The Inspired Pantry

Josie Macfarlane and Lauren Campbell graduated with their Certificate in Professional Cookery (Level 4) from Otago Polytechnic in 2009. It’s safe to say the pair has had a busy year since; they have just opened their own catering company in Dunedin, armed with inspiration from Europe and beyond.

"We were originally inspired by Market Day at the Polytechnic where we spent the day driving around delivering orders we had taken for food produced by students in our class" explains Lauren. "We thought, we can do this."

The pair began to formulate a plan for developing their own catering company, specialising in home delivery and corporate catering, with the encouragement of lecturers Adrian and Steve at the School of Hospitality. While they had certainly learned the basics in their programme, they had also developed an interest in artisan food production thanks to special demonstrations of skills such as cheese-making, organised by the hospitality team.

Following graduation, the pair travelled through Europe and America for a couple of months getting ideas and ‘testing their relationship’ before returning to Dunedin to plan their company. Driving through the back-roads of Europe and dependent on a GPS system often at-odds with reality may have been a challenge, but the experiences they had were well worth the effort.

"Sometimes the roads were there, sometimes they weren’t!" says Josie. "But it was inspiring just to get away from the usual" adds Lauren. "We explored a lot of little villages.

"Everyone always asks us what our favourite meal was, but it was really overall the use of ingredients, the simplicity of the food and how well they use their ingredients.

"Unfortunately produce is not as available here" adds Josie. "In Europe you can get a ball of mozzarella for 38 Euro cents. Here it can be about $15!"

Lauren and Josie have renovated a shop in Helensburgh to be their commercial kitchen, and have purchased a van, uniforms and equipment. While they have been working part-time in the lead up to the launch, they are now exclusively focused on developing their business.

"We’re thinking big and can’t wait to expand, but we want to start small and get it right every step of the way. It only takes one time of being below-par for you to lose customers."

"Our food style is just good quality food that people can really enjoy" adds Lauren. "We’ve spent a lot of time researching recipes and picking the best ones "And there’s been lots of eating. Lots!"