Q What is your background?
I was born and bred in Otara. I came from the other side of the tracks ... I played rugby for Counties Manukau. I was a builder and came back from overseas when it all crashed in 1990. I got a job at Tip Top and in six months I was a supervisor. A supervisor of the whole plant and had 90 staff. After about 10 years it was then Kiwi Ice Cream as production manager and then New Zealand Natural as production supervisor. Over 20 years in ice cream.
Q What brought you to Oamaru?
Came here to coach rugby and never went back. [My shop] started off as a Tip Top ice cream parlour; then I had enough money to make my own.
Q What are you up to?
We just launched ice blocks which are sugar-free. Tested the Zero Heros with children aged 5 to 12 because kids don’t lie. They like them. It’s all about taste. You’ve got to make it taste good. It’s the future ... sugar-free. And we are creating ice dog blocks. I can make an ice block for pets without sugar. People put their pets first. They will go to the vet and spend two or three thousand on their pets before they spend that on themselves.
Q What motivated you to make sugar-free icy treats?
My mum is diabetic. One in four New Zealanders are diabetic. Costs us over a billion dollars in health. There are a number of kids in [the store] who are dairy free or lactose intolerant ... One kid comes in and wants an ice cream, but the brother can’t ... [Big] ice cream [companies] don’t want people having alternatives, but it’s the future. Sugar companies do not want you to use alternatives.
Q What are your views on sugar?
Tax the sugar. The Government says it can’t be done, but it can. They talk about cigarettes and alcohol being dangerous ... We’re addicted to sugar.
Q What is a creation you’re responsible for or partly responsible for that everyone would know?
The two-litre Jelly Tip ice cream Tip Top put out. I developed "Jelly Jam" and "Blue Goo".
Q Why spend your life creating ice creams and desserts?
I’ve got ice cream in my veins. I love it. It’s in the blood. I just like playing ... Pushing the boundaries making products people say you can’t make just to p... them off.
Q What is your earliest memory?
Probably peeing in the sandpit.
Q Why do people like ice cream?
It’s a treat, an indulgence. It’s the Kiwi way of life. We’re the second-biggest eaters before Americans per head. We’ve got the best cream and milk in the world.
Q What did you want to be when you were growing up?
An archaeologist. I just like old things. I love history.
Q What are your tribal affiliations?
Bit of everything: Italian, Maori with a bit of English thrown in and Scottish. A bit rebellious.
Q Who would you invite to your dream dinner party and why?
Tame Iti — it’s that smile. Indian chief Sitting Bull because he was another nonconformist.
Q What keeps you awake at night?
New ideas. I’m always scheming the next best thing.
Q What is the future of ice cream?
Our ice cream has been bastardised. It’s been made cheaper and cheaper. It’s a cut-throat business. It’s dog eat dog. Everyone’s gone to that market. That’s why I’ve gone to the sugar-free side of it. The ice-cream business is too crowded, but there’s still a lot of people who are diabetic or dairy intolerant. The future is a healthy treat.
