz www.villagepicnic.co.nz
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