What’s Cookin’: NZ Celebrity Chef Oliver Syncs with PledgeMe for New Campaign

Auckland-based celebrity chef Robert Oliver launched a PledgeMe campaign to equity crowdfund his Pacific-styled fine dining restaurant in Auckland. KP Auckland Limited is seeking to raise between $450,000 and $600,000 which represents 42.9%–50% of the company. Shares are $1 each with a minimum investment of $500. Investor perks include invitations to special events, signed copies of Oliver’s books, and behind-the-scenes food tours of one of the islands.

“With a vibrant restaurant culture and millions of international visitors, Auckland is often described as the urban center of the South Pacific. But for locals and visitors looking for unique cuisine and dining experiences, the absence of a contemporary Pacific Island restaurant experience is a real opportunity for us,” observed Oliver, Executive Chef and television personality.

After growing up in the Pacific, Oliver worked  in New York and Sydney before publishing Me’a Kai, which won the Best Cookbook of the World at Gourmand in 2010.

KP Auckland Limited, trading as Kai Pasifika, is a new concept developed  to support and showcase South Pacific cuisine through an holistic business approach with financial, social and cultural development objectives. The restaurant itself will showcase Pacific cuisine and also provide an education facility for tapping new Pacific talent.

 “In creating a home for Pacific through our restaurant business, it is important to us that we take Pacific values and create a wide community of people who share our ideals around launching a Pacific Island cuisine venture in Auckland. By choosing to crowdfund on PledgeMe, we are giving people an opportunity to invest in a business they truly care about,” added Oliver. “It was important to us all that the community whose culture is being offered on the plate not only has the opportunity to eat here, but also to own the restaurant. That’s why we’ve turned to equity crowdfunding to get our restaurant up and running.”