The theatrical Japanese dining experience, Akai Doa 2.0 has made a real impression since returning to Las Vegas on K’Road. With various light installations by Angus Muir setting a celebratory tone and delectable degustations by Azabu’s Head Chef, Yukio Ozeki, keeping punters impressed, the pop-up has, despite only opening a few months ago, already hosted a number of acclaimed culinary events. But none has been as hotly-anticipated as the one that is set to start this Friday and run throughout the month of June.
Looking to take Akai Doa 2.0 up another notch, Yukio Ozeki is joining forces with acclaimed chefs, Kyle Street and Jordan Macdonald from Culprit and the resulting event is shaping up to be the ultimate culinary collaboration. Beginning this Friday, 6th June, and running until 11th July, Akai Doa x Culprit will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and will see head-to-head culinary battles where the chefs will engage in one-upmanship to tantalise diners’ taste buds. Comprising eight courses in total (Street and Macdonald will create four courses, as will Ozeki), the menu is expected to be an intriguing, experimental Asian-fusion affair, making the event a gastronomic experience you won’t want to miss.
For more information and to book an evening at Akai Doa x Culprit, click here.
On a mission to protect the world’s oceans from the widespread scourge of single-use plastic, Corona, Parley for the Oceans and the World Surf League have joined forces with a line-up of pro-surfers and artists to create a reusable bag made from Ocean Plastic. In a bid to support the recent single-use plastic ban in Bali, the parties involved have pledged that for every one of these bags sold, three reusable bags will be donated to the Balinese community and 20 plastic-bottles-worth of plastic will be removed from the area’s oceans and coastlines.
The bags themselves have been designed by Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina and Rosy Hodge (internationally-renowned surfing legends) in collaboration with artists Nadia Hernandez, Speto and Gemma O’Brien. Offering three distinct designs the unique bags are eye-catching, illustrated representations of vibrant marine environments that Corona, Parley for the Oceans and the World Surf League are determined to protect.
To say plastic is a problem is to seriously understate the issue. It has come to be absolutely vital (if we want to continue enjoying the beauty of our oceans and their inhabitants) that plastic waste is addressed without delay. And considering that around five trillion plastic bags are consumed globally every year — 10 million of which are estimated to be coming into circulation in Indonesia every day — this is not a niche issue by any means.
That said, it’s heartening to hear about the kinds of initiatives that have come from the partnership between Corona and Parley for the Oceans. Initiatives that have seen 537 clean-ups take place across 23 countries, involving around 25,000 volunteers and resulting in more than three million square metres of beaches cleaned. This latest drive is just one example of how Corona and Parley for the Oceans are working tirelessly to not only stop more single-use plastic from entering circulation but to figure out how to direct the plastic already out there into something that is good for the environment. Ultimately, their aim is to provide every local household in Bali with its own reusable bag so that the old, plastic iterations can fade away seamlessly.
To learn more about this initiative and to purchase a bag for yourself, click here.
While it might be true that, generally speaking, men’s fashion is a far more straightforward affair than women’s, it doesn’t mean that men should be exempt from the same kinds of sartorial considerations as the fairer sex. Namely, how to curate a wardrobe that is wearable, fashion-forward and representative of individual style. But in order to do this (and do it well) guys need to ensure that they have a solid foundation in place. This means a series of versatile T-shirts, everyday knitwear, simple shirting and jackets that can be worn over anything — criteria that aren’t as easy to fulfil as one might initially think.
Luckily, there’s one recently-landed collection that covers all the necessary bases. Theory menswear, available locally from Superette International, offers a raft of well-made, easy-to-wear pieces that provide the ultimate building blocks for outfits that are cool (without trying too hard) and masculine (without being overt about it). It’s also a collection with a tonal spectrum that veers away from boring winter black — which is important for breaking bad seasonal habits.
Really, it’s a collection that any man, with any level of style acumen, can get on board with. In a bid to help you build the perfect wardrobe, we have rounded up three essential starting points.
Alongside being the most awarded winery in New Zealand (a lofty achievement considering the vast and varied industry here) Villa Maria is proudly family-owned and has been since its inception some 50 years ago. It’s one of the reasons why time spent at its Vineyard Café, just out of Auckland City, is guaranteed to be a warm, inviting experience. That the idea of family has been central to this winery’s ethos since the beginning, has resulted in something of a trickle-down effect, where everything from the service to the care with which the food is created is imbued with a wholesome, comforting sensibility.
