NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Eat Well / Food News

Cafe owner's raw food cookbook fills a gap in the market

A raw salad from Sunday Cantina packed full of flavour. Photo / Shelley Down

Rosalie Willis
By
Rosalie Willis

Multimedia journalist

VIEW PROFILE

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

What they don't tell you when you start your own cafe is that as well as doing the parts you love, you also have to become an accountant, banker, stocktaker, lawyer, market guru, social media expert, problem solver, mentor and leader.

This is the position Fi Greig found herself in when she started Sunday Cantina in Kāpiti.

Her first venture into owning a cafe was Marine Parade Deli at Paraparaumu Beach with two business partners, but when she opened Sunday Cantina in Waikanae she was on her own, also taking on a big catering contract at the same time.

Opening the second Sunday Cantina in Raumati South early last year came with much excitement but was quickly followed by the first Covid-19 lockdown.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Fi Greig from Sunday Cantina. Photo / Shelley Down
Fi Greig from Sunday Cantina. Photo / Shelley Down

Suddenly, running two cafes, teaching cooking classes, catering and raising two daughters as a solo mum was becoming too much and becoming a grandma for the first time this year put things into perspective for Fi.

"For years I'd been running around following my dreams, pushing myself to exhaustion in pursuit of something bigger or something more.

"Suddenly I felt an immense desire to spend as much time as I could with my moko, and I began noticing an overwhelming feeling of unfulfillment, despite being in the best financial space ever."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Until then she had viewed running multiple businesses and cooking classes as success, "but I realised none of that made me happy because it was all materialistic.

"I decided it was time to sell the Waikanae Sunday Cantina and that I'd start looking at what I really wanted in life."

Fi now had time to breathe, and with that, she had space to start putting a dream into action - create a cookbook.

Sunday Cantina cookbook by Fi Greig. Photo / Shelley Down
Sunday Cantina cookbook by Fi Greig. Photo / Shelley Down

"Years ago I decided I wanted to do it but I just didn't have time.

"I already knew all the recipes as they're the ones I've done all my life since I started cooking.

"I've made them at Sunday Cantina, but I've held on to them with the intention of one day putting them into a book.

"They're recipes I've collected since I was 18 years old and are the ones that are hot favourites at the cafe."

Messaging her friend Shelley Down who has helped out Sunday Cantina with social media and photography, Fi said she was ready to start a cookbook.

"Shelley had never done food photography before she met me and she just really loved my food and believed in me.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We worked really well together and went hard for two months.

"Every day I would make food and take it to her house to photograph where she would design it and put it all together."

Fi Greig's specialty: raw slices. Photo / Shelley Down
Fi Greig's specialty: raw slices. Photo / Shelley Down

The outcome is a beautiful cookbook full of raw, healthy recipes, 95 per cent of which are vegan, gluten and refined sugar free.

"There's a lot of breakfast food, raw food, salads, condiments, dressings and a little bit of baking.

"My food philosophy is that anyone of any dietary requirement, food beliefs or cultural beliefs should be able to eat food and it should be delicious.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I always feel like I'm challenged trying to make something with no sugar or no gluten that tastes amazing without the normal ingredients.

"There's also a massive gap in the market for raw food and delicious salads.

"I love the challenge of making people fall in love with salads, it's truly amazing what you can put in a salad.

"When I first started Sunday Cantina no one even knew what raw slices were in Kāpiti."

Normally throwing a little of this and a little of that into her cooking, Fi measured out all the ingredients meticulously so she could share her recipes with others.

"I had to measure everything out properly for the cookbook which I don't normally do, so that was a bit of a challenge.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I pride myself on making my raw food recipes so enjoyable that anyone would want to eat them.

"I don't think it should matter what dietary requirements you have, you will fall in love with this food."

High on ingredients and with very simple methods, the recipes are for people who don't want to spend ages in the kitchen but just want to chuck it all in one bowl and make something delicious.

"I'm big on ingredients and try to pack in as much flavour as possible into each recipe."

Taking chances and making mistakes along the way has not stopped Fi from realising her long-held dream of sharing her love of food with others.

"You don't have to be defined by your younger choices.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I'm a single mum, I could have been just another statistic, but I chose not to.

"Whatever choices you made when you were younger doesn't have to be your status quo."

As for what's next for Fi, she already has plans to work on a second cookbook focusing more on dishes for lunch and dinner.

"Food is my thing. I know how to do it, it's easy for me and it's my love language."

The book can be purchased on pre-order from Sunday Cantina in Raumati South and will be available at markets and festivals throughout the summer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest Recipes

Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease
Food News

Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease

Soba to spaghetti: Why chilled noodles are the perfect summer meal
Food News

Soba to spaghetti: Why chilled noodles are the perfect summer meal

Cold brew, hot summer: How to make the perfect iced coffee at home
Food News

Cold brew, hot summer: How to make the perfect iced coffee at home

Camping meals for a Kiwi summer
Food News

Camping meals for a Kiwi summer

The best produce to eat in January and February
Food News

The best produce to eat in January and February

Take it outside: How to eat alfresco without any fuss
Food News

Take it outside: How to eat alfresco without any fuss

Latest Food News

Why your shopping habits reveal more than you think
Food News

Why your shopping habits reveal more than you think

Premium
Why your child is a picky eater - and what parents can do about it
Food News

Why your child is a picky eater - and what parents can do about it

Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease
Food News

Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease

Is kimchi ice cream the cool new food trend?
Food News

Is kimchi ice cream the cool new food trend?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Food News

Why your shopping habits reveal more than you think
Food News

Why your shopping habits reveal more than you think

Global tastes, gut health and grab-and-go – how Kiwi pantries got their 2020s glow-up.

29 May 11:25 PM
Premium
Premium
Why your child is a picky eater - and what parents can do about it
Food News

Why your child is a picky eater - and what parents can do about it

22 May 09:35 PM
Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease
Food News

Slow-cooking secrets: How to master flavourful meals with ease

16 May 12:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP