Aroha Restaurant: Breeders' Cup Taste of the World 2014

On Friday night, Gwithyen and I had the honor of representing New Zealand Cuisine at the 2014 Breeders' Cup Taste of the World event hosted by Bobby Flay! It was an incredible experience that will stay with us for a lifetime.

The past two weeks leading up to the event, nerves were definitely flying high as Gwith prepared and had to focus his attentions fully on Taste of the World, rather than the usual day-to-day service at Aroha! His sleep became less and less as he got ready for the restaurant's biggest event thus far. During the days leading up to the event, Gwith had some of our team members in the Aroha kitchen help prepare, including Becky, our line cook (and also server), who sliced the majority of our venison carpaccio for the event!

On Friday afternoon, we arrived at the Huntington Library's prestigious East Lawn, where we, and five Le Cordon Bleu volunteers, unloaded all of the food from the car and brought it into the purple decorated tent. As we wandered in towards our booth, we looked from side to side reading the names of the other 14 world-renowned chefs representing their countries, including Iron Chef Eric Greenspan, Michelin star restaurant chef Brendan Collins, food writer & TV personality Martin Shanahan, and award-winning pastry chef Francois Payard. We felt so honored to be representing New Zealand Cuisine among this talented group of chefs.

Gwithyen platting his Venison Carpaccio

After setting up his station, Gwithyen wandered over to the Irish table and introduced himself to Executive Chef, Ed Cooney. Just moments into the conversation, they discovered they had a mutual friend in common. Gwith worked under a talented chef in New Zealand who also happened to be Ed's Sous Chef in Ireland! It's crazy how small this world is! Ed, who has showcased his food for multiple years at Taste of the World, gave Gwith and I some helpful information, including how to pace ourselves. He let us know that it would start out slow and steady and then we'd just be hit for two hours straight. And wow, he couldn't have been more accurate!

Gwithyen Thomas and Ed Cooney

As the doors opened at 5pm, people slowly started trickling in. As I stood there, I even began thinking, "Maybe we shouldn't have plated so many dishes right away! There doesn't seem to be enough people." Within a blink of an eye though, I ended up eating those words. Before we knew it, hundreds of people started approaching our table. Our team couldn't plate fast enough! We would set 40 plates on the table, Gwith would turn around to begin plating more, and within two minutes, I would've handed off all 40 plates. Not only were people loving Gwith's venison carpaccio, they were coming back for seconds and thirds! Throughout the evening we had people telling us our venison was the best dish at the event and guests were recommending our table throughout the crowd! Among all of these other established chefs, that was an amazing compliment. The chefs from the other tables began approaching us as well and snagging a plate or two. My favorite moments though were when a guest would come over, read "venison" and shy away. Every time this happened, Gwith told them that once they tried it, they'd never look back. And sure enough, they'd each try it, and their faces would fill with joy as they swallowed their first bite. Within moments, they would turn around, walk to their group of friends, and bring them back to the table!

Amongst the 1,200 guests, we eventually had host and celebrity chef, Bobby Flay, come over to the table. He thanked Gwith for being there and after a short conversation, walked off with Gwith's venison carpaccio. The following day, Gwith chatted with him again. Not only did Bobby remember Gwith's dish, he said it was "excellent" and he will definitely be visiting our restaurant in the future.

As the night progressed, things only became crazier! At times, we would run out of plated food and guests would begin lining up at the table, with forks in their hands, waiting for the next plate. It ended up getting to the point where Gwith was plating a single dish at a time, handing it to me, and I was handing it straight to a guest while he'd begin plating another one. I even tried speeding up the process by drizzling olive oil on the plates and garnishing the dishes myself...which speaking as a non-chef, I have NO idea how Gwith drizzles olive oil while covering up the nozzle with his finger. I tried it and all I got was olive oil on my hand...not the plate. Clearly this is one of the many reasons I'm not a chef! Part way through, I looked at my phone to get a glimpse of the time. I was thinking, "Surely we only have another hour or so left! We've served hundreds of people, time must be flying by!" Ha. We had only been serving the flood of people for about fifteen minutes and we had about 3 hours left to go! By around 8:45 pm, it finally began to calm down. The tent slowly cleared out and we began having a steady flow of individuals stop by to taste the food, or return for their second, third, or fourth serving!

As the event came to a close, we packed up, and headed out of the tent into the pouring rain, where we were driven back to our car by a golf cart. The next morning, we got dolled up to go to the Breeders' Cup World Championship and hang out in the VIP Trophy Lounge. We had lots of fun placing a few bets (that we always lost on, of course), and chatting with the other chefs. Around 2 pm, we headed to the Winners Circle where group photos were taken of all the chefs and the BC Turf Sprint winning horse and owner, Bobby's Kitten, were awarded their trophy from Bobby Flay. In the meantime, my parents and sister stayed at home watching the Breeders' Cup on NBC Sports. While they caught glimpses of Gwith and I on the TV during the Winners Circle, we were most excited to see Gwith's venison during the Taste of the World segment. I later discovered this segment was also on the regular NBC network too! Besides being on NBC and NBC Sports, Gwith (and his venison!) were also on HRTV.

Click here to see more photos and the HRTV video from our experience at Taste of the World.

Gwith and I on the Trophy Lounge's Purple Carpet at the Breeders' Cup World Championships

Needless to say, these past few days were amazing and we hope to experience it again in the years to come! If you'd like to try Gwith's venison, make reservations online now at our restaurant in Westlake Village, California.

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Aroha Restaurant: One of The Best Days of Our Lives

Do you ever have one of those days you wish you could put on repeat? Yesterday was by far one of the best days of our lives. It started with hectic prep work, continued into an amazing function at the restaurant hosting the New Zealand Consulate General and his guests, and finished with possibly what will be the best surprise of our entire lives.

To begin with, we couldn't have asked for a better first trial run at the restaurant. The Consulate General, Leon Grice, and his 20 guests absolutely loved the menu we offered. While Gwith was busy working, I got the pleasure to dine at the table and hear all of the rave reviews. I heard everything from, "I usually never take pictures of my food but this is picture worthy," to "It's been such a long time since I had a memorable meal" and so many more compliments. Needless to say, every item we served was a huge hit, as well as our New Zealand wines. One lady wanted to know where she could get a bottle of our Sauvignon Blanc. Our sommelier had to let her know that as our wines are primarily from boutique wineries, most of our wines can only be found at our restaurant.

Us with Leon Grice and a few of his guests

Throughout the meal, we had at least thirty local customers walk up to the door asking if we were opened. We also started taking reservations this past week for our September 10th grand opening and our September 9th soft opening for locals. We're only seating 40 people for our soft opening and we are already 90% booked. I know everyone is dying to see the menu, and since I'm in such a good mood today, I'm going to release a couple more items! We have already announced some highlights on our website, but I'd love to mention two more items that we served yesterday.

Crispy Pork Belly with butternut puree, roasted feijoa, baby cress, and a vanilla-champagne dressing

Raspberry Creme Brûlée served with coconut and a raspberry-passionfruit sauce

This week, we also release a photo of Gwith's Venison Dish:

Award Winning Venison pan roasted with sweet potato, cherry compote, pistachio, and a vanilla parsnip purée

We will be releasing the full menu soon, but I have to say, I'm loving releasing teasers at the moment! It's exciting to give everyone an idea of what we're serving without giving too much away too soon. Before I move on to the next amazing part of the afternoon, I must thank the staff that we had on board yesterday: Noe Lopez (Sous Chef), Jordan Greig (Sommelier), Brian Smith (Shift Leader), Alan Treitman (Junior Line Cook), and Miguel Villalpando (Dishwasher). For a first trial run, everyone did an outstanding job and we couldn't be more excited to have you all on our team!

Shortly after the last guest left, my parents and sister stopped by to say hello. Little did we know, we were about to get the best surprise of our lives. As we're talking to them, Gwith received a call from his sister, Muirie, in New Zealand. He talked to her briefly and then the phone was passed around to me. As I'm talking to her, the phone suddenly cut out. A second later, I glance at the front door and Muirie is walking in with our niece Alex!!!! It's been 10 months since Gwith saw them last and over a year since I've seen them. We were expecting them out in a couple of weeks but they surprised us early. Gwith's expression was amazing. If things couldn't get any better though, just moments later, our brother-in-law, Marcus, and Gwith's brother Rohan, also came walking through the door! While we expected Muirie and Alex in a few weeks, we were told Marcus couldn't make it. As for Rohan, he's never been to the US since Gwith moved out here, so that was incredibly unexpected, to say the least. It's impossible to describe how amazing their surprise was. I'm still tearing up just writing about it. The fact that they came out here early to surprise us and show their love and support for us and the restaurant is indescribable. We couldn't be more grateful to have such an amazing family and so much aroha around us.

When my family first walked in, my sister came in with her camera. Frankly, Raishel loves to take pictures of EVERYTHING so Gwith and I didn't think anything of it. We are so grateful that she captured this amazing memory on video:

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Aroha Restaurant: We're Opening in September!

Hi everyone! It's insane how busy these past couple of weeks have been. I've barely had time to think, let alone type a blog. So much as happened. I barely know where to begin with all of the updates.

Our past few weeks have been primarily focused on the final stages of the restaurant's construction. We made our final decisions on the floors, the wall colors, etc., and we've purchased our equipment and 80% of our furniture. We decided to forgo vinyl booths for the outside and instead have beautiful couch-style banquettes surrounding the back patio. We have a meeting next week for the shade sails that will be installed above the front and back patios...and then we have to find misters. We're still searching for our tables and chairs for the outdoors, which is why we're holding off on announcing our official opening day. We have an idea in our minds, but we don't want to make it official until we know our customers can actually sit and eat!

The completed walls and ceiling!

Aesthetically, the walls and ceilings are now complete...and our 10 foot long water feature has been delivered. Yes. I know I kept saying it was 8 ft but apparently a mix up made it 10 ft. Luckily, it fits. It did take six guys though to move it, and it was not easy! Gwith was actually too scared to watch.

The 10 ft long water feature being delivered.

The kitchen's tile floors are also done and the speaker system has been installed as well. We spent about an hour this week just searching for and downloading over 24 hours of Kiwi music. Our most exciting news however, is that we now have two completed rooms! The bathrooms! They are fully tiled and painted, and they look awesome.

