Monthly Archives: March 2022

NEW ZEALAND frontman Alex Greive discusses his low body fat percentage and his dislike of golf.

He tells SunSport about his journeys from the Southern Hemisphere to Paisley via Kentucky and Tahiti and about bosses Jim Goodwin and Stephen Robinson as well as his fear of snakes and his ambitions of making a big impact after signing for St Mirren earlier in the season.

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ALL BLACKS. You grew up in New Zealand you must have played rugby as a kid? Actually, when I was about seven or eight years of age I wanted to stop playing football to play rugby but my parents wouldnt let me. I was always pretty small so I dont think my mum was too keen on the idea of me playing rugby. My dad was president of a local grassroots football club hes always been a West Ham fan so my brother and I were born into football. I like rugby and all my mates play, but not me.

BODY FAT. Is it true your body fat was only three per cent when you signed for St Mirren? I dont know the actual number but it was pretty low. We were in lockdown in New Zealand before I came over to Scotland and I was living in a flat with six other boys and all we did was work out in a gym downstairs. I worked out twice a day, as hard as I possibly could. I knew I was coming over to St Mirren and wanted to get into the best shape possible.

COLLEGE. Tell us about going to America and your experience in the States. It was unreal. I loved my time in the States at Northern Kentucky University, studying communications. When I finished school at 17 I was still very small and wasnt ready to go pro. So going to college was the next best thing. I was able to train full-time and it was a great experience. The football was good and it was fun off the field too.

DAY OFF. How do you spend your time away from football? Id like to go for a surf but havent had the chance to do that in Scotland yet. I also like to chill out and maybe go shopping.

ENTERTAINMENT. Whats your party trick? I dont think I have anything up my sleeve. I can juggle, if that counts.

FRIGHTENING. Tell us what scares you. Snakes, 100 per cent snakes. When I was in America I saw a few and didnt like them at all. We dont have them in New Zealand. They freak me out.

GOODWIN. Were you gutted when Jim Goodwin quit St Mirren for Aberdeen? It was pretty disappointing as he was the coach who gave me my first chance to play pro football. He stuck his neck out for me so I have a lot to thank him for. He had the backing of everyone in the changing room and had everyones respect.

HOME. What do you miss most? The weather, mostly. I know the climate in New Zealand is quite similar but we dont get it as cold as over here, certainly not compared to where Im from anyway.

IRRITATING. What annoys you? I like watching movies and hate it when the person Im with wants to talk and ask loads of questions when the film is on. I cant stand loud and obnoxious people either.

JORDAN. Tell us about your first international cap for New Zealand. It was something I had been dreaming about since I was a kid. It was just a surreal experience. As soon as I pulled the shirt on it was amazing. I went on as a substitute and did well enough to earn a start in the next game. But the match got cancelled because of Covid. We have some World Cup qualifiers coming up so hopefully Ill be involved.

KLEENEX. When was the last time you cried? The last time I left home, when my mum dropped me off at the airport. Its always a bit emotional when you leave.

LEGEND. Who was your hero growing up? The All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. Hes a machine. He once played with a broken foot for an entire World Cup.

MAGNIFICENT. Whats been the best moment of your career so far? Playing for New Zealand. It was just a dream come true for me and all my family.

NETFLIX. What have you been watching? Ive watched everything. Like everyone else, watching movies and TV series and documentaries got me through lockdowns.

OFF HIS HEAD. Who is the craziest team-mate youve had? Ive had a few but over here Ethan Erhahon is always up to something. Hes forever joking around and ripping into people. He was brilliant towards me when I first came over and just talks to everyone. I just think theres always something suspicious going on with him.

PAISLEY. What do you make of the place? When I first came over, I started in an AirBnB close to the training ground. I like the town the people are really friendly.

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QUARANTINE. How has Covid-19 affected you personally? We had two main lockdowns in New Zealand and the first one was actually a really, really fun experience. Id come back from America with a few other boys and I stayed in my parents beach house for a couple of months. In the second lockdown I just hit the gym and got as fit as possible. I just wanted to make the most of the time.

ROBBO. Tell us about new manager Stephen Robinson. Hes been really good. He has definitely raised the intensity. You can tell that hes football mad and obsessed with the finer details, which I find really good.

SOCIAL MEDIA. You on it? Im on everything, I think. I probably spend most time on Instagram as its a nice way to keep in touch with people through photographs. I get to see what people are up to back home and they can check in with me too.

TARGET. Whats your biggest ambition? To be the best player I can be and have a good, long career in football. I also dream of getting to the World Cup with New Zealand. Thats something I would really love to do. Its still possible we could qualify for Qatar and hopefully its achievable.

UNBELIEVABLE. Tell is something we dont know about you. I think of myself as an open book, to be fair. Maybe the fact I used to be really into photography when I was younger. I still like taking photos.

VACATION. Where is your favourite holiday destination? I went to Tahiti with my family when I was younger and that was amazing, so Id say there. Its a beautiful place. Its not too difficult to get there from New Zealand but quite far from here.

