By Lyn Potter
What do gourmet ice cream, beer, sticky date pudding and opera have in common? They were all part of
a foodie event which the Sustainable Business Network and Kohu Road Ice Cream co-hosted recently at its new
ice cream factory in New Lynn.
On the way there I felt a bit apprehensive, as the invitation warned guests to wear warm coats. Which part of the factory
were we heading for, the freezer?!
Decked out in my neck to ankle with a black woolen coat (bought for a recent weekend getaway to windy Wellington), I felt I could cope! I need not have worried; the party was in full swing when we arrived in a large but cozy
space well away from the freezers.
The event was called "Simple Pleasures",
which is at the heart of Kohu Road's philosophy. By "simple", they mean they are part of the modern world
movement towards slow food, organic produce and simple clean flavours - the way
food used to be before pesticides, herbicides, emulsifiers and preservatives
came on the scene.
Kohu Road Ice Cream! I have had a passion for it ever since it first came onto the
market! A treat to be able to sample
their four new deliciously smooth and fruity sorbets: Mango, chocolate, strawberry
and passionfruit. Already out in some specialty stores, they'll be on the
supermarket shelves in October.
I tried a pairing of Country Culinaire's Date Pudding with Kohu Road Golden Syrup ice cream, an affigato - a shot
of hot Kokako espresso poured over a scoop of Kohu Road vanilla ice-cream, cheeses from
the Over the Moon Dairy, and cold cuts from Salash delicatessen, which is housed
just up the road from the Kohu Road factory. Here everything is made in the old
fashioned way using natural drying and smoking processes and spices.
All this washed down with a glass of Matua Shiraz, one of Epic pale ale and a bottle of "Good" Premium Spring Water served in a recyclable plant-waste water bottle.
Eating and drinking all this could have been a recipe for intestinal disaster but no, I felt sustained and ready to
listen to some stirring arias put on by the New Zealand Opera Company.
The evening turned out to be a great
opportunity to network and meet members of the Sustainable Business network, a
growing community of over 750 businesses from all over New Zealand. Sustainability, I was
assured, can enhance profitability. Many of the businesses who join the network
take the first step by reducing their energy use, which is a smart way of
saving. Then they start to look at the bigger sustainability picture, the
social, financial and environmental aspects.
I asked Greg Hall, our host from Kohu Road, why he decided to join the Sustainable Business Network. He feels they have good intentions and are spreading a great message so anything he can do to help them and the cause is good.
His definition of a sustainable business is "a profitable, ethical, pro-actively good company."
He was motivated towards making his business a sustainable one because of his personal philosophy. He has been a
vegetarian for 20 plus years and has always made a conscious effort to reuse, reduce and recycle. He says it's been great for business. As he puts it, "sustainability enhances profitability with a massively positive ripple effect.”
So, as actions speak louder than words, I was keen to know exactly what Kohu Road is doing to reuse, reduce and recycle. Greg gave me a long list which included:
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Reuse: They reuse the cardboard boxes they send their products out in. Their furniture, desks, tables and shelving were all reused from other people or offices. For ice cream service on the premises they use stainless steel containers which can be reused.
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Reduce: They remember to turn off the lights, turn the printers off and unplug the phone chargers. They give unsaleable stock to hospices, the city mission or other groups, rather than throwing it away. They share their forklift with neighboring businesses. They decided not to build an office so their desks are in the corner of the warehouse, and they have a marquee tent in the winter just to heat the space where they work. They use their own cars to carpool or run or cycle to work, so there's no need for a fleet of company cars.
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Recycle: They recycle everything possible including their paper, cardboard, PLA and other plastics. Only rechargeable batteries are used, their food waste is turned into compost, their power is from a renewable supply, and they use recycled toilet paper.
On the side of the one litre Kohu Ice Cream tubs there's a message which says “Great to re-use for leftovers or lunch,
arts and crafts, school projects or in the garden.”
Having been motivated to act more sustainably, I have put the kids playdough and paints in small lidded Kohu Road Ice Cream pots. They think it's all good because not only has it prevented these from drying out but they got to eat some of that delicious Kohu Road Ice Cream first!
Find out more about the Sustainable
Business Network.
Find out more about Kohu Road Ice Cream.