Father's Day: Cool Dads Club | Big Arvo Out

Father's Day Comp!

THE PRIZE

Two lucky winners (and your plus one) will receive a ‘hot seat’ rally car ride with Team Walker Motorsport out at Dome Valley. A once in a lifetime opportunity for you to become a co-driver for the day & experience the performance and speed of a rally car on gravel roads. Eat deliciously tasty food for lunch (of course!). All topped off with an epic Brewery Tour & refreshingly crispy beers with our mates Sawmill Brewery in Matakana.

THE BIG DAY

It was a brisk Saturday morning when we got the chance to meet our amazing rad dads!

 

  

David Wilcock, a keen surfer, squash player and fisherman, Dave works tirelessly for his family and the people who surround him, so a day out with his son was WELL overdue! The same could be said about Mark George, having served as a fireman for over 40 years, he's dedicated his life to his crew and family, so it was only fitting he brought his best bud with him to share some high-speed banter and beersies!

We started off travelling an hour and a half out of Auckland all the way to Dome Valley, up and down a small access gravel road where we were greeted by the team at Team Walker Motorsport, here each of our rad dads got to experience laps in 2 rally spec race cars hitting corners at over 150kph and sliding across gravel roads in hot laps.

Our Co-Founder and Executive Chef Adrian and our Head of Menu Execution Mike cooked up a good old sausage sizzle for the crew and our rad dads!

We then left the gravel roads behind for some open road as we made our way to Sawmill Brewery, located on the cusp of Matakana, in a completely eco-friendly, 100% re-usable energy powered brewery. Here the rad Dads learned about what goes into tasty Sawmill beers, how it's all fermented, bottled and distributed! The day was finished with a craft selection of tasty brews and plenty of post-racing banter with the Walker Motorsport team.

   

 


New Menu Update

A Lifetime Commitment

Never have we had such an emotional outpouring as we have had since we took our beloved potato skins off the menu... so much so that we are bringing them back!

Here is a sneak peak at our favourite piece of feedback when we said they were only coming back as a special: “Dear BB, come back as a special? I don’t want them to be a dirty one night stand or a girl that hangs around for a couple of weeks for some extra play time. I want marriage, the real deal. A lifetime commitment. However, everyone deserves a second chance. The balls in your court.

Love - Potato Skins Lover."

More Pork Ya Dork

With almost as much uproar as the skins, it was clear our pork burger was something you couldn't bare to lose. But sometimes you don't know what you've got untill it's gone.

So much to our delight, our adored Pork burger is back! Packed with Harmony 6-hour pulled pork shoulder (free-range of course), gooey homemade BBQ sauce. apple mint slaw doused in creamy mayo!

Vegan's Unite

With alll the amazing feedback we've received on our new menu, you've also told us where we need to improve - So let us re-introduce you to our vegan burger!

Made with a mushroom, quinoa & walnut patty, roasted field mushroom, baby spinach, vegan swiss cheese, caramelised onion, green vegan aioli, tomato jam in a vegan gluten-free bun.

Love,

Team BB


5 Minutes With Our Mate Al Keating

Our mates from way back & neighbours in Christchurch (Welles Street). Al Keating, CEO of Coffee Supreme gives us all the insider coffee scoop.

Where did it all begin for you at Coffee Supreme?
I became familiar with Supreme while I worked for another great coffee company here in Auckland.
I admired them for their standout brand, brave use of red, their cool website with the espresso shot that filled while the website loaded - remember when we made things for people to watch while websites loaded?
Their coffee was good. It was packaged in little clear plastic bags with label-printer stickers stuck crookedly - stating basics like blend, roast date, and batch. Tasting notes and flavour profiles hadn’t even been invented.
The Mouthfeels was a post-punk-goth-rock band from a small town near Hove.
Chris Dillon (co-founder with his partner Maggie Wells) had gathered a posse of industry pros and hustlers.
They boarded planes and went to origin to meet producers and choose coffees.
This is before Instagram too, when people had to simply take your word for it that it actually happened; when we did things for good reason, not reach and likes.
I remember being asked by Supreme’s founder to keep an ear to the ground.
He was looking for a two-person team to break into Auckland.
They’d won the South Island over.
They’d introduced Melbourne to coffee that tasted like it grew on a fruit tree planted in the ground, as opposed to standing behind a drag race in the 80's with your mouth open.
So how hard could Auckland be..?
That’s where I started. 

What’s the biggest blunder you’ve made as CEO or throughout your professional career?
Man, where do I start...countless examples.
I’ve opened cafes that failed.
I’ve signed of typos.
I’ve launched new coffee bags made of soft plastic on the day NZ said ‘sorry guys, no more soft plastic recycling in NZ’.
I’ve hired the next person when I should have hired the best person.
I could go on...