So when Villa Maria switches up its Vineyard Café menu — which tends to coincide with the changing seasons — we start making plans to leave our usual inner-city haunts behind, and head out to Villa Maria instead, for an afternoon spent perched on its picturesque terrace, glass of award-winning wine in hand, sampling the latest menu offerings with high expectations.
And rightly so. With Villa Maria recently introducing its new winter menu, it’s easy to see why we deem the winery such an enticing destination. Between dishes that showcase some of the freshest local produce, like the artisanal cheese platters, the warming venison pie starter, and the deliciously tender beef short rib, two new additions, in particular, stand out.
The first is the duck confit — a classically comforting option for winter — which is served Balinese style with the beautifully fragrant meat accompanied by creamed parsnip, bok choy, pickled cherries and Grandmariner jus.
Halloumi salad served with Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé ‘18
The other highlight (although really, picking only two is almost impossible) is the fresh halloumi salad, served with juicy segments of grilled orange, sweet baby beetroot, roasted pumpkin and cucumber, and finished with a sesame dressing.
To up the stakes on both dishes, opt for the Villa Maria wine match and revel in a culinary experience the like of which you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the city.
It’s ten o’clock in the morning in Auckland, and I’m sitting in a conference room waiting to video call with one of New Zealand’s most successful entrepreneurial exports. He’s in San Francisco, so when my screen flickers to life to reveal him in a similar room, it’s lit with a three-pm glow. Perhaps it’s because we’re competing with the lackadaisical nature of his late-afternoon time zone that the technology we are relying on refuses to work. Or, at least, that’s what I think as he shrugs apologetically through the screen after a few failed attempts to switch the sound on.
“I’m so sorry about that,” Tim Brown says, his first words after the two of us decided to cut our losses and chat over the phone instead. It feels like a somewhat ironic start to an interview with someone for whom tech innovation has played such a pivotal career role. If you weren’t already familiar with Tim Brown, you wouldn’t have been able to remain in the dark much longer. With Allbirds, his Silicon Valley start-up now reportedly valued at an eye-watering US$1.4 billion, the former professional football player (Brown’s previous career saw him representing New Zealand as the captain of the All Whites) alongside his business partner Joey Zwillinger, is being hailed as a pioneer in the realm of sustainable footwear, having created a shoe that, soon after its launch in 2016, Time Magazine dubbed ‘the most comfortable in the world.’
“It felt like a bit of a nod to all the hard work that had been done with our material innovation,” Brown tells me, speaking about how this initial accolade for the brand was a significant moment in his entrepreneurial journey. “We launched three years ago with four employees out of the garage of my business partner’s mother-in-law,” he explains, underlining how, despite the appearance of very quick success with Allbirds, it hadn’t been an overnight triumph. “It was a bad idea for seven years before it was a good one,” Brown chuckles, citing the years of research and painful trial and error it took to create the shoes that Allbirds is now renowned for. And it has to be said, they certainly live up to their reputation.
The distinguishing feature of Allbirds shoes is their revolutionary fabric. Made from superfine New Zealand merino wool, Allbirds’ signature styles are impossibly soft, water-resistant, temperature-regulating and machine washable and at the time of their release were, as Brown says, “something that really hadn’t been done before.” But rethinking the traditional footwear model has been Allbirds’ driving mandate since the beginning. “We took a contrarian approach to building a business in footwear based on years of seeing how the industry had done it, with a belief that there was an opportunity to do it differently,” Brown says, explaining how, while simple design and superior comfort were and still are key factors in the brand, it was the idea of sustainability that transformed Allbirds from a good business into a groundbreaking one.
“I think the realisation of the larger purpose of the business took some time,” Brown articulated, “but it’s been critically important to unearth because it’s the driving force — the difference between doing something really well and doing something great.” Although sustainability in the wider context of fashion has become a topic of increased discussion and debate, its zeitgeist-y nature making it the crusade of choice for fashion-weary Millennials, in the footwear industry, there has been a conspicuous ignorance of the issues. Globally, the industry emits a staggering 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, with an annual production of around 20 billion pairs of shoes. It’s as prolific in production and sales as it is detrimental to the planet, and, until Allbirds came along, there were very few companies endeavouring to change those statistics. Brown and his company is one of the few existing in the sustainable fashion space whose commitment to the cause goes beyond ‘greenwashing,’ to produce very real, tangible change. So much so, that Allbirds attracted early funding from a number of environmental bigwigs, like the actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who made an undisclosed investment in the business last year.
