2 May, 2018

The taste of excellence

Producing high quality food and giving back to the community are two of the most important things for Michael Khuwattanse- nee, owner and founder of  The Taste of Thai.

Since opening in 2013, the business and its food have grown exponentially. “We started with three or four staff, now we have 10+ staff and growing, due to demand” says Michael, who has been working in family restaurants since he was fifteen.

After working his way through every different restaurant job, Michael went on to study a Bachelor of Commerce at The University of Auckland. “I was working full time at an insurance company, while running The Taste, until about a month ago,” he says. “I quit my job because I didn’t feel like I was making much of an impact working corporate. I want to be in a place where people can express their passion and grow.”

Michael now focuses on The Taste and aims to continue to improve the business.

The takeaway only uses fresh ingredients and is now serving all free-range meat and eggs. “Takeaway food usually means low quality food, but I want to challenge that. We want to be ethical and we want better ingredients for our food.” The Taste have now partnered with Otaika Valley free range eggs. “We are also excited to be working on a vegan menu, which we aim to introduce soon. This will be in addition to our current menu. So keep an eye out for that online.”

In December last year, Michael decided he would like to be able to give back to the community in other ways. From every order of spring rolls sold, The Taste now donates $1 to The Wilson Trust. “One of my staff members told me about the Wilson Trust,”

Michael says, “and I went to meet with them. What they do is inspiring, it’s touching people’s hearts and they go above and beyond. There’s no doubt that we formed a partnership right away.”

Michael, and all the staff at The Taste, feel at home in Devonport and are excited for what the future holds. “What we love about Devonport are the people and our customers” says Michael. “They’re honest and we get consistent feedback. I love that Devonport is community driven and filled with really positive people. We are really focusing on building a strong foundation, and are looking toward online ordering and delivery. In addition to our current Uber Eats delivery, pickup & small dine in options.”

 

You can find The Taste at 3/67 Lake Rd and online at thetaste.co.nz