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Kim Evans through the looking glass treats Through the windows of Little and Friday you'll see the powder to plate process at its clearest WHEN THE QUEUE FOR a café stretches out to the pavement on most weekends you know that you are about to experience something divine. Slightly tucked away in suburban side-streets, cult followers flock to Little and Friday's Takapuna and Newmarket stores in Auckland. Little and Friday's journey began in Sydney with cash-strapped fine arts student, Kim Evans baking goods in exchange for art supplies. Years later, back in New Zealand, the self-taught baker returned to baking and for five years owned the company Ice It, which made sculptured cakes for weddings and special occasions. After some time in Christchurch, Kim made the move to Auckland and with no capital the solo mother of two set up a small operation baking goods and taking them to the masses at the Takapuna Market. Over the next two years Kim slowly gained enough money to buy a bigger oven, new appliances and so on until she had enough for a commercial kitchen. A quaint eatery was built around the idea of transparency for its customers. Early each morning the team gets to 100 | www.hermagazine.co.nz work, and for those who meander past the Little and Friday windows they can see them hard at work. "I'm very protective of how I want my food to look and taste so I make sure I have the right people working with me," Kim says. "The business has consumed me. Because we had no capital every second of my time was devoted to the business." Originally only open on Fridays (hence the name) Kim loved the idea of taking out the guess work for customers as to whether what they were buying was made that day. She would prep all week to sell her goods in the shop on Fridays and then at the markets on Saturdays and Sundays. Kim says the community-based feel to the café has meant that Little and Friday has become the bustling neighbourhood local: parents congregate around the communal table to catch up while kids entertain themselves covering the pavement in chalk drawings. By morning tea the sleepy street is overrun with foodies from further afield who appreciate seeing bakers bringing trays laden with treats straight from the ovens to their plates. As the day goes on, the cabinet and shelves empty out, the ovens are turned off and latecomers scavenge through the slim pickings of the day's leftovers. The street breathes a sigh of relief and reverts back to its former sleepy self – until tomorrow. Kim supports all things free range and organic. It is a cause she feels so passionately about that, "if someone sat me down and asked what I'd like to do if children and money weren't an issue, I'd say to have a café that served only organic products." Little and Friday has a working garden that grows all the salad greens, herbs and tomatoes in her baking. She uses free-range meat and has developed strong relationships with local farmers. These relationships have lead to a great contra arrangement, whereby Little and Friday reduces its waste by giving food scraps to local pig and chicken farmers in return for free-range pork and eggs. With no intention of ever writing a book, Kim was approached by one of her regulars, 'a big wig at Penguin Books' to produce a collection of Treats From Little and Friday. All involved were virgins to the publishing word. But didn't they do well! With over 65 recipes, Treats From Little and Friday is a stunning celebration that shares Kim's most popular cakes, loaves, biscuits, slices, sweets, tarts, doughs, savoury tarts and pies. Full of easy helpful tips and with sections on pastry, preserves, finishing and fillings, these approachable recipes have been adapted for the home cook so that even the novice baker will be able to master the style and delights of Kim's delicious café treats. www.littleandfriday.co.nz