Sisters set for Greytown cafe opening

COOKERY GURUS: Nicky Brindle and Sue Wright open a new cafe and cookery school in Greytown.PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A new eatery with a "fresh approach" to traditional cafe style and service will grace Greytown's Main St as of next week.

Sisters Sue Wright and Nicky Brindle are hoping the doors to their new venture, 2 Short Whites, will be set to open on Monday.

The sisters said they had gone for a "contemporary, yet warm and friendly" atmosphere for their cafe and restaurant, which would also offer cooking classes.

"We're going to reinvent the way we tackle food and take a fresh approach that suits the way people eat now," said Mrs Wright.

2 Short Whites will run an all-day "brunch-lunch type thing" that will be changed seasonally, and a menu of three or four lunch dishes that will change weekly

"We want to create an environment where people aren't afraid of asking for what they want."

To start with, the cafe will be open from 8am to 4pm, seven days a week, with more services gradually added to the mix.

2 Short Whites will run cooking courses for kids, "blokes" and budget cooking classes for students.

The sisters have designed an open kitchen, which is incorporated into the cafe space for this purpose.

Once the duo, who are Le Cordon Bleu-trained, have the cafe running smoothly they will introduce "a fancy night bistro with a chef's table".

Eventually evening guests will have the choice to sit at a banquet table next to the open kitchen and be served a "mystery meal" chosen by the chef and cooked in front of them.

Mrs Wright said the past six months, pushing the idea through to fruition, had been intensive but site owner Steve Pilbrow had helped to make their visions a reality.

"We came along, two old ladies, and gave him a concept that probably wasn't in his initial plan.

"He was hoping to have two tall blondes but has ended up with two short whites."

The kitchen and front of house services are to be run by a European couple, Mike, from Austria, and Corinna, from Germany.

Mrs Wright said she had met them while the couple were backpacking through New Zealand.

She had employed them to clear out a stream for her and then invited the couple to stay at her home.

"They stayed with us for three weeks and we discovered he was a fine-dining chef.

"They went back to Europe and then we contacted them to come back for another adventure."

The sisters are passionate about serving "responsible food" with high nutritious value.

"We'll make all the bread, which will be fermented for 24 hours, and there will be no sugary soft drinks," said Mrs Wright.

Mrs Brindle for 20 years owned Toads Landing, a "fabulous" catering company and wedding venue at Homebush in Masterton.

Mrs Wright, from Greytown, owned Swingers Restaurant and Golf Driving Range for 10 years before running her gift shop, Mondo, both in Greytown, for the next 10 years.

"I tried retirement but it didn't appeal to me at all," said Mrs Wright.

"We need one last adventure.

"No one else will employ us so we've had to employ ourselves," she said.