This New Website Aims to Support Independent Eateries

Coco's Cantina is a no-nonsense family run Italian restaurant that serves simple, homestyle, hearty and delicious Italian cuisine just like how Nana used to make it. Opened in 2009 by sisters Renee and Damaris Coulter, Coco's food is renowned for being fresh, seasonal and made from locally sourced produce. With a passion for linking more diners to real owner-operator eateries, Damaris has launched The Realness, a website aimed at supporting and promoting independent restaurants all around the world.

Five years in the making, it has now signed up a dozen Auckland restaurants and cafes. The goal of The Realness is to link owner-operator eateries with diners who are interested in knowing the origins of their food, the cooking philosophies of the chefs as well as the stories about the owners.

To be eligible to join The Realness, restaurants must: be owner-operated, have just one eatery, use suppliers committed to better welfare practices e.g for animal protein, have been open at least 18 months and be free of corporate deals and partnerships that could restrict how they do business.

Amongst Coco's Cantina, a couple of other Auckland restaurants have joined the Realness with more to follow. In Auckland, there are Cazador, Apero, Fort Greene, Ima, The Engine Room and Gemmayze Street. Across New Zealand, you'll see familiar boutique eateries such as Hapi in Napier, Roots in Lyttleton and Gatherings in Christchurch making it on the website. They also have a few international eateries featured on the website.

It's exciting to have a breath of fresh air in Auckland's food scene — keep your eyes peeled for what The Realness can offer.

Image: Lauren Harrigan.