Can you tell me a bit about Genevieve's Cuisine?
I was working full time as a food writer when the recession hit. I had to go back to my roots and return to restaurants to work as a chef. But I wasn't happy in that role anymore, so I started making pate and selling it at the La Cigale French Market on the weekends.
It was soon time to get serious when stores wanted to stock my products, so we undertook some award-winning research with Massey University and created a cooking method to give the products a long shelf life without using any additives. I am very passionate about keeping food as natural as possible.
Soon I had a duck range, I released New Zealand's first Goose Liver Parfait last year and this year I have designed three new recipes, using the same preservation technique, which I am releasing in June. They are eaten the same way as a pate and I have named them Scallop Mousse, Oyster Mousse and Prawn Mousse. They are twice baked into the jars they are sold in - firstly without and then with the lids on to preserve them.
I am planning to add a kitchen staff member later this year, but right now I manufacture all the products myself. I use staff on the weekend to sell at markets and in stores. I currently supply more than 50 stores including New World, Nosh, Farro and Sabato.
What awards programmes have you entered and why?
Awards are fantastic for bringing about media attention and I find it really rewarding at a tasting when a stranger says 'oh, I was just reading about your products'. I have always felt people need to hear about you in around three different ways before they will trust your brand enough to buy your products.
I have entered the Cuisine Magazine Artisan Awards and was a winner in 2012. I was a finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards Gourmet Section in 2012 and a winner for research and development in the Westpac Auckland South Business Awards in 2013. I was also a finalist in the best emerging business and social responsibility categories of those awards.