Interior of the women's restroom.

This week, we also picked out our plates, silverware, and glasses. Gwith entering that shop was like a kid entering Disneyland. There were so many types and shapes to choose from. I have also ordered all of our menu covers, which will be a nice black leathery material, with our logo in silver. In bigger news, we purchased our POS system, which will be complete with a Guest Services System where we can take down our customer's allergies, preferences, birthdays and anniversaries, etc. With this system, we are excited to be able to implement a high level of customer service at our restaurant. Our system will also feature a large number of dish modifications so we can easily let the kitchen know about allergies.

This past month, we also brought on board our awesome wine director and sommelier, Jordan Grieg. He is searching far and wide to ensure that we have an amazing wine collection, with 50-70% of our list being from New Zealand. It's not easy to find in the USA and he is working his hardest to make this happen.

Throughout all of the craziness, something had to fall through. As I mentioned in the previous Aroha blog, we were hiring a muralist to paint the Auckland skyline. Unfortunately, a situation arose and this hasn't been able to happen. We are still hopeful to get a mural or large canvas painting done for the restaurant before opening, however, getting everything else done is our first priority!

We're getting down to the wire here and will be placing ads for our employees very soon. In between all of our meetings and decision making, I've been writing the employee handbook and training manual. It has been time consuming but I think it will pay off to have those available.

I officially feel confident now in announcing that Aroha will be opening in September! We have a majority of the furniture and equipment arriving by mid-August, and once we have the rest of our furniture ordered and begin hiring employees, we will officially announce our grand opening date.

That's it for our latest Aroha updates! We are so glad we got to get away to Catalina Island earlier this month. The vacation time was much needed and refreshed us for at least the following 24 hours! I would love to say that I'm only kidding, but it's actually kind of true! Hopefully within the upcoming days, I'll be able to blog about our Catalina trip, as well as continue my European Adventure blogs!!

Catalina Island July 2014!

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Aroha Restaurant: Our Westlake Magazine Cover & In Other News: Interior, Meetings, Phone Calls, Repeat

This week has been one of the craziest, if not the craziest of the summer. I'm trying to think of the last day we weren't in constant meetings or on lengthy phone calls regarding Aroha.

We began the week meeting with our good friend and mentor, Elie Balas, of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt. After weeks of going back and forth on whether or not we'd need to hire a general manager, Elie's advise convinced us that we could in fact run the restaurant on our own. It's funny. That was our original plan. However, somewhere amongst the hectic summer days, we began to question if we'd need another hand. When there's enough time to overthink everything, plans can change drastically. Thankfully, Elie brought us right back to our original focus. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better mentor and are so thankful we met with him before this hectic week truly began.

The rest of this week has been a lot of running around and a lot of interior design. First of all, we found a fantastic muralist here in LA to paint the Auckland Skyline within our restaurant. He begins sketching it on Monday and we cannot wait to reveal it! Our 8 foot long water feature is also nearing completion. For the last two days, we drove back and forth around the valley looking at flooring, picking up samples, checking out equipment, meeting with various people, and spending our in between time on the phone or emailing. Among other things, we picked out the bathroom tiles and stalls this week. It's funny how when you plan to build a restaurant, there are just certain things you don't think about in terms of the design. I'd have to say that bathroom stalls were definitely one of them! Who knew there were so many different types and colors to choose from?!

We also picked out our beautiful floors and walls. We are still working on figuring out the cabinets and counter tops! Luckily, we're not quite there yet, so we have a little bit of wiggle room.

On Monday, the wires for the sign will be installed. We are still trying to determine when we want to put the sign up. Originally, we were going to wait until opening, however, with all of the buzz, we're now starting to think we should put it up sooner.

Construction wise, everything is progressing like crazy! At the beginning of the week, the crew was working on installing the air conditioning and heating system, as well as finishing the walls. By yesterday, half the ceilings were already up and the hood system was being installed! We are currently talking with someone to install our sound system and will hopefully have that underway next week. I am so excited for everyone to see the restaurant when it's completed.

Typing all of this, I'm still not sure how we've done so much in just a weeks time. Besides everything mentioned above, I have also created all of the employee job descriptions. They are now ready to go and we will most likely begin our search within the next two weeks. As of yesterday, we now have a very talented man creating our wine list.

Next week, we will be looking at more equipment, as well as picking out our seats and tables! We're cramming in a whole lot on Monday, as on Tuesday, we're taking off to Catalina Island for our final three days of relaxation.

If there wasn't any better way to end this crazy week, our cover story in Westlake Magazine came out yesterday! We are so pleased with the article and would like to thank everyone involved for this incredible opportunity including the magazine's founder Rebecca Grossman, writer Charly Emery, photographer Jane Gibson, makeup artist Nicola Gerboc, reporter Robyn Flans, and Liz Barrett from the Chamber of Commerce.

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Our European Adventure, Part 3 - Tuscany: Pisa & Florence!

It's funny. As I said in my last Europe blog, Tuscany was my absolute favorite place of the trip. Strangely though, when asked what the worst place of the trip was, the answer would also be located within Tuscany. Where is that, might you ask? That would have to be Pisa.

