NEWS

There’s always something happening at The Cozy Corner Taupo.

Taupo Business Awards 2023

The finalist announcement was an exiting night for us, we were nominated in 3 categories:

• Environmental Sustainability

• Employer of The Year

• Excellence in Community Contributions

At the gala dinner we were Highly Commended for our excellence in sustainability.

Cyclone Gabrielle February 2023

Our hearts are heavy, we feel at loss and pray & hope for the safety of those affected by the cyclone. The staff tips for the month of February will be donated to cyclone relief.

Friday 24th we have joined forces with other Taupō cafes in support of Hawkes Bay. Proceeds from all coffees sold between 9am & 10am will be donated as well.

In all we donated/collected $1255 to The Hawkes Bay Foundation & The Farmers Adverse Events Trust

Waste Management Minimisation

Since August 2020 we have proudly taken part in this council lead program. The aim is to generate as little waste to landfill as possible via conscious purchasing and sustainable practices. In our first audit, we scored 54% diversion, we were not happy with this and determination has led us to score 90% in October 2021 and 89% in April 2022. This makes us the first business in Taupo to achieve Platinum Certificate! Read About it from News at Taupo District Council

A waste audit will give a ‘snap-shot’ of the business waste stream and serve as a benchmark for which any subsequent audits can be compared to track progress. It will also provide information to be used when deciding on what steps to take for sustainable resource use.

This waste audit reflects only waste kept within the café, not waste that leaves the premises via takeaway food and drinks. Waste stats are based on weight, not volume.

The journey was rewarding as we made new connections with local organisations and individuals, with the café at the centre we host a swap and collection for glass jars, cardboard boxes, food waste and used coffee grinds. Who knew that worms eat napkins? All our small paper waste and soft tissue are now donated to the local Community Garden’s worm farm, cool!

Unfortunately, 53% of what does go to landfills is non-recyclable plastic, basically packaging food arrives in.

We need this to become a focus in our industry and I urge you all to ask your suppliers for affordable sustainable alternatives.

Coffee For Auckland

In the aftermath of the flooding in January 23 we donated $1 of every coffee sold for a day. We proudly donated $228 to Auckland City Missions flood response.

Dog Biscuit Fundraiser

During covid level 3 trading we challenged ourselves to cook healthy dog treats made entirely from our food waste. These we sold with all proceeds going to Taupo based CARE NZ Community, Animal Rescue & Education. We raised $181. The foundation of the recipe was a dog bone broth cooked for 72 hours until near solid. To this, we added roasted egg shell protein powder, dehydrated juice pulp, leftover bacon drippings, linseed, oat flour and an egg. To our knowledge, all the dogs loved their treats.

In November & December 2023 we again made our dog treats and another $250 was donated to CARE NZ.

Stella Awards 2024

Choosing the right categories to enter in the Stella Awards can be a daunting task. This year, we decided to step outside our usual boundaries and enter some alter native categories.

Entering the "Stella Survivor" category allows us to not only tell our story but also highlight the challenges (and celebrate the wins) that the entire New Zealand hospitality industry has faced in recent years. Since the onset of COVID-19, we’ve battled ingredient shortages, endured price hikes of over 50% on produce, and scrambled to source basics like eggs. The rising costs of staff, power, and insurance have only added to the strain.

Our café has always been about more than just serving food; it’s about making a difference in our community. That’s why entering the "Community Angels" category felt like a natural choice. From donating vouchers for charity to supporting staff in their fundraising efforts, hosting community events, and collaborating with local organizations, we’ve always believed in giving back. This category also gave us the chance to showcase our commitment to nurturing the next generation.

Finally, we’ve entered the "Customer Experience Masters" category because, for us, it’s all about maintaining old-fashioned values, operating with heart, and ensuring every customer feels valued. We take pride in catering to dietary differences and creating a safe, trustworthy dining environment for everyone.

We’re also incredibly proud of our team. Our Manager, Gerson, has been nominated as our “Team Titan” for his unwavering dedication, and our Assistant Manager, Jericho, is once again a nominee for “Customer Service Maestro.” Their hard work and commitment to our values are the driving force behind our success.

