not only in hollywood!

It's not only in Hollywood that couples split up because of "irreconcilable differences"; here in Motueka we have our own news-worthy split up! The owners of Motueka Deli have decided to part ways. Pania and David (the two out of four Deli owners whom you have met already) have decided to move on; and you'll no doubt meet the new owners soon. But not to worry, Motueka Deli lives on! It's been lovely meeting you all and we wish you a very enjoyable Spring into Summer.
Love to all,
Pania and David

shirley's kitchen

It's about time you met Shirley. Shirley is based in Christchurch and makes a range of hand made gourmet foods. Most of her products are particularly good on cheese boards or antipasto platters; and her spiced figs are available in far flung countries like Brazil and Singapore as well as New Zealand. Shirley's number one most popular product is the fig & walnut log which is not only extremely delicious, and gluten free, but available at our deli along with her beautiful kirsch marmalade, and spiced plums and figs!

Shirley has made Christchurch her home for the past 19 years since she moved there with her husband and two beautiful daughters from Auckland. Shirley studied Cordon Bleu cookery in Auckland, and has been involved, one way or the other, with the hospitality industry ever since. She has even published a few cookbooks; but it is the creative, hands on side of cooking that she really enjoys. Shirley loves making delicious goodies to accompany the fine cheeses and wines that New Zealand is so rightly well known for.

Shirley also loves tropical holidays, relaxing with a good book, drinking G&T on a warm summers evening while watching the sun set over the ocean and having good friends around to enjoy these things with. She also enjoys walking among the cherry blossom trees in Hagley Park when there is a gentle breeze that sends a few petals floating down.

You can visit Shirley's Kitchen for more information about her delicious products.

letter from david

I'm the silent (and frequently not so silent) business partner of Motueka Deli. My main contribution is looking after our children and giving Pania enough time to work on the Deli project. It has been an amazing experience to see this project start, grow, get over its teething problems and finally open and receive all the positive feedback. I've never done anything like that before and opening this business with Andreas, Martina and Pania was for me like going on my first "overseas experience" - it is much easier going with your friends for the first time and encouraging each other in exploring a new world.

Apart from being a regular customer my other task before opening was to use my computer skills and choose (and maintain) a computer based till and software; which turned out to be a slightly complicated task if you do not want to spend thousands of dollars. I'm still writing some software in my evenings but we now have a pretty modern and easy to use system supporting all our needs for half of the commercial price.


I'm originally from the Czech Republic and came to New Zealand about five years ago to travel around for a while and realize my first overseas experience. I'm still here with two extra kids and one wife-ish, surrounded by beautiful nature and friendly warm people and I'm starting to call this place my home.


I've never been a foodie, but thanks to Pania I've started to pay a little bit more attention to what's going through my mouth to my stomach. My taste buds got a little bit more aware of differences as well. I used to be a vegetarian for several years and am now fighting my meat consumption deficit so anything salami, sausage, meaty is what pleases me. Living in New Zealand also forced me to start baking my own bread loaves with crust, texture and flavour the way I'm used to: rye sourdough with lots of caraway seeds and a crunchy golden brown crust. One day I may start selling them in the Deli.

mextastic

Well, it's about time you met some truly lovely people who are helping to make our deli fantastic. They are Faine and David; and they run Tio Pablo, a Mexican food supplier. David is Mexican American, and Faine grew up in California. They have lived in New Zealand for the last 13 years and have had three sons here. In the past, Faine has lived all over the US (including Hawaii), France and Japan.

Faine and David told us recently that "Mexican food is a staple for us, and we wanted to bring some authentic and high end flavour to New Zealand." And this they have done, bringing us beautiful tortillas, pepitas, a variety of tasty mexican seasonings, the hugely popular, award-winning Chocolate Azteca hot chocolate mix, and much more.

At the deli, Chocolate Azteca graces our shelves (although not usually for long as it is soon whisked away by the town's passionate hot chocolate connoisseurs); along with the very special Mexican Red Rice mix. We like Tio Pablo because their products are clearly made with a lot of care and attention to detail and flavour - not to mention being delicious, slightly unusual, beautifully packaged, and containing organic ingredients wherever possible!