Pisa
I'll never forget...the street sellers chasing us through the parking lot

After leaving the castle in Chianti, we began our drive to Florence. Before arriving in Florence, however, we decided to detour to Pisa. As we passed Florence and got on the tollway for Pisa, we accidentally drove through the wrong toll lane. At the time, we didn't know what that meant. Were we going to be chased after by the Italian police for not paying the toll? Were we going to get a ticket? We really had no idea what to expect. As we kept driving, nothing happened and we relaxed. When we got to the toll exit, we tried to go through the correct lane but suddenly realized what we did wrong: we never got a tollway ticket to insert into the machine. Whoops. As we tried to insert money, and it wouldn't accept it, a bunch of cars began pulling up behind us. Finally, Gwith pushed the help button and luckily the person on the line spoke English. They explained that since we didn't have the ticket, we would be charged €25 on our credit card. After numerous honks from the row of cars behind us, we were finally let through.

As we continued our drive, Gwith realized the gas meter was running lower and it was time to stop at a gas station. Unfortunately for us, we had no idea how to use the self service station, or which gas we needed. A friendly Italian motorcyclist came over to us and tried to help as best he could. He didn't speak English but he was able to point out which type of gas our car used. After he left, Gwith fiddled with the machine until he finally figured out how to use it. I took the opportunity of this stop to use the restroom at the station. The people in the store were really creepy and I was glad to get out of there quickly. Or at least as quickly as I could. I couldn't figure out how to use the bathroom key! It wouldn't turn, no matter how much I tried...and when I finally got it, I was almost stuck in the bathroom for good!

In retrospect, the creepy people should've been a warning for Pisa! When we arrived, we drove into a parking lot surrounded by street sellers. We kept driving towards the back of the lot to get away from them but as we parked, we could see one walking towards the car. We got out as quickly as we could. Unfortunately, we couldn't avoid him. We managed to continue walking, ignoring his efforts for conversation, and zigzagged our way out of the parking lot, past a large group of other street sellers. Once we were at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was cool. We had our fun taking photos with the tower and watching hundreds of other tourists doing the same. Was it worth the photo? Maybe. Maybe not. Basically, I'm glad I went because now I'll never how the urge to do it again. Before we left, we went into the McDonald's to use the restroom. To actually use it though, Gwith had to buy food to get the bathroom code. He wasn't exactly excited to eat McDonald's, because as he said, it tastes the same pretty much everywhere. Once we got back to the parking lot, Gwith stopped at the machine to pay. While we were standing there, the street seller approached us again, trying to sell us sunglasses. Gwith looked at him and told him he didn't need a pair. The man responded, "You have money for parking. You can buy these sunglasses." Gwith continued to shake his head and refuse. I clutched my purse and we walked back to the car, with the street sellers following behind. We were so relieved to get back into the car and leave for Florence!

Florence
I'll never forget...the amazing wines of Chianti

Our first night in Florence, we wandered to a local restaurant to eat dinner. Our dinner was mediocre but the real highlight was randomly meeting a couple from New York who knew an acquaintance of Gwith's from Auckland! It's crazy how small of a world it really is.

The hotel itself was quite strange. We stayed at Hotel Silla, and we're still convinced it was once a hospital and we were staying in the psychiatric ward. There were numerous alarming factors that led us to this conclusion. First of all, the layout of the Hotel screamed hospital. Secondly, the lock on the bathroom door had been removed. Thirdly, there was a public restroom in the corridor. Fourthly, there was a gate in front of the many steps to get down to our floor. Still not convinced? Here are some pictures:

Aside from the weird hotel layout, the people working there were at least friendly and I was pleased with how many gluten free options they provided me for breakfast!

The next morning, we headed out for our wine tour! We were thrilled to find out the tour guide was an American, only because we could actually understand her throughout the tour! Our tour group was full of very nice people as well and it was all around just a great, relaxing day. From the moment our tour begin, I could see Gwith's face light up with excitement. As our guide taught us about Chianti and the wines, I could practically feel Gwith soaking up every last bit of information.

The view from the second winery.

The first winery we visited had some of the best wines we had ever tasted. We ended up buying a bottle of the white wine, and in retrospect, I wish we had bought a bottle of our favorite red as well! We did take a picture of the bottles however, and got a information sheet for supplying the wines in our restaurant, Aroha. We are really hoping we will be able to provide some of these delicious wines! I could go on and on just about the wines but I can't forget the amazing cheeses and olive oil as well. I can not thank our guide enough for explaining the differences between real olive oil and the handful of fake olive oils sold in the USA. It was an eye opening experience for me and convinced me to find truly pure olive oils back home. It's appalling how many brands label themselves as "pure olive oil" but still use a mixture of olive oil and canola. Ironically, while Italian brands sold in Italy cannot get away with this, a large amount of the Italian brands exported to the USA, do. Here's a helpful tip for finding olive oil: Besides researching the brands, a pure olive oil should give you a fiery sensation in the back of your throat while tasting it.