Allbirds has attracted significant investment from some heavy-hitters, including actor Leonardo DiCaprio (right).
The wool used in Allbirds’ original sneakers comes through organisations like ZQ Merino that work to ensure high standards of farming, environmental management and animal welfare. And after the first collection landed to much acclaim, Brown and his team released a second major material innovation that saw a slightly sportier range of shoes fashioned from South African tree fibre. Breathable and flexible, the brand’s TENCEL™ Lyocell fabric uses 95 per cent less water than traditional materials like cotton and is FSC Certified (meaning it meets strict requirements around forest conservation). The ethos of sustainability even extends to the smaller details. The laces in Allbirds’ shoes are made from recycled plastic bottles. The packaging is made from 90 per cent recycled cardboard. The eyelets come from a bio-based material created thanks to microorganisms that consume plant sugars. And Brown tells me that they have recently released another milestone innovation, in the form of an eco-friendly EVA which, in its synthetic form, is one of the most commonly-used materials in the soles of shoes. “It’s basically a green EVA made from sugar cane,” Brown explains, “carbon negative in its raw form.”
Notable beyond the astonishing science at play is the fact that Brown decided to make this pioneering new material (aptly named SweetFoam™) open-sourced to the wider industry. “I found out today that there have been an enormous number of other companies that have come to test it out and use it,” he tells me, “so it feels like a completely new model for how to do business in the footwear space.” It’s something Brown says reminds him that Allbirds is just a “tiny drop in an enormous market”, and although it’s true, it feels compellingly humble considering the significant waves that his “tiny drop” has initiated.
Perhaps this comes down to his work ethic. Explaining the painstaking development process of SweetFoam™, the entrepreneur tells me, “we spent two years working on it and eventually released it as a flip-flop,” quickly clearing his throat before correcting himself, “jandal.” It’s a slip of the tongue that reminds me of Brown’s inherent Kiwi-ness. Regardless of the Silicon Valley origins of his business, he still embodies the archetypal traits that have long given New Zealanders the ability to punch above our weights. They are traits like a dauntless work ethic, a quick humour and a propensity to be humble and it’s clear that part of Allbirds’ success lies in the fact that, in many ways, it embodies the same values as its co-founder. “I think the Allbirds brand has been built with a Kiwi sensibility,” Brown says, “going after something very, very serious, like sustainability, but not taking ourselves too seriously in the pursuit of that challenge.” And he’s right. The quirky, cartoon motifs that weave through Allbirds’ branding combined with their cutesy environmental puns make talking about a subject as dense and often discouraging as the future of the environment far more approachable.
But Brown is keenly aware of his mission and the urgent need for change beyond simply encouraging people to reconsider the environmental cred of their trainers. Recently, he announced the Allbirds Carbon Fund, and with it, the fact that Allbirds was transitioning into an entirely carbon-neutral business. The fund has seen a self-imposed, internal carbon tax put into place, related to every tonne of carbon dioxide Allbirds emits (from the sheep on the merino farms to the lights in the office). Proceeds from the fund are put towards supporting various emissions reduction projects, and with every pair of shoes bought, the Allbirds customer can decide which of these projects they would like a portion of their purchase put towards. It’s an unprecedented move and something Brown says he feels particularly excited about. Alongside the fund, Allbirds recently released a new style of shoe that feels like a culmination of all the work Brown and his team have done so far. Made from the company’s tree-derived material with soles of comfortable SweetFoam™, the Tree Breezer slip-on flats are an entirely new look for the brand and signify a definitive new chapter in its development.
But despite the incredible breakthroughs, the widespread recognition and the external acknowledgement of his success, Brown doesn’t come across as someone who could ever rest on his laurels. When asked what kind of advice he would give to other young entrepreneurs, Brown insists the importance of trusting your gut and listening to your instincts. “I think the idea of challenging conventional wisdom and doing something that people haven’t thought of before necessities that people will probably think it’s a little silly,” he says, underlining how in the beginning he had to forge on, relying on a mix of bravery and confidence in the face of numerous people maintaining that what he was trying to achieve simply couldn’t be done.
