Tararua cafe hitting its straps

FOODIES: Punga and Samantha Mullins of Dannevirke's Catching Pen Cafe on High St say their cafe is all about people and great food. PHOTO/CHRISTINE McKAY

Punga Mullins says the shearing-themed cafe he owns with wife Samantha in Dannevirke has been well received.
He chats to Mark Story after the eatery won the Lower North Island regional people's choice award, as part of the 2017 Meadow Fresh New Zealand Café of the Year Awards.

What's the number one reason behind your café getting the nod for the Lower North Island regional people's choice award?
We started on this project with excitement and a love of being able to make people happy through food. We know this sounds corny but we think when you do things because "you are into it" good things can happen. People came to check us out, they liked it and we asked them to vote. We used social media to stay in touch and really used our networks there as well. This was a fun start up thing for us to do and it worked.

The rural/shearing theme obviously has approval from locals - what do visitors think?
Our background comes from the shearing sheds and it is a pretty universal culture - hard work, great results. The name and theme came easy to us and we will continue to build on it. People love it and appreciate it, locals and visitors alike.

What's your signature dish?
The Top Knotch Corn Stack and the Ton-a Run Lambs Fry both have a pretty heavy following. But there is always demand for the good old favourites such as Cockies Eggs Bene and Messy Mushrooms.

How does the dining/café scene differ in Dannevirke from your time in hospitality in Napier?
Of course there is a difference, but at a lot of levels it is the same. Fresh food, great team effort, keeping the flow going, happy customers. The key difference in Dannevirke is people know who we are and will pop their heads into the kitchen to say "hi, and well done". We will go to the supermarket or into the local shops and people ask after the business. It is nice.

What's the number one trick to luring travellers to stop in Dannevirke?
The biggest thing would be ample parking, it's already free, so parking areas have to be easy to find. Friendly people and being made to feel we truly appreciate them stopping. For us at the Catching Pen, our aim is to have you leave our place feeling satisfied and then telling all your friends! Have a great 2017.