Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, former Prime Minister Sir John Key has upgraded his helicopter, The Caker Jordan Rondel shares her plans after selling up, and Auckland’s newest hotel reveals its $16m penthouse to VIP guests.
Society Insider: Sir John Key’s new $6m helicopter; $16m penthouse in Hotel Indigo, NZ’s tallest hotel, for sale; Jordan Rondel on life after The Caker
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Real estate agent Graham Wall sells some of NZ's most expensive properties, including Hotel Indigo's $16m penthouse apartment; Former PM Sir John Key has upgraded his helicopter; Jordan Rondel, AKA the Caker, is back in NZ and planning her future. Photo / Herald composite
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Now he’s the proud owner of a black Airbus H130, a spacious chopper that is a big step up from the G2.
A new Airbus H130 helicopter can cost more than $6m.
“I am in partnership on the new machine with a fabulous family and the coalition talks are definitely more relaxed than those in my time in politics,” Key tells Society Insider.
The H130, previously known as the Eurocopter EC130 T2, is a favourite amongst Auckland’s super wealthy. Rich Listers including property titan Steve Owen, Empire Capital’s Paula and Simon Herbert, and ZEIL’s Anna Mowbray and husband, former All Black Ali Williams, are known to have similar machines.
“The H130 is a joy to fly and takes seven people and is a bit like an SUV of the sky,” Key says. “She is very forgiving with great viability.”
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Key, 63, took his helicopter exams in the middle of the Covid lockdowns in 2021.
In 2022, Key first took to the air, and he got his private pilot’s licence in July 2023.
He tells Society Insider that his old machine, nicknamed Gumbi, was a training helicopter in which he did the 150 hours of flying time required to get his helicopter licence.
Key’s wife, Lady Bronagh Key, is yet to take to the skies with her husband, but he says he hopes she one day will. His most high-profile passengers to date have been broadcasters Paul Henry and Samantha Hayes.
Gumbi has now been sold to “a guy in Nashville who looks after a country and western star”.
The H130 has Key’s tail registration code IJK on the tail, which stands for India Juliette Kilo. This was also seen on Gumbi, with the redesigned New Zealand flag Key’s National Government submitted to the flag referendum in 2016. The flag has not yet been put on the H130.
Key says his love of flying ties in nicely to another of his hobbies – golf. He has been known to fly to Mangawhai to play at exclusive private members’ club Tara Iti.
His new helicopter has a maximum range of 600km, which could take him to courses further afield – perhaps a return trip from Auckland to Kauri Cliffs in the Far North, or to Taupō’s Wairakei International Golf Course.
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Yet to have a nickname, the H130 is kept in a hangar on the North Shore. Currently undertaking training, he is yet to fly her solo.
He admits he is superstitious and has some routines he must do to feel safe, including saying “white rabbits” three times at the start of each month. His old Guimbal had cute cartoon stickers of three rabbit heads. The same is yet to be added to the H130.
Jordan Rondel on life after The Caker, and that spat with Chrissy Teigen
Entrepreneur and celebrity baker Jordan Rondel has spoken for the first time about her plans after selling her successful baking business The Caker.
“Somehow I look back and kind of love it all,” Rondel tells Society Insider, reflecting on her years in business.
“The highs were extremely high and the lows were gut-wrenchingly painful.”
She says now she has sold the business she wants to continue “working at the intersection of creativity, brand strategy and experiential marketing” but is still deciding whether that might be as part of an existing company or building something new.
Rondel, 35, is the daughter of furniture designer Stephane Rondel. She graduated from the University of Auckland in 2010 with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in international business and marketing.
She took her love of fashion and went into the art of cake making, first with a recipe blog, then making cake kits, and eventually opening her eponymous store The Caker on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd in 2013.
Her lawyer-trained sister Anouk joined her as the business grew. With numerous recipe books in the market and business booming in NZ, in 2019 they made a long-planned move into the American market.
They rented a big commercial kitchen in downtown LA and began to bake for weddings and events for Hollywood’s A-list – and in the background, they worked on setting up production of bake-at-home cake kits.
As well as being available to buy online, The Caker’s cake mix was sold through 38 Neiman Marcus stores throughout the US.
“Expanding the business to the US was one of the biggest challenges where we faced the most lows,” Rondel says. “But I wouldn’t change anything because of how much I’ve learned about business and about life in general.”
One of those lows is likely to have been a highly publicised spat between Rondel and US model and businesswoman Chrissy Teigen.