On the cusp of welcoming his second child, I asked Brown about the idea of legacy and what he hoped to leave behind for his children and in turn, theirs. “When Joey and I got together we genuinely imagined a business that we would tell our grandkids about,” Brown replies, “a business based in sustainability and one that was, hopefully, part of the leadership in a revolution of the way things were made.” It’s a vision he’s on track to achieve. But for all of his success and for all of the ways he is shaping the conversation of sustainability in fashion, Brown is just one person who has set out to make a difference in a world where people striving to do that in a meaningful way are few and far between. And if that isn’t heroism in action, I don’t know what is.
To read more about Tim Brown’s inspiring journey with Allbirds, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Denizen magazine, out now. Or click here to subscribe.
n the history of mankind, only two private companies have ever succeeded in delivering satellites to orbit. One is Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the other, Peter Beck’s Rocket Lab. And on the evening of Sunday the fifth of May, the latter launched its sixth successful flight to put satellite number 28 into orbit, from its launch site on the Mahia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay. “It was a wonderful, wonderful launch,” Rocket Lab’s CEO and founder says enthusiastically. It’s the day after, and I’m speaking with Peter Beck on what I can only imagine has been a day of celebration — Sunday’s launch had been a particularly important one. “We had the U.S. Air Force as a customer,” Beck explains, “the payload mass was really high and we had a lot of new technologies on board.” But despite the high stakes and the fact that thousands of hours had gone into the launch, on the phone, Beck seemed eminently cool in a way I eventually came to recognise as his default mode. Calmly explaining that by succeeding in its latest mission of putting three new satellites into orbit, Rocket Lab had maintained its 100 per cent launch success rate, revealing an almost unprecedented statistic in an industry where, as the entrepreneur says, “you’re fighting physics the whole time.”
With his company, Beck is on a mission to deliver frequent, reliable and affordable launch services for small satellites, facilitating growth in an industry he sees as vital to the development of life on Earth. Explaining the huge potential of increasing the number of smaller satellites in space, Beck underlines the possibilities as everything from “global internet coverage… to better crop monitoring, to being able to monitor illegal fishing… so many things that make a real difference.” The fact that satellites are shrinking in size is really just a reflection of the technological advancements of the last decade. “If you put a satellite on a table and started pulling it to bits,” Beck articulates, “you would basically find everything that’s in your phone.” Looking at my phone, it was hard to imagine it whizzing around the Earth, suspended in the vast expanse of space, but in Beck’s explanation, satellites shrinking down to the size of shoeboxes was an inevitability. Where he and Rocket Lab came in, was in facilitating their deployment into low Earth orbit at an unprecedented frequency. “We have the ability to launch from our Mahia site up to 120 times a year,” Beck reveals, highlighting one of Rocket Lab’s core benefits. “The launch vehicle offers the democratisation [of small satellites],” the entrepreneur explains, pointing to how his Electron rocket had been designed specifically to deliver small satellites to precise orbits on their own schedules (something that, until Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket and the company’s private launch site came along, hadn’t really been a possibility). “You can’t build these networks without a small vehicle,” Beck says, “that is the key to unlocking all of the potential.” With Electron, Rocket Lab has established itself as a pioneer in the new frontier of satellite deployment. Made entirely in-house by the company, Electron has opened possibilities for private companies, research organisations and governments to get satellites into orbit faster and more cost-effectively than with traditionally, large launch vehicles that launch infrequently and at 10 times the cost. Beck’s foresight has created room for exploring previously unbroached possibilities and his groundbreaking facilities are turning those things into a reality.
Despite being an American company, (its official headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California) Rocket Lab has factory facilities and a launch site in New Zealand, and its founder is, of course, a New Zealander. Telling me, in his slight Invercargill twang (an ‘r’ sound that only another Kiwi could pick up on), how he founded Rocket Lab in 2006, it was a decision he explains as the culmination of his life-long fascination with space. “When I was very, very young,” Beck tells me, “my dad would take me outside and we would look up to the stars. One time he pointed out a satellite to me, explaining that people had put it up there, and that the rest of the stars were suns, and that those suns could have other planets around them, and that those planets could have people on them.” It was a moment Beck cites as having ignited his obsession with what lay beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and marked the beginning of his journey into space.