While touring the winery, we learned about the use of sulfites in wine. While most wines already have natural sulfites from the grape skin, the wines sent to the USA have additional artificial sulfites added to preserve the wine longer. It was amazing to discover the difference between drinking wine in Italy versus back home. We had no next day headaches or sleepiness. The alcohol content was also lower and therefore, far less affecting. As a huge lightweight who can't normally go beyond half a glass, I'm living proof of this. I tried multiple wines at the winery and found myself doing okay.

If the day wasn't already going well, our next stop made Gwith's trip complete. For lunch, we stopped at a butchery owned by famous butcher, Dario Cecchini. Besides being known for his skills and restaurants, he has also trained Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. Gwith was ecstatic when he got to meet him and take a picture with him. The real highlight though for him was the lard Dario made. It was creamy, buttery, and full of flavor. Seriously, Gwith is still talking about it even now. Ask him what the highlight of the trip was for him? He'll say "lard".

The following winery was absolutely beautiful. The surrounding scenery was breathtaking. While the wines at this location weren't nearly as good, we still enjoyed our time, nonetheless. Afterwards, our tour guide took us all to a small village to stretch our legs and walk around before heading back to Florence. There, Gwith and I wandered into a meat and cheese shop. Gwith's eyes widened with excitement when he saw all of the meat hanging from the ceiling. I, however, was most excited about the stonewalled cheese cave downstairs. It shouldn't be a surprise that we ended up buying some things while we were there!

Florence

After arriving back in Florence, we walked along the river during sunset to find Florence's most popular gluten-free restaurant, Ristorante Ciro & Sons. It also turned out to be Florence's most popular restaurant in general. People were lined up at the door just waiting to get in! We were starving but it was worth the wait in the end. I got to enjoy gluten-free garlic bread and lasagna, while Gwith had a seafood pizza. For dessert, we shared lemon sorbet which was served inside a lemon. We also overheard a very interesting and um, inappropriate, conversation at the next table. I would share it on here but it's not exactly PG-13 material. It's questionable if it even falls under an R rating.

The next day, we were ready to leave Florence. Florence on the other hand, wasn't quite ready for us to leave. As we pulled onto the main street in our rental car, we discovered all of the main roads were blocked off for a race. Needless to say, our GPS wasn't happy and didn't understand the circumstances. As we tried finding a way out of the city, we stopped to ask a police officer where to go. Unfortunately, he didn't speak English well and directed us backwards. As we continued driving around confused, we found another police officer to ask who luckily spoke some English. She directed us on how to leave the city. Of course, this didn't stop the GPS from trying to tell us to turn around every chance it got. We thought detouring in LA was a challenge. Nothing beats trying to detour in a foreign city!

Quick Tips for Tourists Going to Pisa and Florence

• Don't go to Pisa.

• Okay. Go to Pisa if you really want the photo but please go with a group, and preferably, on a tour bus.

• Also, clutch your things while walking around Pisa and don't talk to strangers...unless they're tourists taking photos of each other.

• Stock up on Gluten-Free snacks in Florence, if you're GF of course! They have hundreds of tasty treats sold in the pharmacies.

• Do a wine tour and do it with this company, Tuscan Wine Tours. You won't regret it.

• My husband would not be please if I didn't write this, so I have to: try the lard.

• If you're gluten-free, going to Ristorante Ciro & Sons is a must. Be smarter than us though! Make reservations in advance if you'd like a gluten-free pizza. They need 24 hours notice. Most likely so the dough can rise to it's fluffy delicious self, like the pizzeria in Rome.

• Walk along the river at sunset. It's beautiful.

Next up on my European Adventure blogs: why Venice and Disneyland have similar qualities and why Milan is AMAZING and my husband should keep me away next time...

Our European Adventure Blogs

Part 1: Chicago & Rome!

Part 2: Tuscany - Our Drive to Chianti!

Part 3: Tuscany - Pisa & Florence! (Now Reading)
Part 4: Venice & Milan! (Coming Soon)

Part 5: Switzerland - Zurich & Lucerne (Coming Soon)

Part 6: The Magic of Paris (Coming Soon)
Part 7: Why the Hilton in Belgium Can't Get Customer Service Right (Coming Soon)

Aroha: Light Speed Ahead!

Big changes are now beginning at Aroha. During the week, our final permit was checked off, giving us the go ahead to continue and finish all of the construction! As of next week, we will be ordering our equipment.

Before the rest of the walls go up, we stopped by the restaurant with my parents and wrote our names on the inside of the wall, along with an "In loving memory..." for my grandpa and Gwith's mom. It's nice to know this will always be there, inside our restaurant. We are so grateful for all that Pa and Janet did for us and we know they would be proud. On another note, check out our beautiful artwork! Stick figure smiley faces and heart faces have been a long standing tradition in my family since as long as I can remember. It seemed only natural to draw them on the wall as well...and of course, we couldn't help but draw Willow too!

It's amazing how fast time has flown by. In just a few months, the place has gone from an empty space, to full framework, to plasterboards and soon enough, it will all be complete. It's crazy how in just a few days, the rest of the walls and the ceiling will be covered! Once it's finished, I will be posting photos of each of the steps!

