Beginners guide to setting up your food business from home
DO YOU HAVE A DREAM TO OPEN YOUR OWN FOOD BUSINESS?
People go into business for a variety of reasons. Some want to provide employment for themselves, while others are motivated by the challenge of being their own boss. The hospitality industry is an attractive investment as it can have comparatively low start-up costs. It is also enticing because eating and drinking is something that we do every day and therefore it makes everyone an expert!
Some essential characteristics
- A genuine desire to make people feel welcome
- Being good company with a generous and giving nature
- Relentless attention to detail.
- Being knowledgeable, curious and enthusiastic about your product
- A willingness to anticipate customers’ needs
Course Outline
This course looks at how to turn your dream into reality and understand better, how to work methodically through the requirements.
We look at key information regarding the setup of a kitchen in your home.
Starting with important information from Auckland Council, or your local council and working through the approval process.
We will talk about
Food control plans
Farmer's markets, night markets
Small activations
Pop-ups
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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