In 2022, Rondel released a carrot cake mix in collaboration with Teigen. Months later, Rondel was reportedly “shocked” to see Teigen’s Cravings brand had introduced a line of mixes that looked a lot like her own.
At the time, Rondel wrote in a post on Instagram that “this particular situation isn’t chill, especially because we’re just a small sister-run business”.
Her post continued, thanking her fans for the support and saying Teigen was lovely to work with and that she didn’t want it to “turn into a dramatic witch hunt”.
She later told the Herald, she knew Cravings had their own line of baking mixes in the works, but she didn’t know what it would look like – and was “taken aback” by the similarity of the designs.
Teigen’s team released a statement to Rolling Stone to refute claims that the designs were similar.
Speaking to Society Insider this week, Rondel says, “The situation with Chrissy Teigen is so far in the past that I barely think about it anymore.
“I don’t check in with what Cravings is up to, it genuinely is inconsequential to me.”
While she won’t go into how much they sold The Caker for, she admits the sale was a very emotional experience but is “very happy with how it all turned out”.
“The new owner is a businessman with a lot of experience in e-commerce brands, so it was a good fit,” she says.
Rondel flew into Auckland yesterday morning ahead of being a panellist for an International Women’s Day event. For the first time in their three-year relationship, she brought her American boyfriend, Ryan Fiorentino, with her.
Detroit-raised, Fiorentino is head of advanced strategy for Nasa’s jet propulsion laboratory in Los Angeles.
The pair live in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. Fiorentino did not accompany Rondel home when she starred alongside chef Peter Gordon as a judge for two seasons of The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
“Ryan and I have been together for about three years but somehow we’ve never managed to get to NZ together, so I’m very much looking forward to him finally seeing where I grew up,” Rondel tells Society Insider.
“We are going to my stepbrother’s wedding on Waiheke, so I’m excited to immerse him in the beautiful Auckland beach experience, and I’m sure we’ll make it to some vineyards.”
The pair arrived in Auckland from LA yesterday and enjoyed some late afternoon drinks at Queen’s Rooftop Bar before the Global Women’s panel for International Women’s Day at PwC Tower last night. She was speaking alongside UK-based model and fellow entrepreneur Jessica Clarke, rugby great Dame Farah Palmer, racing driver Breanna Morris, and photographer Stuart Robertson.
Ahead of the event, Rondel told Society Insider she would be imparting her best advice to entrepreneurs.
“When things get tough – which they will – try to embrace the pivot and accept that the path to success isn’t linear,” Rondel says. “Rejections and failures aren’t dead ends, they’re stepping stones.”
Hotel Indigo Auckland rolling out the red carpet
Three multi-million-dollar penthouses are among only seven apartments left to sell in Auckland’s newest hotel and residential building. But with price tags of up to $16m, only Rich Listers and the ultra-wealthy need apply.
Hotel Indigo Auckland, at 51 Albert St, is the tallest hotel building in New Zealand, with hotel rooms occupying 27 floors of the 41-storey tower. The rest of the building is comprised of exclusive sky residential apartments and jaw-dropping penthouses, with seven still on the market.
They include the $16m pinnacle penthouse, and two sub-penthouses, on sale for $11.5m and $12.5m.
Real estate king Graham Wall is selling the pinnacle penthouse and has already hosted some of the city’s high rollers there, including Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, uber-wealthy property developers Kurt Gibbons and Mark Francis, and leading art dealers John Gow and Gary Langsford.
The pinnacle penthouse features expansive living areas, 4m-high ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling views of the city and harbour.
The $16m price tag makes it one of the most expensive penthouse apartments in Auckland.
The Pacifica penthouse on Commerce St was originally marketed as a super penthouse at $42m in 2021, before being offered to market split into three separate apartments at an average price of $16m each.
The stalled Seascape building’s two-storey penthouse on Customs St East has been marketed for an asking price of $24m, with the rest of the building penthouses starting from $9m to $16m.
A penthouse residence of 308 Remuera Rd fetched nearly $13m in 2022.
In February, the highly publicised Metropolis penthouse sold for $6m.
Henry Rzechta and his son Jonty flew into Auckland this week to meet VIP guests at the penthouse.
Henry is the chairman and director of Ninety-Four Feet, the property development company behind Hotel Indigo; Jonty is the CFO and director, and his brother Dean is the managing director.
Ninety-Four Feet is fast becoming a large presence in residential development in New Zealand. As well as 51 Albert St, they are also transforming the $2 billion Lakeview Te Taumata in Queenstown.