Left: Peter Beck with a rocket component from Stage 1 at Rocket Lab’s Mount Wellington facilities | Right: Lift-off of R3D2 mission from LC-1. Launch 5
You might ask, as I did, how one equips oneself to face the complications of space with as much self-assurance and success as Beck has. For starters, he never lost sight of his vision, explaining how even in high-school (which was when he started making rockets, by the way) his career advisor had called his parents to tell them that Beck’s aspirations were simply not achievable, and that really, he should aim for a career in engineering that was a little more grounded (literally) in reality. Refusing to let small-mindedness deter him (an ethos he maintains to this day), Beck decided to undertake a trade, starting an apprenticeship at Fisher & Paykel as a tool and die maker and honing his aesthetic sensibilities by spending time in the company’s design office. From there, it was a string of jobs — one for a super yacht business where he learnt how to manage big projects, another for a government research lab where he learnt about advanced materials, structures and superconductors — all while continuing to build his own rockets on the side, that prepared him for the discipline he would need to build and run a company. “My plan was always to work for NASA or one of the big aerospace companies in America,” Beck tells me, but when I realised that they weren’t doing what I felt was important and that needed to be done, I came back to New Zealand and founded Rocket Lab.”
Launching his first rocket into space in 2009 (making Rocket Lab the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to do so) Beck tells me that it took a few years of building credibility in the industry before he could start calling on Silicon Valley investors to raise the nearly half-billion dollars needed to achieve his vision (an eye-watering sum). But his journey to reach the level of undertaking the successful launches he does now, was incremental. “Like any start up,” Beck tells me, “it was a 10-year overnight success,” and considering the numerous barriers of entry posed by an industry as vast and scientific as ‘space,’ the fact that Rocket Lab is not only launching its own Electron rockets but is launching them with consistent success from its very own site on behalf of customers as significant as NASA and the US military, almost beggars belief. “Space is incredibly hard,” Beck says, delivering what is possibly the understatement of the century, “usually it takes a country of resources, energy, effort and finances to do what we’ve done… and history is littered with failure.”
It isn’t hard to imagine why so many, companies and governments alike, have failed in their attempts to achieve anything close to what Rocket Lab has. “Physics is always a bit of a pain,” Beck chuckles, outlining how the nature of his work constantly teeters on the edge of what is scientifically possible. “Then from a regulatory standpoint,” he continues, “before we even began we had to convince the governments of both New Zealand and the United States to sign a bilateral treaty and the New Zealand government had to get a whole new set of legislation passed into law, before creating a space agency.” It’s a series of exceedingly complex barriers to overcome, to simply be allowed to start a business, not to mention, as Beck reminds me, having to (once the laws allowed) find and build a launch site and a number of tracking stations around the world.
Walking into Rocket Lab’s Auckland facility, it’s the video feeds from these tracking stations that are some of the first things I see. Entering the Mount Wellington headquarters is an experience as close to what I can imagine stepping onto a spaceship would be. A sliding door gives way to a white corridor, ringed with red LEDs that leads to a black wall reading, ‘WE GO TO SPACE TO IMPROVE LIFE ON EARTH.’ In the foyer, the red LEDs continue, lining the black walls and floor in a futuristic glow. From behind a soundproof wall of glass, visitors are given a glimpse into an operations room that looks like something straight out of Star Trek. Rows of computers flickering with various formulas and designs sit in front of a wall of screens, some streaming live feeds from tracking stations in Cork and the Azores, others showing the footage from Sunday’s launch and one with a world map that seemed to be tracing various satellites in orbit. On one wall, a timeline mural had been erected, chronicling Rocket Lab’s journey from its inception to now, ending with the recent announcement of a second launch site being built at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia (also the site for many of NASA’s rocket launches). In 2018, the timeline showed me how Rocket Lab had completed three successful orbital launches of Electron rockets with irreverent names like ‘Still Testing,’ and ‘It’s Business Time,’ that, although eliciting a snigger from me, were undertaking some really very serious business (the third launch included 13 satellites for NASA). In 2017, the timeline read, ‘Reached 1 billion dollar valuation and became a space unicorn.’ Only a New Zealander, I thought, looking at the mix of incredible achievements and funny interjections on the wall, could approach the seriousness of space innovation with such a dry sense of humour. At the back of the room, I noticed a circular plaque that commemorated the opening of the incredible facility in which I was standing. On it, noted the date, October 2018, alongside the person who officiated the opening, ‘William Shatner, a.k.a. Star Trek’s Captain Kirk.’ The plaque itself was even designed after the shape of the U.S.S. Enterprise (the TV show’s iconic spaceship). Learning that Beck actually designed most of the facility himself, it made sense. Standing in the foyer I was struck by the amount of passion, dedication and undying belief that someone would need to have to make all of this possible. By simply seeing space, not as an insurmountable, unknowable entity (like most of us do) but as an exciting new domain filled with untapped potential, Beck really has gone boldly where no man has gone before.