Visit Tio Pablo for more information about their products, including some delicious-looking Mexican recipes and how-to guides.

new friends

We were going to tell you about all the amazing things we sell in our deli but we decided that wouldn't be very interesting. No no no, who needs to read about food? Wouldn't it be much better to actually be eating the food? So, sorry, you'll have to come to the deli if you want to sample some of our delicious treats. Instead, we've decided to introduce you to some of the people involved with the deli – the people who make the cheese, the chocolate, the mustard, the sausages; the people who had the brain-wave to open the deli; and the people who come into the shop every day – our wonderful customers. Now that's a good idea!

So, to kick it all off, I'm going to tell you about me! I'm the one who has been writing this blog so far. Did you know that it was four neighbours who decided to open the deli? Well, I'm one of those neighbours. My name is Pania and I live in Tapu Bay, near Motueka, with my Czech love and our two children, Izmae and Vincent. I'm interested in all kinds of things (everything probably) so even though I haven't worked in the food industry before, most people who know me wouldn't be too surprised to discover that I've opened a deli.

So, I'm one of the deli owners, but I'm also a customer. I can't keep away from the place! I'm always joking that the deli byline should be, “Motueka Deli: changing the waistline of Motueka!” because I find everything in there is so irresistible. Funnily enough, I'm also the deli buyer – the person who has had the job of looking all over New Zealand and further afield for wonderful things to stock the shelves of our deli. That's been a fun job. Every time a new box of goodies arrives in the shop it feels like Christmas – and, best of all, I know I'm about to get everything on my wish list! Even better, I'm learning so much about so many good things – like how cheese is made, the different olive varieties and how to taste olive oil, the myriad varieties of tea and how to appreciate them all ... not to mention how to go about getting a liquor license, and how to read a commercial lease agreement!

I'm not really sure how I ended up in Motueka, opening a deli with a Czech and two Germans (more about them later), but I'm glad I did.

Next up: meet the people behing Shirley's Kitchen and Tio Pablo ... oh, and that Czech guy I mentioned earlier, you can meet him too!

sad shop, happy shop

Welcome to the Motueka Deli blog! Here we'll keep you up to date with all the wonderful things happening at our deli - like new and interesting food, workshops, and shop news. The first thing we want to share with you is the amazing transformation our shop has undergone over the past few months. Before we got our hot little hands on 195 High St and turned it into a den of foody goodness, it was a sad little second-hand clothing store.

So we sanded, painted, shone, waxed, and primped the whole place ...

and now, of course, it's a happy shop, filled with all kinds of fantastic deliciousness!

Many thanks to all the people who helped us open our shop - from the friend who delivered us flowers when we opened, to the electrician who made multiple visits; to Hayden Trass for painting us such a great sign (it's the envy of High St); to the man who removed our front window so we could get the chiller into the shop (and told us about the best olives he had ever eaten); to Marek for building our shelves and helping us resolve numerous logistical nightmares; to our plumber for being the best plumber a little shop could ever want; to BT Robinson for all those extra painterly touches that have made our shop so special; to Peter Inglis for being a very understanding landlord; and to all the amazing people in Motueka who have come into our shop over the past week and told us how happy they are that a deli has finally come to town. Thanks to everyone who offered or gave help; we couldn't have done it without you.

Manifesto

At Motueka Deli we believe that the quality of our locally crafted artisan cheeses, meats, and olive oils is so good that we want to put them on show so you can get to know and love them as much as we do. We also have a soft spot for some special goodies from overseas, so we have a great selection of those too. Yes, some of the things on our shelves are a bit strange; that's because we believe it's important to try new things - your taste buds deserve a treat! We want you to try some delicious foods you haven't encountered before, rediscover old favourites, and enjoy food as much as we do. The Motueka Deli is the place you come when you want to buy something special that you know will taste delicious and be made with love.