1494 days ago

Christchurch barista of the year surprised by nomination

Jake Kenny Reporter from Community News

If you’re after a good brew, Fumi Takai is the man for you.

The Japanese native and long-term Cantabrian recently won outstanding barista of the year at the Canterbury Hospitality Awards, and said he didn’t know he was nominated until one of his customers told him.

Stationed at Riverside Market in the central city since October 2019, Takai’s Espresso Studio by Fushoken has become a staple caffeine hotspot for many who work in the CBD.

Takai found out about his nomination two weeks prior to the ceremony when a customer began to congratulate him. Confused, he searched Facebook and found his name with a list of nominees and decided he would go to the ceremony, but never expected to win.

“I was so happy. To be nominated in the top four was great, but to win the award was special.”

Takai has developed a strong regular customer base in just under a year – estimating that about 70 per cent of his customers had been there before.

Have you been to Takai's coffee shop?

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More messages from your neighbours
10 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 62.3% Summer
    62.3% Complete
  • 36.3% Winter
    36.3% Complete
  • 1.4% Other - I'll share below
    1.4% Complete
1646 votes
2 days ago

Best way to use leftovers?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.

What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.

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18 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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