Cake cutie on Waiheke - Shared Kitchen

ByJulie Biuso 1 December 201531 August 2023 6 Comments

Opening a little cakery in Ostend on Waiheke was not something top of mind for Jane Burn, but when she heard that a small cottage on Putiki Road she had always admired was up for lease, she knew she had to get it, “I couldn’t let anyone else have it. It’s so iconic," she enthuses.

Jane didn’t want an all-consuming business – along with husband Stephen she owns Island Coffee – and so came up with a concept for a small business offering coffee, tea and treats, not run-of-the-mill fare, mind, but something special you were unlikely to find elsewhere, and to open it just a few days a week, making it a treat to visit rather than somewhere you popped into every day. Imagine that on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road! A business closed half the week! Waiheke thrives on such quirky ideas.

The next step was talking to chef Jen Perry (ex Bennett’s Café in Mangawhai). Jen cooks at the Oyster Inn from time to time where husban...