This past week, Gwith and I finalized each of the menus and we are excited about our unique twists on a few Kiwi classics! We want to keep you guessing and in suspense until the restaurant opens, so we can't give anymore details beyond that. All I can say is though, the menu sounds delicious. We've also worked on plating styles (YES! I said we!). I'm still very excited that some of my styles will be at the restaurant. Honestly, since I'm not a chef, I didn't expect that. However, I sat down next to Gwith and started drawing some styles and he really liked them!

Other exciting news happened to us this week but we can't talk about it for another few weeks. It's incredible though and we are beyond flabbergasted about this opportunity!

Next week, Westlake Magazine hits local stores, offices, and hotels with our cover story! We can't wait to see what it looks like! If you live in an area that receives Westlake Magazine, be sure to check it out. If not, I think they also have an online version to view.

Time is moving fast now and in just a blink of an eye, we'll be opening. We are still expecting the first week of September but we'll officially announce a date as we get closer.

Switching topics from the restaurant, I'll give a short update too on one of our leisurely activities of the week! At the end of last week, my sister's fiancee, Miles, hosted an incredibly fun interactive murder mystery party! We searched the house for clues, trying to regain our memories, and figure out which one of us was the killer. The best part, however, had to be when Gwith, our friend Ben, and I were running around the backyard trying to escape being chased by a crazy person (aka my sister). When we heard a noise, Gwith ducked to the side of the house, hiding in the shadows, while Ben and I hid under a tree. Suddenly, we saw my dad walking by. Oddly, he looked straight at Ben and I, didn't see us, and continued to almost walk past Gwith too. Gwith, being the silly guy he is though, decided to jump out and scare my dad. Little did he know my dad was actually the killer of the evening! My dad taps Gwith, walks off, and Gwith sits on the ground. Ben and I came over to grab him, when he looks at us and says "I'm dead." Whoops. The rest of the evening, every time my dad tried to lure us away, we'd eye him and shake our heads. He had no idea we saw the whole thing go down! It was hilarious and way too much fun! Miles plans to eventually sell some of his murder mystery games. I will keep everyone updated on their availability in the future. They are great for parties and we may even host one at the restaurant someday!

Anyways, that's it for this week's update! Next week, the news and updates will be flowing as Aroha really begins to take shape! Tomorrow, I will be releasing Part 3 of my European Adventure blog, so please check it out when you get the chance!

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.

Our European Adventure, Part 1 - Chicago & Rome!

It's the strangest thing. The entire time we were on vacation it felt surreal. I loved every single moment of our trip to Europe but it was hard to believe we were there. Now, though, when I'm sitting around at home, or in the car, I drift off. I flashback to our trip and all of the amazing memories I have...and it finally feels real.

Chicago Memories
I will never forget...running in the rain.

The Giant Bean!

Before leaving for Rome, we stopped in Chicago. It was both of our first times there and I have to say, we absolutely loved the city. Our only mistake was dressing for the plane (jeans and short sleeve shirts) on an incredibly hot day! Luckily, Chicago has people like us in mind. They have a lovely little river in Millennium Park for passerbyers to stick their feet in and they have huge water features for people to run through. Of course, we didn't want to get to wet so we just walked beside the fountains and felt the mist. It didn't stop my jeans from getting wet though and turning my white tennis shoes blue!

For lunch, we enjoyed a lovely picnic in the park, with duck prosciutto and three delicious cheeses we picked up at a local cheese shop. Afterwards, we wound up walking along the Chicago River and on a whim, kayaking on the river! It was really fun, although the wind made it pretty challenging! We were slowly pushed into the wall a few times.

Our favorite memory of Chicago though will always be the rain. That night, after dinner, we stepped out of the restaurant to walk back to the hotel, and it was raining. We of course decided, "This isn't so bad, we can make it back to the hotel in 20 minutes." We had to get back before 7:30, when the Hilton's bag storage area closed. As we were walking though, the rain began to pour! So much for not walking through the water features earlier that day. We were completely soaked in a matter of seconds. We kept running short sprints and grabbing shelter every chance we could get. Finally, we were running out of time and tried getting a cab. Not a single cab would stop for us. Luckily, we grabbed shelter next to an apartment complex and the doorman was nice enough to turn on the "cab light". We finally got a cab to stop and we headed down the street to the hotel.


Rome Memories
I will never forget...the longest walk in the history of man kind.

There are so many stories to tell. So many incredible moments to share. So I don't ramble on for too long (this is a blog after all), I'll try to stick to the highlights.

Our first night in Rome, we were lucky enough to have an amazing restaurant right next door to the Star of Rome B&B we were staying at. Of course, we couldn't go to the restaurant without managing to have a mini adventure. When we got to the door of the B&B to leave, Gwith grabbed the door handle to open the door and the handle fell off. Screws and all. Luckily, he managed to fix it and we headed into the small manual elevator (where he couldn't resist playing with the doors and almost getting the elevator stuck), and then went to the restaurant. We were staying about a 30 minute walk from the Vatican so our location wasn't touristy at all...which made the food beyond incredible. First of all, the most remarkable thing about Italy is how healthy I felt from the food. Everything is cooked with olive oil, the flavors of the dishes aren't overpowering, and most importantly, for the first time in years, I felt good when eating. I didn't get the stomach aches I've grown accustomed to over the years. Now, we are well aware it's because the Italians don't use corn in most of their dishes or canola oil and their food is 100% organic. Coming home and switching to pure olive oil and organic food has already made a huge difference. So thank you Rome, for helping me finally figure out my diet issues after all of these years!