Perhaps my biggest mistake tho - failing to communicate thoroughly.
By default, I’m overly optimistic and have been known to overlook details.
As a result, I can sail on ahead thinking that somehow everyone else is onboard.
I can sail into the future onboard a ship called HMS Hope & Assumption, only to realise I’ve failed to ensure the team had fully boarded.
She’s a beautiful ship. Loaded with ill-preparation and best-intentions, sails billowing with ego.
Every crew member, a slight variation in mind of what our destination actually is.
I’ve embarked on that voyage a few times if I’m honest.
I’m learning at last to be a part of a close, solid team who keep me accountable, and who understand how to manage amongst my optimistic scattiness.
I am improving. Really. 

If you could go back to the start of your coffee journey, what advice would you give yourself or to anyone?
Establish and learn more about the product that’s at the core of your business. Never forget it. Never stray from it.
Sure, there are times to diversify, maybe even make significant changes.
But be very intentional and explicit about that. 

I declared years ago - ‘coffee isn’t our core product, it’s what happens over a coffee shared’

This is an apology to all Supreme’s hardworking staff, our customers - amazing coffee professionals and coffee lovers, our shareholders, our friends who grow and supply us with our amazing coffee! (I’m fortunate to have met some of them - not all - but there are people within Supreme who catch up with them at least once a year). 

Coffee IS actually our core product.
Everything we are and everything we do revolves around it.
What happens over a coffee shared is everything else: our brand, our culture, friendship - just like anyone else.
Our essence is not complex; Supreme, Everybody, Every day.
Better coffee for all

What projects are you currently working on?
Often, so many projects on the go here. We have big dreams and limited resources - just like everybody I guess.
We've just recently welcomed you (Burger Burger) to our home in CHCH. It's been so good having you guys move in next door.
We've launched Instant coffee, which has been met understandably with mixed reactions. Largely super positive. But there's always a few reluctant folk.
And then, those who remembered to tuck some into their carry-on bring it out on a flight and, in an instant, they see exactly what we were thinking. The next best thing!
We're also making ourselves more accessible to all Kiwi's and Aussies who love drinking good coffee. And where better to meet them than where they're already at...? The Supermarket.
Supermarkets have changed hugely over the last few years.
We once shopped at supermarkets for 72-packs of loo paper and Weetbix and teabags. Now, we go there to buy those staples, but we can find some of our most beloved brands in the aisles too. If I’d told you 10 years ago I was shopping under the one roof for stuff like Bonnie Oatcakes, Fix & Fogg, Antipodes, and Garage Project, you’d assume I was at a specialty supermarket or similar, right? Nope - just good ol' New World.
So - we figure, why shouldn’t we be on the shelves next to our other favourites, where everyday kiwis are shopping for their favourite everyday needs.
That's an exciting project.

What has been crucial to your creative/CEO career?
Autonomy and Team.
I know, oxymoronic.
Autonomy, because no one thrives under micromanagement.
And, micromanagement is inflicted onto staff not by leaders, but by managers who struggle with their own weaknesses.
I’ve been lucky, as a creative-thinking CEO, to serve a board that has given me a lot of room to move.
Not a boundary-less space though. They certainly hold me to account, and ask annoyingly tough questions when the need is there.
You can make quite a tit of yourself on a course without boundaries. 

Team, because no matter how good a sailor one might be, no-one can sail Supreme singlehandedly. Everybody with talent also has weaknesses, which is why the team is so important.
We all play our part. Regardless of how important or insignificant we think that part is, the truth is: if any member of this team fell over, or disappeared tonight…we’d all be up sh*t creek.
The challenge for me is ensuring we have a culture of working together, clear on what it is we’re actually doing. 

How have you developed your relationship with the financial aspect of Coffee Supreme over time?
That’s a great question.
It’s not something that has come naturally to me.
I had for some time been living under a financially-illiterate rock.
There was a time when I thought margin was a dairy-free toast spread, and that EBITDA was a song from The Muppet Show.
But, that was then.
I’ve more recently worked with some very talented commercial folk.
I have learned a mountain from working with our founder, our Commercial Director, and others in the business who ask relentlessly for process, strategy, accountability.
Cool doesn’t always pay the bills, and true sustainability is ‘repeatability’.
I’m learning these things in a very tough, competitive environment. 

What’s your go-to BB order?
Beef w Cheese every time.
I’ve never tried anything different*.
Curly fries, and the broccoli with the almonds and the garlic.
Seriously so good. 

*Ok, there was that one time I tried the BwC Bunnice. 

My wife gets it every time - loves it.
She’s got discipline tho.
She also drives a car with a heater that works.
Disciplined and practical people can be so annoying sometimes. 


Lucky's Indian Lamb Curry

ARASHDEEP (LUCKY) RAI
Christchurch Sous Chef

Having joined the Burger Burger Family almost 5 years ago in our Ponsonby Team as a Kitchen Porter. Lucky’s passion, dedication & hardwork has led him down to Christchurch to open our brand new restaurant there as a senior leader. Originally from the north part of Punjab Lucky migrated to NZ with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science but followed his nose into chef school here.  We are sooo grateful to have him, he brings a level of professionalism & positivity every single day to the team, topped off with a smiley happy face ALWAYS.

