Interview and photograph by Florence Noble.
Bacon-seller, entertainer, romantic – the youngest Bacon Brother is all about adding a little humour and delight to the everyday.
What do you do here?
I’m the youngest of the Bacon Brothers. There are three of us and we’re trying to bring some fun Kiwi culture into Auckland city.
Yes, I saw you deliver your bacon butties in a delightful way.
I just reckon on a Saturday morning, everybody needs a little bit of happiness so I think getting down on one knee to deliver people’s food is something you don’t experience often. And there’s not one person who doesn’t smile for it. The whole idea is to find cheeky ways to make people happy, and connect with people. For the last seven years I’ve been doing that and everyone loves it.
Where do you get your bacon from?
We get it from Pokeno, down south, and Karapiro. They’re freedom farmed. We team up with local suppliers, and it’s all about the best – no added preservatives and additives, just pure bacon, treated fairly. It’s better for the planet and better for the animals.
How did you start doing this?
We started this seven years ago in Christchurch, just in the farmers markets, just as a hobby and now we have a little restaurant in Christchurch, and a new one in Takapuna, that’s just a month old.
Where are you from?
We’re from North Canterbury. We thought we’d bring a bit of the farmland feel up to the big city.
How did you get into this?
I just wanted to make a difference. I studied accounting and tax and became a corporate accountant and was making people wealthier, but not truly happy and wasn’t connected to people. Being part of the Kiwi community is my passion so once we came up with selling bacon and banter, and the potential to connect with people, I put my heart and soul into it and turned it into something that can provide for my lifestyle and travel.
What’s your idea of fun?
Theatre, acting and singing. Truly being yourself, away from the construct of fitting in. Doing what makes you happy. Music and dance. Sometimes I bring the guitar down when it’s a quiet day and do ad-lib songs. A little bit of homemade theatre. Laughter is so good for the soul. I try to get a smile out of every one. Like I’ll ask even the staunch business men: “If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be?” and it gets people out of their routine, and a slight smile on someone’s face who you would have thought you might never make smile.
Where’s your favourite place to eat around here?
I’m a little bit of a chef so I usually cook at home, but Ortolana’s amazing. They do from garden to table and I really care about that
What’s your speciality as a chef?
No specialty. It’s always ad-libbed. I’ll get my produce from here, and come up with something, but I love cooking for my flatmates. Some of it’s terrible, but you’ve got to learn, you’ve got to make mistakes to grow.
When you come to the markets where do you usually eat?
I normally get a smoothie from the smoothie and juice place. Or a Scandibunz.
Do you think local markets are the future?
Yes. I think the local council and the Britomart group here are trying to focus on bringing people here and together. It’s almost like the European feel, where everyone eats outside and connects with each other. The farmers market has a connection to what people care about now, like good quality, knowing your source, knowing what’s in your food, treating your body with natural, raw, good products.
Whats your favourite thing to spend money on?
Travel. Once a year I do three weeks to a month away. To learn things from other cultures. So like South America, they’re much more family orientated than Kiwis. And I’ve decided I want that.
You mean Pakeha Kiwis?
Yeah. Exactly. I’m from Christchurch, which is more predominantly Pakeha. We’re family orientated, but every second day we don’t go home and 16 people from the family don’t come together. I learnt that from South America and South East Asia. I travel to develop my personality and become the best version of myself from all the different ideas of the world!
Have you got your eye on any travel at the moment?
In one month I’ll be in the Netherlands. I found the love of my life in South America last year, and she’s Dutch – we’re doing long distance – so just going to go visit her. She’s 10 out of 10! So I might take Bacon Brothers over to the Netherlands.
Wow! Has she been here yet?
Coming in December.
How did you meet?
She was in Columbia, in the same hostel, and I convinced her to go out to dinner and then halfway through the dinner I told her we were changing it to a date – there wasn’t much risk because she was leaving at 4am the next morning – and she agreed. And then we managed to bump into each other three more times in different parts of Columbia just randomly. And so we made it official. We spent 17 days together and have done long distance for eight months!
Cute! So if you could be an animal for a day what would you be?
Ha ha. I think a juvenile lion. Young and happy. Do a bit of hunting maybe, but I don’t want to be the leader of the pride quite yet.