Art and culture play a big part in the hotel. Ninety-Four Feet has preserved the original 1912 heritage-listed facade of what was once Dexter and Crozier’s Motor House.
Hotel Indigo Auckland general manager Mathew Simister tells Society Insider the motoring history is woven into the hotel’s design, artwork, and amenities, blending Auckland’s past with a modern, boutique experience.
This week the hotel proudly announced a collaboration with acclaimed contemporary artist Stuart Robertson, known for his global project Peace in 10,000 Hands.
“We’ve commissioned Stu to help us tell the story of our neighbourhood through a curated photographic exhibition spanning all 25 floors, with each floor presenting a chapter of Auckland’s history,” says Simister.
In addition to Robertson’s works, the hotel’s lobby has been curated by renowned stylist Simone Haag, and features handcrafted works by a large array of local artists, including two art installations by multidisciplinary artist, architect and designer Raukura Turei.
Hotel Indigo Auckland soft-launched 54 rooms of the 225-room hotel at Christmas. Over the next month, the red carpet is being laid out as the rest of the hotel rooms open. Hospitality offerings will follow in April, then a sophisticated cocktail bar and cafe-wine bar is planned to open soon after.
VIP guests from the travel industry attended a soiree in the $16m pinnacle penthouse last night, with media VIPs set to be hosted tonight.
Last night’s guests enjoyed canape versions of the hotel’s soon-to-open restaurant, the French-inspired Bistro Saine by executive chef Yutak Son and head chef Stevan Bailey.
Party people of the week
Jacuzzi VIP opening
Ponsonby hospitality sisters Bronwyn and Jessica Payne opened their newest Ponsonby Rd venue, Jacuzzi, last week with a VIP party.
The former site of SPQR has been transformed into a large European-inspired space set to welcome past regulars and a new generation of customers.
More than 150 guests enjoyed Champagne Ruinart, an array of wines and cocktails to accompany great canapes and a Caviar bump bar.
Past regulars on the invite list included Colin Mathura Jeffree, celebrity chef Anne Thorp, architect Darren Jessop, beauty editor Helene Ravlich, broadcaster Wilhelmina Shrimpton and her fiance rugby referee Ben O’Keeffe, Baran de Bordeaux’s owner Chrystelle Baran and husband musician Nick Fernyhough, and shoe designer Kathryn Wilson and her husband, NZ Fashion Week’s new director of the board Liam Taylor.
Moneyed guests included NZMS director James Kellow, Cook Property Group’s MD Ben Cook, Rich Listers Malcolm and Jodie Dick, Ladstone Holdings’ Ross and Dallas Pendergast, with daughter Charlotte Vickers and her husband Tim.
Guests were impressed by the Paynes’ dramatic design changes. The sisters also own Ponsonby’s Hoppers Garden Bar and Elmo’s.
SPQR’s bar has been transformed into a grand statement in the new Jacuzzi, featuring elegant criss-cross mirror detailing above.
The previous two bathrooms have been replaced by six beautifully decorated bathrooms.
The centrepiece of the renovation is the new large courtyard space, now covered in glass. A wall has been removed to open up the former SPQR storeroom, creating a spacious and inviting area.
Defender Experience at Takapoto
VIP guests enjoyed the hospitality at the 2025 Takapoto Classic, courtesy of Defender.
Assuming the northeast spectator zone overlooking the grass arena, guests watched the Derby and Grand Prix level show jumping in the heart of the action.
Waikato philanthropists Mitch and Kate Plaw have created the stunning Takapoto Estate grounds, complete with the very best arena footing, equipment, and facilities. Their daughter, Mikayla Plaw is the event director and the family enjoyed spending time in the Defender Experience zone for the weekend.
NZ racing royalty Lance and Bridgette O’Sullivan were also in attendance with their family, as part of a week-long celebration leading up to the wedding of daughter Caitlin to former Wellington Phoenix player Tom Doyle. Caitlin’s sister Georgia was also in attendance, accompanied by her boyfriend, All Black, Damian McKenzie.
Carena West, who is an Auckland Racing Club Ambassador and World of Wearable Arts award-winning artist, also attended with friend Katie Flett, who is a mainstay on the racing fashion circuit.
Also enjoying the showjumping action were NZ Herald Editor-at-Large, Shayne Currie with his wife, NZ Woman’s Weekly Editor, Marilynn McLachlan.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.