Me, trying espresso, and hating it.

Our first full day in Rome is to blame for our sore legs the rest of the trip. That's right. I'm pointing my finger at you, First Day. Originally, we were planning to spend the day in Pompeii, so we took a cab to the Termini Train Station. Once we were there, we discovered we had to get a ticket to get a ticket. Kind of like at the local deli. Except way more confusing and way less organized. The numbers would pop up at random and after an hour of waiting, we decided to skip Pompeii and walk around Rome instead. And walk we did. For seven hours. SEVEN HOURS. This from two people who pant walking to Jamba Juice, which is only a 15 minute walk from our house. I don't know how we survived this day but somehow we did and honestly, we had a blast! From the train station, we walked to the Colosseum and then stopped at a local restaurant for a bite to eat. We wandered the streets a little to find this place and avoid the tourist traps. The food was tasty but honestly, the real highlight of this stop was definitely the bathroom. I know that sounds weird but after I used the bathroom, I went to wash my hands. I couldn't figure out how to turn on the sink and instead, saw the soap container, not realizing it was soap, and spun it, assuming it was the water handle. The metal container spun straight into the sink, making a clattering sound that apparently rung throughout the entire restaurant. Lesson learned: Italian sinks sometimes turn on by foot pedals.

Tiber River

After eating a quick bite, we headed back to the Colosseum. We loved walking around and it was definitely an awesome sight to see. But in all honesty, the walk after the Colosseum was what I'll always remember. I'll always remember walking along the bridges, against the picturesque Tiber river. I felt like I was in a fairytale amongst the ancient buildings & bridges, the water, and the hovering trees. Clearly during this part of the walk, I was avoiding staring at the graffiti!

We continued our walk and detoured to a tourist free district called Trastevere in search of gluten free pizza. The GPS on my phone put us on the wrong street and we almost couldn't find the pizza place. With a little persistence though, we did find Ristorante Mama!, which will forever have the greatest gluten free pizza known to man kind. I'm so used to my gluten free pizza in the states having the consistency of a cracker. Thin crunchy crust. Not here. For the first time, I was able to enjoy a gluten free pizza with a thick, soft, crust. Gosh. Just typing about it is making my mouth water. Want to know the secret? They let it rise for 24 hours! That's probably why no pizza place does that out here. I don't think they'd have the patience. But seriously, if that's how long it takes to make something that tasty, they should have the patience. Because seriously, Ristorante Mama! needs to come to California, like ASAP. While sitting outside at the restaurant, a group of young school kids came walking by jabbering away in Italian. It was so cool to see a part of real Rome. We even saw a group of locals playing soccer in the street on our walk leaving Trastevere. By the time we got back to the B&B, we seriously thought our legs were going to die. With no will to walk more than a few feet, we decided to go to the restaurant next door again.

Gwith at the Vatican

The next day, because we're insane, we decided to go to the Vatican. Oh wait. Not just go there, walk there. And yes, our legs were still practically numb from the day before. By the time we made it to the Vatican, we were already exhausted and ready to call it a day. It didn't help that the Pope had apparently given a speech that morning so St. Peter's Square was as crowded and claustrophobic as San Diego Comic Con. It was actually scary trying to get around the crowds. Luckily, we booked a tour and got to skip the lines!

Because neither Gwith nor I are religious, and therefore the Vatican has no significant meaning to us, we got to enjoy just walking around taking pictures with the many statues. Gwith's photos were the best. He was really able to nail the expressions!

The Sistine Chapel was an interesting place to go in mainly because everyone was supposed to be quiet and the priests kept shushing the crowd. They had a panic attack when someone dropped their tour guide listening device. It was so loud, they all began frantically rushing over to stop the noise. I'm not gonna lie, it was crazy to see. The real highlight to me though was St. Peter's Basilica. It was incredibly beautiful and definitely worth seeing.

That night, when we arrived back at the B&B, we felt like we could barely move. We were eager to go back to our trusty restaurant downstairs but our host at the B&B informed us that they were fully booked that night. He suggested another restaurant that was a 15 minute walk up the hill. When we mentioned needing a cab, he went beyond his host duties and offered to drive us there himself! It was so nice of him and something we will never forget about our last night in Rome.

For those of you traveling to Rome and reading this blog, I would highly recommend just walking around the city and adventuring off the map. We only had two full days so we had to squeeze in all of the touristy stuff, but if you have more time, try to get the tourist stuff out of the way and really just experience the city. Watch out though for the pickpockets. Every tourist site says this and in our opinion, if you look out and are aware they exist, you'll be fine. I kept my large purse over my shoulder, with the zip facing me, and my arm tucked underneath. Gwith, when we were in a crowded area, kept his hand in his pocket over his wallet. Together, we survived the entire trip without getting anything stolen or an attempted pickpocketing. It also helped that we used the phone app, MapsWithMe (no internet necessary), throughout the trip. Instead of pulling out a giant map and looking like a tourist, we pulled out our phone and stared at it like every local Italian does.

