Kaiaka Catering is a locally owned and operated cafe and catering business at 60 Rene Street, Westwood Estate, in the gourmet wine and food province of Marlborough, New Zealand.
Founded in 2014 by Sander, a Dutchman with a hospitality management background, Kaiaka started from a home kitchen before growing through a mobile kitchen in 2018, the Riverlands Estate catering kitchen and venue, and the Kaiaka Central deli on Park Terrace in 2020. The Westwood Estate cafe and catering branch is the business's biggest leap yet, tucked away with plenty of car parks nearby Harvey Norman and Allied petrol.
'Kaiaka' means 'mastery' in Te Reo Māori, and also plays on 'Kai' (food) and 'Aka' (vine), placing the business firmly in Marlborough's world-famous wine country. Kaiaka's team - led by Sander alongside Head Chef Bianca and Senior Chef Abi - caters everything from corporate lunches and weddings to funerals and wine industry vintage meals, and the venue is also available for hire for corporate and special events.
On Rene Street in Westwood Estate, Kaiaka Catering has grown from a humble home kitchen into one of the go-to names in Marlborough's gourmet food and wine scene.
Kaiaka began in 2014 in owner Sander's home kitchen, council registered and squeezed in around his full-time winemaking studies. Sander, a Dutchman with a Hospitality Management degree from Amsterdam and Leeds, had worked in restaurants across Mayerhofen, Sydney, London and Barcelona before landing in New Zealand and working at Amisfield and Brancott Estate. A stint studying winemaking and viticulture at NMIT, alongside catering gigs on the side while working as Head Chef at Scotch restaurant, built a following he could no longer ignore - so the knives were sharpened, notice was handed in, and the Kaiaka mobile kitchen hit the road in 2018.
Later in 2018, the Kaiaka Riverlands Estate crew gave the business its first proper roots, a dedicated venue, and the start of its team culture. In 2020, Kaiaka Central opened on Park Terrace as a European-style, Kiwi-flavoured neighbourhood deli. The Westwood Estate cafe and catering branch is the biggest leap yet - tucked away with plenty of car parking nearby Harvey Norman and Allied petrol.
'Kaiaka' means 'mastery' in Te Reo Māori. The name also plays on 'Kai' (food) and 'Aka' (vine), a fitting fit for a business built in Marlborough, famous the world over for its wine - 'food from the vines'. The orange in the Kaiaka logo traces back to the Netherlands, Sander's homeland, while a fork replaces a letter in the font and three crosses dot the 'i', a nod to Amsterdam's symbol.
Kaiaka's team is led by Sander alongside Head Chef Bianca, who brings structure to the kitchen's weekly workload, and Senior Chef Abi, who arrived with nearly two decades of kitchen experience including work rebuilding restaurants after the Christchurch earthquakes. Cafe Manager Nina brings over three decades of hospitality experience, Events Coordinator Stef draws on stints in London and at Brancott Estate and Wither Hills, and Sander's partner Huia lends a hand across ordering, marketing and the cafe floor. Together they cater everything from work shouts, corporate lunches and finger foods to morning and afternoon teas, weddings, funerals and vintage meals for wine industry teams during harvest.
Kaiaka has built strong relationships across Marlborough's wine industry, with Mahi Wine praising their vintage meals for keeping the team satisfied during harvest and their dinners in the winery caves as some of the best nights out, and Vinlink Marlborough recommending their working lunchboxes and board meeting catering.
Kaiaka Catering's cafe at Westwood Estate is open Monday to Friday from 7am to 4pm, and Saturday from 8am to 3pm. Catering is available Monday to Saturday with delivery options, and the venue is also available for hire for corporate and special events.