Peter Beck in Rocket Lab’s Mount Wellington facilities
At its core, Rocket Lab’s success reflects its founder’s straight-forward approach and quiet self belief. He has a never-say-die attitude without any of the recklessness that usually accompanies that, which is part of the reason why, when you look at Rocket Lab’s steady reliability against the media storm that often surrounds its competitors, it’s Beck’s company that stands out as a leader.
Part of this is due to his inherent, Kiwi nature, with Beck telling me how “New Zealanders are very fair and respectful in business.” And it’s true. We do have a reputation for conducting ourselves with integrity and possessing an understated drive that has served people like Beck exceptionally well professionally. But the businessman also speaks to issues he has noticed with the culture of entrepreneurism in New Zealand. Issues he is working to change. “We don’t teach entrepreneurism in our schools,” he tells me, “nobody aspires to be an entrepreneur in this country like you aspire to be a doctor or a fireman… nobody says to you when you’re growing up, hey you can just follow your dream and do what you want to do — you can build a big company and do something that nobody has done before.” So for Beck, what his success allows him to do is use the experience, knowledge and connections he has gained with Rocket Lab, to mentor Kiwi entrepreneurs who he says have “no shortage of wonderful ideas or innovation,” encouraging them to approach their businesses with a big picture mindset. “I try to take really great New Zealand entrepreneurs and bring them onto the world stage where they can get proper funding and go big,” Beck tells me. And normally, where I would have been surprised that someone as presumably busy as Beck would set aside time for such altruistic pursuits, by that point, I had learned not to be surprised by anything.
To me, Peter Beck is a leader in the truest sense of the word. When I asked him who some of his heroes were, he didn’t skip a beat. “It’s going to sound a bit cliché, but it’s actually the team here,” he says, signalling around him. “The shit we do is unbelievable, and I see time and time again where our engineers do modelling that other engineers and experts from some of the biggest aerospace companies in the world said wasn’t possible… and our team works overnight and does it.” Citing his team as the best in their field (and really, they are), it’s clear that Beck’s ability to attract global talent, and people with passion that equals his, will ensure Rocket Lab’s success well into the future. “I guess I’d like to leave a legacy for humanity, really,” he tells me in the same straightforward tone he’d probably also use to say “I guess I’ll go to the supermarket now.” But that’s exactly what he’s doing by redefining our access to space and pushing the boundaries of possibility. “That’s the one thing space can do,” he explains, “if you can deploy infrastructure on orbit, you get the opportunity to affect millions and millions of peoples lives… Really, I’ll call it a success if the world we live in, in five years time, looks very different from this one. That’s where I’ll call a win.”
To read more about Peter Beck’s incredible story, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Denizen magazine, out now. Or click here to subscribe.
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Clara-Jane Follas | 29 May 2019
“We call it the ‘Martha-odometer’,” Francesca Mazza says, backed up by Aaron Carson who follows with, “you know, ‘what would Martha do?”, before laughing. The pair are explaining the name of their new cafe, Just Like Martha, as having been inspired by Martha Stewart, and, as Mazza tells me, by their habit of deferring to her as their spiritual guide in matters of the kitchen. “She’s an icon,” Mazza says, and I have to agree. So it feels right that in the same way Stewart is prolific in global hospitality and food, Carson and Mazza are, in their own way, working to become just as prolific in Auckland’s dining scene. Just Like Martha is the latest in a number of openings by the powerhouse duo that includes Winona Forever, Major Tom, Rude Boy, FANG, Friday I’m In Love and Sugar at Chelsea Bay. Each with their own, unique edge but each rendered part of the same overarching family for their vibrant plates, generous portions and intriguing flavours that effortlessly combine various cultures and cuisines without becoming derivative ‘fusion’ cuisine.
Just Like Martha fits right into the line-up. Tucked into the lower level of a new apartment development on Mount Eden Road — more Three Kings than the street name would suggest — the vibe of the area feels suburban, residential and community-driven. “We’re back in the burbs,” Mazza says, “but it’s where we started, so that’s what we like.” Here Carson jumps in to explain that an element of doing something “not obvious” also came into play when making the decision to open outside the inner city bubble and that providing a place for the community to congregate was important.
