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Tasty Temptations food trailer owner and entrepreneur Esmeralda Oppelt, who featured in Mahurangi Matters Rodney’s recent Secret Eats series, realised her dream when she opened her first store in Kaiwaka on Saturday, November 29.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and not just because it was a beautiful sunny day in the quaint rural town – the opening coincided with her nine-year NZ anniversary, to the day.
“Nine years ago, I arrived in New Zealand from South Africa. And that makes it even more special.
People brought me some flowers and that makes me feel so good, because this is a dream come true after all these years,” Oppelt said.
“I’d wanted to organise a ceremony but didn’t have time because when we arrived at 8am this morning there already were 15 people waiting outside the store. At 8am. But I was officially supposed to open at 9am.”
Mahurangi Matters arrived just after 1pm and about 50 people had already come through.
“It’s been quite busy. South Africans, Kiwis, locals, as well as people from out of Kaiwaka. I put the South African and Kiwi flags out front because it’s not just for South Africans, it’s for New Zealanders as well.
“Everyone was so glad for the shop opening here and said it’s something good for the town. We even had the local newspaper, the Kaiwaka Bugle drop by. I don’t know how they knew. It was quite exciting.”
Oppelt’s famous samosas sold out fast, and the biltong (South African air-dried, cured meat) was also very popular.
“There’s a biltong bar next to the cafe that sells various types of biltong. You can choose your own steak and just bring it to the counter and we slice it for you. I don’t think that’s available in other shops.
So that’s something different and excites people.”
Oppelt said it took around three weeks to get the shop ready, which is divided into two separate rooms connected by an open doorway, with the biltong bar on the left and the Tasty Temptations cafe on the right.
“I was here during the day, then I’d go home and in the evening come back with my husband and do some more work.”
Now all those hours, not to mention years of dreaming, have paid off.
Tasty Temptations in Kaiwaka is open seven days a week, from 8am to 6pm.
