Isabel Pasch and Tim Hinchliff at home in Auckland. Photo by Jason Oxenham.
Isabel Pasch and Tim Hinchliff at home in Auckland. Photo by Jason Oxenham.
A birthday party escapade led to a Berlin wedding and the birth of two sons.
Isabel Pasch is director of Bread & Butter Bakery, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. Her husband Tim Hinchliff is co-owner of the company and works for a bakery software company. They met in 1999, married in 2004 and have two sons, Emil, 18, and Karl, 16. The couple got into the specialty bakery business after several years living in Europe.
Isabel says….
I was born in Saarbrucken, on the French-German border. We moved around a lot, so I usually just say I am from Berlin. I studied biology and did my undergrad [degree] in Germany. At first I was at the University of Mainz, and then I really wanted to do something with marine [biology]. I moved to the University of Hamburg for my post-grad. Everybody had told me “don’t go to Hamburg, it’s not very good for science”, but I didn’t listen. I went to Hamburg, and it really wasn’t very good.
I thought, “fine, okay, I’ll go somewhere completely different”. I wanted to go overseas to an English-speaking country. I contacted somebody at the University of Auckland, and he emailed back the next day.
Tim’s lab was on same floor as I was when we were doing the second half of our [Masters] thesis. It was actually at a [mutual friend’s] birthday party that we met. We were down at the waterfront, at a bar having drinks and then at some point, the entire birthday party decided they were going to go to [sports bar] Leftfield. I’d been there once. I was like, “no, I’m not going there ever again”. He was the other person who also said, “I’m not going”. We hadn’t even talked to each other at the party until then.
We were left over, and we were like, “okay, so who are you?” We went to Khuja Lounge, up near K Rd. I actually thought, “God, this guy’s too drunk, we can’t have a normal conversation. I want to go home”, but I didn’t have any more money for a taxi. He said, “well, we can walk together to my house, which is on the way. I can give you some more money so you can catch a taxi from my house to your house”. So, we did that. And by the time we got to his house, he’d sobered up somewhat.
The next day I was quite hung over, and I kind of blamed him. And then I gave him a call and said, “I actually have to go to do my research up at Leigh Marine Reserve. And I have to drive all the way”. Since I was quite hung over I didn’t feel I could handle the drive up to Leigh by myself.
I’ve always loved Tim’s open-mindedness and ability to change. One of his best characteristics is he can fight back. He’s able to take things on and change things as well. We get on very well, but we also are able to challenge each other. And he’s great fun. He’s always the heart of the party. We’re both quite social people. We like going out and having friends over. We have a lot of values in common.
Isabel Pasch and Tim Hinchliff on their wedding day in Berlin, 2004.
Tim says…
I had already had a lot to drink at Lenin vodka bar [before the party]. My first memory of that evening is actually being at Khuja Lounge and the barman passing me two drinks and I was like, “two drinks?” I turned around and I saw Isa and I didn’t see anyone else, so it was, “oh, I’m with you”.
I remember walking back home and I often didn’t have a key, so I had to boost her through the bathroom window. When we got inside we were talking about stuff. I offered that she could stay – she could stay in my bed, and I would sleep on the couch, but she wanted to go home in the taxi. So, I gave her the money and she went home.
I already thought she was attractive and I kind of knew who she was. She was German, so that was another thing that perhaps was going on. I don’t know if that was a conscious thought or not. [My parents had travelled a lot] and I grew up with all these stories about travelling and life overseas. I didn’t really want to have a New Zealand girlfriend. Longer-term, I had this vision of not having a New Zealand partner, rather having someone from a different country.
Isa is intelligent. I like that. She’s pretty. I have always enjoyed conversations with her. She challenges me quite a bit. I like her perspective. When I was young, I guess I was a bit arrogant and quite reductionist. “Yeah, I’m going to be a scientist. We’ll figure out all the answers because scientists have got all the answers” – quite a typical young male. In your 20s, you think you know everything. She’s always been a bit more, “there are things we don’t understand. Keep a more open mind”. Over time, I’ve absorbed a lot of that. I think I’ve gained positives from her character that complement my character.
