Nan's Kai Brings Food Made With Love
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Nan's Kai is an exciting new name but with old style values in the Invercargill takeaway market. Based in the former Dome Street Takeaways and Salt & Batter building at 111 Dome Street, Invercargill, the business ethos is 'food made with love' while the journey of business owner Lisa Patterson that brought her to this point is quite the story in itself.
The shop is open for takeaways from 4pm until 9pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday's each week.
Lisa says, "I am bringing back old-style fish & chips and our meats are locally sourced from Mighty Meats. Quality and locally sourced products matter to us. We have freshly sourced and battered fish, our Log Dog is based on the what the Pomona Street Takeaway offered back in the day and our Savage Dog is a battered chilli, cheese saveloy on a stick. Our burgers are true to old school fish & chip shops and we are always adding to our menu. We have Sweet Storm desserts to which we can add a pottle of ice cream. Unless I can make it by hand, I am not stocking it, so you won't find mass produced stuff – it is made with love. That is our tagline." Lisa has also just acquired Sugar Blast Lollies and will manufacture freeze dried lollies from her premises. There will also be a sugar free range of sweets and you will also be able to find these at the Southern Crafters Market at ILT Stadium Southland in July.
The irony is that when Lisa purchased the Dome Street premise's she had no intention to operate as a takeaway shop. It is just another twist on her pathway to where now finds herself.
Lisa originally worked as a degree qualified nurse. A change of career saw her at Larnach Castle in Dunedin as a Castle Keeper and that is where her professional food journey began. "At Larnach Castle I drifted towards the café." In 2020 Lisa commenced employment at Lees Catering. "I stepped forward there and managed the Ka Ora Ka Ako Healthy School lunches programme as it was known then, feeding 1800 school students right across Southland." With the demise of Lees Catering Lisa took over their business interests, continuing to run the school lunch programme and also becoming the resident caterer at Ascot Park Raceway. "Peter Kett became my mentor during this process," she says.
"When the current government made changes to the school lunch programme that resulted in a loss of contracts, I was left with Ruru Specialist School and their satellite classes so that led me to the Dome Street premises. I had no intention to get into the takeaway market. I bought the shop so I could use the kitchen to continue providing lunches for Ruru." So, what changed? "It came from the community – their interest, need and feedback. People came door knocking asking if I was doing takeaways." So now Lisa does the lunches for Ruru School from Monday to Thursday and then from Thursday evening to Saturday she operates the takeaway side of the business.
The business operates from 111 Dome Street, Invercargill. Find Nan's Kai on facebook while Lisa can be contacted at [email protected], on messenger at Nan's Kai or by phone at 020 462 6524 (020 4 NAN KAI). A new website for Sugar Blast is imminent at sugarblast.co.nz.