We asked Lucky to share a special recipe with us that is close to his heart that we can whip up at home. This Indian Lamb Curry is a favourite when craving comfort food & best served with Basmati rice.

INDIAN LAMB CURRY

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg lamb (cut into medium sized pieces)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 3 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 dry red chili
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 green chili, slit lengthwise
  • 3 large onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic Paste
  • 5 large tomatoes, finely chopped or pureed
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 4 tbsp masala
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp kasuri methi (optional but highly recommended)
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp salt

Method:

  1. Add turmeric to the lamb & rub all over. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker (electric or stovetop)
  3. In the cooker saute fennel seeds, dry red chilli, bayleaf, cinnamon, cardamom & cloves for a minute. Add green chilli, onions and ginger garlic paste. Cook this for 7-8 minutes till the onions are translucent.
  4. Add tomatoes, coriander powder, masala, salt & cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes start breaking down slightly. 
  5. Add the lamb, a cup of water & put the lid on. 
  6. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 30-40 minutes (5-6 whistles). If using an electric pressure cooker or an instant pot, cook for 25 minutes and let pressure release naturally.
  7. Once the pressure is released open the lid. Add a little water if the gravy is too thick. 
  8. Stir in garam masala, kasuri methi (if using) and butter and simmer for another 4-5 minutes. 
  9. Check & season to taste.
  10. Let the curry rest for 15 minutes before serving. & enjoy!

Tree Free Toilet Paper

WE’RE ON A ROLL!

Hello Tree Free TP. Our friends from Smartass are changing the game at a whirlwind pace in the sustainable tissue space with bamboo toilet paper. With the equivalent of 27,000 trees flushed down the toilet every day, it was time to get a wise crack. Cushiony soft and strong this bamboo toilet tissue is made from bagasses (a waste product from sugarcane) and bamboo fibres free of bleach, inks, dye.

Why Bamboo? It's one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Due to a unique rhizone-dependent system certain species of bamboo can grow 91 cm within 24 hours, a rate of almost 4cm an hour or 1mm every 90 seconds.

We are so stoked to have them on board in all of our restaurant bathrooms and we’re pretty sure you will be stoked too once nature calls and they answer.

To learn more about them visit smartass.co.nz.


BANTER: Volume 2

It’s been a busy few months since our first issue of BANTER – Since then, we have welcomed three new ‘babies’ into our lives! On May 25th we opened the big and beautiful BB Christchurch, five days later on May 30th we opened the lively and lovely BB Mount Maunganui and on June 5th, Stephen, Olympia and I welcomed our second baby girl Octavia.

Burger Burger has felt like my ‘baby’ since the day we started it in 2014. I love it so much that I have thrown all my passion and energy into it, even if it has meant sacrificing a little bit of myself along the way (read: working up until my due date). On that note, opening two restaurants five days apart (at full term) was crazy and incredible at the same time. I’ll admit that I won’t be rushing to do it again, but I’m extremely proud of how our team came together to pull it off, and I’m so grateful to have brought a perfect healthy little human into this world, even if it means our household is chaos right now!

Burger Burger Christchurch

Burger Burger, Christchurch

Burger Burger, Mount Maunganui

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about what ‘sustainability’ means to me in terms of how we grow and manage our family at home, and also what this means for BB in the years to come. We get loads of feedback from concerned customers about the products that we use not making a large enough environmental statement. The truth is, like at home we can never do all the things we’d like to, all at the same time, so we make a call and prioritise what we think will make the most meaningful impact, with the resources, energy and money we have available.

In the true sense of the word, sustainability means ‘the capacity to endure’ and the reality for hospitality at the moment is that it is getting harder and harder to endure the seemingly never ending rising costs (staff, produce and construction to name a few!) Although we can’t action everything we’d like to immediately, I am 100% behind doing everything we can at BB to protect our environment. I can assure you that this issue is top of mind for us at the moment. The trouble is, I am also 100% passionate about sourcing local products and supporting local businesses as much as we can, and I think it’s super important that we prioritise our people – so there are some core values in our business that are competing for the resources, energy and money that I mentioned above. It’s a juggle! What I would like to hear from you all is, what issues REALLY mean something to you? Which ones are you willing to actually pay for? As much as I hate to say it, it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that in our industry, to be the best businesses we can be, we must pass on some of the increased costs of being our best selves to the consumer. Rising costs affect our ‘capacity to endure’ because we are already running on super tight margins, and we are committed to being a sustainable business.

Please comment below to share your thoughts with us, and don’t hold back! I’m excited to hear what you have to say.

Thank you as always to my team for supporting the dream. I know you all made personal sacrifices to support us through this crazy time and it has been deeply appreciated.

Ciao for now,
Mimi