Quick Tips for Tourists in Rome

• Drink Red Orange Juice (even if you hate orange juice like I do, you'll love this, trust me).

• Explore the Outskirts of Rome.

• Get your Eurail pass stamped somewhere else on the trip if possible. Termini Train Station is just too insane.

• Do not stop and talk to the many people trying to sell you items.

• A little extra walking outside of the tourist spots will take you to some of the best restaurants in Italy.

• When crossing the street, put up your hand at the cars. The drivers will actually stop, for the most part. Basically, pay attention and cross when you can!

• Scooters may zoom past you on the sidewalks...so pay attention there too.

• Pickpockets are out and about and some try to sell you items. Always buy from shops or market stands if you need something like an umbrella.

• Use your phone map if you can, walk like you know where you're going (even if you sometimes don't), and always say no when someone approaches you to sell something. Pickpockets want to con you. If you can't be convinced, they'll give up and try someone who can be.

• Keep your hand covering your wallet and your arm around your purse when in crowded areas.

The castle we stayed at in Gaiole in Chianti.

Keep an eye out for my upcoming European Adventure blogs! The next one will be covering our drive around Tuscany, including Lido di Tarquinia, Siena, and a castle in Gaiole in Chianti!

Our European Adventure Blogs

Part 1: Chicago & Rome! (Now Reading)

Part 2: Tuscany - Our Drive to Chianti!

Part 3: Tuscany - Pisa & Florence!
Part 4: Venice & Milan! (Coming Soon)

Part 5: Switzerland - Zurich & Lucerne (Coming Soon)

Part 6: The Magic of Paris (Coming Soon)
Part 7: Why the Hilton in Belgium Can't Get Customer Service Right (Coming Soon)

We're Opening Our First Restaurant!

As you have probably noticed, my blogs have been pretty much MIA since the end of January, and now I can finally explain why!

Since the end of January, something very big has been in the works and we've been waiting for it to be "official" to announce it.

In about 6 months time, we will be opening the doors to our very own restaurant, Aroha, located in the beautiful city of Westlake Village, California. Our location is amazing! It's in the same center as Westlake's #1 restaurant Lure, right next to The Counter, a Marriott Hotel, and across the street from The Four Seasons.

Our restaurant name means "Love" in Maori, the native language of New Zealand. Here is the official "About" for our restaurant:

Aroha (ˈɑːrɒhə) — love, compassion, or affectionate regard. [Māori] 

Aroha is a classy casual restaurant founded by award winning chef, Gwithyen Thomas, and his wife Justine. Gwithyen and Justine met and fell in love through his cooking while she and her family were vacationing in New Zealand. 

The menu specializes in New Zealand Cuisine and draws inspiration from French, Italian, Japanese, and Singaporian cuisine. The food is locally sourced and changes seasonally to provide the freshest and highest quality. The menu is allergy friendly with many gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Justine's many food allergies drives their dedication to providing a safe environment for all customers with allergy restrictions. 

The opened layout restaurant is designed to provide a relaxing atmosphere for customers looking for a flavorful and beautifully presented meal without a formal setting.  

Aroha will be opening in Q3 of 2014 in Westlake Village, California.  To stay updated, "Like" us on Facebook and "Follow" us on Twitter. 

  

For Gwith, owning his own restaurant has always been his dream. He's a chef and he's opened multiple restaurants between New Zealand and the US but he's never actually owned it. I, on the other hand, have always wanted a business of my own to manage. Between the Entertainment Industry in LA and the Restaurant Industry, I've been incredibly disappointed and appalled by how people are treated. There's a strong attitude of taking advantage of people out here; lack of non-exempt overtime pay, ridiculous hours, and no understanding for having a personal life. Gwith and I both believe in efficiency and fair treatment which we're ecstatic to exercise in our new restaurant. We want our employees to feel like they're respected by giving them a regular work schedule and legally pay them for overtime. It's sad that legal pay feels like an accomplishment but more companies get away with it out here than most people probably realize (or research).

This isn't the first time I've managed. Back when I was 18, my sister and I managed an entire group of 60 people for our TV pilot, "Little Blossom". It was an eye opening experience and I loved it. At the time, I believed I loved it because of the entertainment-filming aspect. However, looking back now, the reason I turned to my dad one day after an 18 hour day and said, "I could do this for the rest of my life," had nothing to do with the show itself. It had every bit to do with being a manager. I was molding this amazing new creation. I enjoyed dealing with 60 people from all ages and various departments: from actors, to crew, to makeup. Even when someone gave me a massive headache, I still wanted to continue. In the end, we had a great working relationship with the majority of our employees, and I thrived on being able to create that balance. I've seen a lot of poor management styles in the recent years and I feel like it's time to prove in one of the most challenging industries that you do not need to take advantage of people and treat them wrong to be successful.

I look forward to writing more blogs about our journey with Aroha. It will be a long one! We have 6 months to do a full buildout of our empty shell location!

Please check out our website www.ArohaRestaurant.com and keep your eyes opened for the hottest new restaurant coming soon to Westlake Village in Q3 of 2014!

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30990 Russell Ranch Rd Unit C, Westlake Village, CA 91362
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.