Inside, where there would have been potential for someone to create something that reflected too accurately the ‘newness’ of the building — in other words, offer up a cafe that was too modern to be welcoming or too ‘cool’ to be popular — Carson and Mazza have created a space that is eclectic, warm and inviting. Described by the pair as a kind of homage to the corner cafes of Europe, they explained how the aim had been to inject a sense of “heritage” into what was a wholly new space. The bistro-style chairs reminded me of the kind you’d see lined up on Parisian streets. The graphic wallpaper lent the interior a verdant, leafy warmth. The cubic lights felt charmingly antique. And the bright pink coffee machine stood stoically at the end of the counter — a beacon of what these powerhouse operators represent.
“Good food and good coffee,” Carson tells me, explaining that, putting all else aside, those two things were what it ultimately came down to. Just Like Martha’s menu could be described as classic Kiwi brunch fare with a twist, but as Mazza says, “what even is ‘Kiwi’ fare today?”. As such, the food is a happy mix of flavours, textures and cultural touches that remains in line with the culinary ethos of its sibling eateries. The ‘mince on toast’ comprises Sichuan spicy mince piled atop a slab of housemaid chilli brioche with seasonal greens and a dash of FANG’s (Carson and Mazza’s Parnell Sichuan eatery) signature chilli oil.
Braised beef cheek benedict
Of course, various incarnations of eggs Benedict are included on the menu — but in a typically unexpected fashion. The iteration with braised beef cheek was a particular highlight, served with balsamic hollandaise, a layered potato stack and a drizzle of comforting gravy.
French toast
For those sporting a sweet tooth, Just Like Martha’s French toast really takes the already indulgent dish up a notch with dark chocolate brioche, white chocolate and raspberry panna cotta, thyme meringue and pieces of maple-fried banana. But even if ‘sweet’ really isn’t your thing, the double buttermilk fried chicken burger offers up the same opportunity to indulge. A delicious behemoth of a burger, this eye-popping dish includes some of the tastiest fried chicken we’ve tried, perfectly complemented by Southern slaw, chow chow relish and crispy shoestring fries.
Double buttermilk fried chicken burger
Elsewhere on the menu, a kids section features a more simple version of the aforementioned French toast, a boiled egg and soldiers dish and a classic ham and cheese toastie. It’s a move that Mazza explains as imperative to making Just Like Martha an environment conducive to families.
With an ethos of inclusivity, food that can be made to suit any proclivity, a cabinet of mouth-watering sweet treats and slices and a coffee machine so bold that it’s sure to imbue the espresso being made on it with an extra boost, Just Like Martha is Carson and Mazza doing what they do best — creating a space for people to come together over good, hearty food. So whether you’re a Three Kings/Mount Eden local or not, this one’s worth venturing out of your bubble for.
Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 7am until 4pm Saturday and Sunday, 8am until 4pm
It’s time we put a stop to our associations of sunglasses with summer exclusively. Just because the days are colder in the middle of the year, it doesn’t mean that the sun itself goes into hibernation. Its rays are still there, people. Still carrying the potential to wreak havoc on our skin, still strong enough to warrant a strong pair of shades.
But beyond acknowledging why investing in a new pair of sunglasses in winter is practical, for guys in particular, good sunnies will take a winter ensemble from average to great — regardless of where they sit on the style acuity scale. This is especially true in a season where the opportunities to flex fashion acumen in the form of a bright shirt or a cool linen suit are firmly off the table. When dark colours, dense layers and simple, functional pieces mostly dictate what a man can wear in winter, it pays to put a bit of time into finding the right accessories — in other words, pick up a pair of sunglasses that will take you from run-of-the-mill rugby dad to looking like Brad Pitt at a press junket (low-key but untouchably cool).
In a bid to set you in the right direction, we have lined up a selection of our favourite frames of the moment — all of which have the potential to take your winter wardrobe from zero to hero and all of which are from brands that are available at Parker and Co. A pair like the ones below will prove the most important accessory in your arsenal this season, trust us.
Clockwise from top left: Projekt Produkt FN-3 CGLD frames, Garrett Leight Calabar sunglasses, Gucci Navigator sunglasses with double G, Garrett Leight Sanborn sunglasses and Yohji Yamamoto sunglasses all from Parker & Co. — see the full range in store.
