Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your coffee journey?
I spent my early hospo days in Wellington in the early 2000s working in a few well known cafes before moving to Dunedin to chase my dream of opening my own coffee roastery.
What motivated you to enter the Barista Champs this year, is this your first time?
I believe in the cause. The challenges facing the specialty coffee industry are so real, and the disconnect between producers and consumers is massive. My company works to raise awareness and educate through only sourcing the highest grade, traceable coffees and roasting them to showcase the farmers work at origin. I usually stay away from the spotlight and let the coffees speak for themselves, but its my time to do my part to represent the industry and try to bring more people along for the journey. I have competed before; last time was in 2008.
How long have you worked at Vanguard for?
I started Vanguard Specialty Coffee back in 2015
What makes the coffee at Vanguard stand out?
We source all our coffee from small holder farmers and pay a premium price to ensure quality, we roast all our own coffee and QC every batch. All my staff are continually trained and upskilled to be able to deliver the customer the best coffee, every time.
How do you drink your coffee?
A well made pour-over of a high quality, light roasted, single farm coffee is as good as it gets for me, a creamy flat white is a close second.
We know you are all about the coffee, but do you have a food offering at Vanguard?
Our main café seats 70 and has a full kitchen, offering a tasty brunch menu, made from local ingredients with a modern twist on the usual breakfast classics. In addition, fresh baked items, cakes and cabinet food are all staples of our food offering.
What’s your favourite dish?
We do a great dukkah crusted potato salad with hot smoked akaroa salmon, poached egg and preserved lemon crème fraiche – it’s a winner.
Can you share a piece of advice you’d offer others starting in hospitality?
I’d say that hospitality can be a very rewarding career, but you have to take chances, look for opportunities and push yourself. Be it through barista competitions, picking the brain of your espresso service tech, figuring out how to implement systems, cook or bake, there is a whole lot of skills to obtain that will benefit you in hospo or any other pathway.
When you’re not spinning coffees, what do you enjoy doing?
My role is incredibly varied, so If I’m not making coffees, I could be roasting, working on branding and design, cupping coffee samples, cooking, pretty much all the aspects of my job which I really enjoy. Outside of work, spending time with my family and the great outdoors.