As we look forward to the Stella Awards, we’re excited to share our journey and celebrate the heart and soul of our café. Whether we bring home an award or not, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved, and we’re grateful for the community that has supported us every step of the way.

Taupo Triple Threat - Obstacle Course Race

Our TIC Xanthe is one of three top Taupō woman who have been selected to represent New Zealand in the 2024 Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) World Championships in Costa Rica. We are so proud of her! If you can help fundraise or want to have a look at the team head over to Taupo OCR Team.

Coffee Grinds for your Garden

As part of our commitment to waste minimisation we never bin our used coffee grinds. Please get in touch if you would like some for your garden, we always have plenty!

Pink Ribbon 2022

For this year’s main fundraiser we decided to host a Pink Ribbon Breakfast with the support from Pink Ribbon area coordinator Sheryl Helliwell. We pulled together 4 local small business sponsors, with the donations varying from prizes to auction, raffle and drinks.

To make it fun we made it a speed networking event “5 Minutes of Fame” to ensure all guests got to connect with their community. “Come together for good” is the official Pink Ribbon slogan.

Local MP Louise Upston & Deputy Mayor Christine Rankin were booked to make an appearance, however, both were at last minute unable to join us. We are proud to share that we collected $700 for the Pink Ribbon appeal this time round, making our total donations over the past three years $2400.

Pay It Forward

Community is right at our hearts and we run a pay it forwards scheme in support of our local Hospice.

Let’s get Gabby to London

2024 is an exciting year for Gabby as she is invited to the London International Youth Science Forum. Gabby was part of our Cozy work family in her early teens and we are thrilled to help her fundraise for the trip. Our Coffee Cake for Gabby raised over $300 towards her ticket.

Rescue Food

Since lockdown 1.0 we have been consciously working to utilise produce otherwise destined for waste. We have been working closely with Taupo based Misfit Garden, first to support their growth, then to create specials with any produce needing to be used. This (sometimes challenging) mission has kept us on our toes and tested our culinary creativity. We have worked with chestnuts, lots of daikon and odd-shaped cauliflower to name just a few. The thought that produce becomes waste purely based on appearance is obscure. If you have too much homegrown produce we are also happy to help you.

Young Talent

We have been blessed to have young Taupo entrepreneur and food photographer “That Green Olive” on our payroll. We took her on straight out of school in December 2020 with the promise to train her as a barista, a year on, she was a treasured barista and supervisor.

One of her passions is recipe development and we support her growth by allowing her to display and sell her delicious healthy slices in the café under her own name. It is a pleasure to see her commitment, pride and determination to invent. She is one to be watched!

Update 2024: We are so proud of Olivia, she has just published her first cookbook see it here

Ukraine Appeal

In May 2022 we wanted to support humanitarian work in Ukraine and decided to dedicate a weekend to fundraising. For every hot beverage sold we would donate $1 to Tearfund’s Ukraine Appeal. We raised $385 over the weekend. A few days later one of our regular customers popped by with an additional $100 donation! We were amazed! But it didn’t stop there. Lakanto, our monk fruit supplier, contacted us with a $500 donation bringing the over-all donation to $985 -WOW!

Meet The Barista

Our Manager & Head Barista, Gerson, was featured in the Restaurant & Cafe Magazine. Read about it here.

Taupo Business Awards 2021

The entry process is a huge written document about your business. Over 14,700 words went into our application - and I’m still speechless!

We are finalists in all categories entered:

• Small/medium business

• Marketing & social media

• Environmental sustainability & community contribution (where we are also Highly Commended).

This was our second time entering the awards, the last time, 2 years ago, we were also stoked to be a finalist in the emerging business category.

Stella Awards 2022 - 1 Highly Commended & 4 Finalist Placements

The Spark Stella Awards this year is all about celebrating the survival of the past 2 crazy years of covid. We are stoked to announce we as a business are a finalist in three categories: The Taupo District Council "Green Gang.”Westerman "Dream Team.” More FM "Community Angels."

We also nominated team members for individual achievement categories:

Highly Commended "The Eco Warrior" Sasha Jasser"

“Customer Service Maestro" Jericho Withers