Every year, our winter issue bares, on its covers, the faces of a select group of New Zealanders who have done exceptional things. Whether philanthropic or entrepreneurial, the careers of these individuals are marked, not only by extraordinary success but by the way in which their various pursuits are putting New Zealand on the world stage in some way or other.
This year, the covers feature seven Heroes — Paul Baragwanath (art consultant and cultural custodian), Tim Brown (co-founder of Allbirds and global leader in sustainable footwear), Jessica McCormack (renowned diamond artisan), Alex Magaraggia and James Calver (co-founders of eco-friendly food packaging company, Ecoware), Peter Beck (engineer extraordinaire and founder of Rocketlab) and Emilia Wickstead (fashion designer to some of the biggest names in the world) — each pictured in their own environments, their incredible stories profiled in the Heroes section of the magazine.
Following on from the profiles of the cover Heroes, is a comprehensive line-up of ‘Everyday Heroes’ — those in our community who are changing its urban landscape, supporting its people or working to shift our perspective on things like waste and education. These are the movers and shakers of Auckland and beyond who do not seek recognition but deserve it more than most.
Elsewhere in the magazine, we thought it altogether fitting for our winter issue to turn to Queenstown and its surrounding areas, undertaking a deep dive into the people and places propelling the region’s development into one of New Zealand’s most promising.
Of course, you’ll also find the latest and greatest in food (including a visual feast of Auckland’s most delectable desserts) as well as the new design trends to know about, a sleek Black Tie photoshoot with models dripping in Dior and Tiffany & Co. and the best cultural happenings to put into your calendar over the next few months. In our Navigator section, we take you to Norway for an inside look at the world’s biggest underwater restaurant, before transporting you to some of our favourite winter escape destinations (including one perfect for a family getaway).
Vast and varied, and featuring some of the most inspiring people to ever grace the pages of Denizen, this year’s Heroes issue is one you’ll want to devour cover-to-cover.
Denizen Heroes 2019 has six different covers, one for each Hero. Pick up your copy of the latest Denizen magazine from any good newsagent, or subscribe here.
Words Margie Riddiford | PHOTOS Rebecca Zephyr Thomas | 24 May 2019
There’s something about a neckline that often speaks to the character of the person wearing it. So whether you’d opt for a high-necked, off-the-shoulder, batteau or sweet-heart, what does your favourite cut say about you?
Shirt collar: She’s a businesswoman and she’s not afraid to don an aggressively pointy collar to prove it. Boyfriends beware — she’ll steal your shirts and wear them better than you ever could.
Ruffled: Her Pinterest board is littered with grainy black and white photos and she revels in Victorian novella. Not afraid of being called ‘extra,’ she pulls off flouncy detail better than a dandy in Louis XIV’s court.
Turtleneck: Sleek, chic and often caught sporting a low bun, she is most likely some kind of designer but dabbles in illustration or maybe, I don’t know, architecture, on the side. She is cultured (but is chill about it).
Off-the-shoulder: Always the most elegant person in the room, she could close her eyes and pick anything out of her wardrobe and still look like she was about to chair a board meeting — and sometimes she does. Her approach is timeless, her décolletage infamous.
High neck: When Tidying Up with Marie Kondo first aired she scoffed because her system was better. With an undying love for Japanese designers and a subscription to Monocle, she’s as meticulous as she is savvy.
Sweetheart: A self-proclaimed girlie girl, she loves a sweetheart neckline as much as she loves the following: novelty cupcakes, KUWTK, tagging people in memes and saying ‘actually me though’, horoscopes, Beiber, mugs that say ‘But first, coffee,’ and Youtube tutorials.
Crew neck: She’s cool, she’s nonchalant, she really does wake up like this. She has mastered the art of throwing on a T-shirt with jeans and looking like she’s backstage at Paris Fashion Week. When she says she’s ‘not high maintenance’ she really means it.
Plunging: She’s daring enough to opt for a neckline that carries a very real risk of wardrobe malfunction. But she doesn’t care. Because she can handle the heat. She does Cross-Fit, she asks guys out and she orders whisky neat just for the hell of it and once, she smoked a cigar and didn’t hate it.
For more exclusive access to what the city has to offer, engaging content, excellent imagery and thought provoking commentary on the life that surrounds you, subscribe to Denizen magazine now.