WISECRACK. Whats the best prank youve seen? I have a terrible memory for things like that but when I was in America I knew someone who kidnapped someone as a prank. It was maybe taking things a bit too far and probably sounds worse than it was. The guy who did it was Scottish as well.

X-RAY. Have you ever been in the hospital? Nothing serious. I have broken my nose and my wrist playing football but thats about it.

YOU are on a desert island and can take three things with you. What are they? My iPhone, music speaker and a football. I think that would be enough to keep myself occupied.

Zzzz. What bores you? Golf. I have tried to play it but I just cant get into it. Maybe living in Scotland will change that as I know there are plenty of courses, but right now I think its a sport thats boring.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page

Link:

St Mirren frontman Alex Greive on growing up in New Zealand, life in Paisley and his dislike for golf... - The Scottish Sun

In happy news for the Scotland cricket team fans, New Zealand is scheduled to tour the country in July 2022 for two T20Is and a one-off ODI match, Cricket Scotland confirmed on March 26. All the matches will be played at Grange in Edinburgh on July 27, 29, and 31.

New Zealand and Scotland last met each other in the T20 World Cup in the UAE, when the Kane Williamson-led side won despite a spirited show from Scotland. New Zealand was scheduled to travel to Scotland in June 2020 for their first tour since 2008, however, the tour was postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

We are excited to welcome the BLACKCAPS to our shores this summer. We want to keep challenging ourselves versus ICC Full Members and New Zealand are up there as one of the best.

Having reached both of the most recent T20 and 50 over ICC world cup finals, they have proven to be the most consistent team across all formats of the game in recent years.

We have 12 international ODIs to be played prior to the New Zealand series and so the squad are training well and looking forward to a busy 2022, Scotland Mens Head Coach Shane Burger said.

During the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Scotland performed admirably well against New Zealand. Martin Guptill had scored 93, while Glenn Philips made 33 as Kiwi posted 172/5 in 20 overs. Brad Wheal and Safyaan Sharif picked two wickets each.

In reply, Michael Leask made 42* in 20 balls, while George Munsey (22), Matthew Cross (27) and Richie Berrington (20) contributed to the chase as well but Scotland fell 16 runs short, finishing on 156/5 in 20 overs, with Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi picking two wickets.

Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Gary Stead was excited at the prospect of facing Scotland in their own backyard.

He said: Its going to be a great occasion for the BLACKCAPS to visit Scotland. Over the past decade weve seen Scotland improve as a cricketing nation and develop into a force in international cricket.

Having played there personally myself at Brechin Cricket Club, I know how passionate the people are about the game and I have no doubt they will be eagerly looking forward to this tour. Playing against associate teams as a major nation is a really important part of helping them grow and that growth can only benefit the world game long term.

All the matches will be played at Grange in Edinburgh on July 27, 29 and 31.

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New Zealand To Tour Scotland In July 2022 For Limited-Overs Series - Cricket Addictor

Peter Kelly, from Whangarei, died in South Africa in 1974. The last person to see him alive has been searching for his family since - and found them this week. Photo / Supplied

A mystery New Zealand backpacker who died in South Africa 48 years ago has been identified.

A South African expatriate who witnessed his death at his Johannesburg home made a public appeal through the Herald this week to find the man, known only as "Red".

Family and friends have contacted the Herald to say the man was Peter Kelly, from Whangrei.

"It was quite emotional," said Kelly's sister Colleen Wech, of the moment she read the article in the Northern Advocate. Her voice quivering, she said she immediately recognised the man as her brother.

Kelly died after accidentally falling seven storeys from a balcony in Hillbrow, Johannesburg in 1974.

The last man to see him alive, Tony Brebner*, said he had been haunted by his death ever since and had unsuccessfully tried to track down his family for decades. He had only met him days earlier and did not know his full name or any other details.

Wech said the family never had closure after her brother's death. While New Zealand maintained diplomatic ties with South Africa during apartheid, communication was strained and it was difficult to get any information out of the country.

The family were already grieving the loss of Peter's older brother, Mike, a medical student who is believed to have drowned in the Whanganui Hospital swimming pool four years earlier, aged 21.

South African Police eventually contacted their New Zealand counterparts after Kelly's death, and Colleen recalls a late-night visit from police officers to their Whangrei home to break the news to the parents.

The police recommended that Kelly be buried in Johannesburg. His body would have to return as cargo and there were few flights between New Zealand and South Africa, meaning it could be two weeks before his body came back.

Kelly was buried in a Johannesburg cemetery, and Brebner said he was the only person at the graveside who was not an official. A service was also held in Whangrei, without a body and without much knowledge of how Kelly died.

"It was the most peculiar feeling," said Wech.

"It was an awful time. I remember a year passed and my dad saying 'I would just love to know what really happened'."

Their father died in 1975, and their mother died in 2004. A year later, Wech went to Johannesburg to trace her brothers' last moments and said Mass at his graveside.

An article from the time of his death said Kelly was a keen sportsman, representing Auckland schoolboys in cricket and the Hikurangi rugby club.

Ray Tewake, from Whangarei, worked with him as linesman at the post office in Whangrei before Kelly went overseas.

"He was hard case, great sense of humour, great to have a beer with. And he was the only one I trusted to drive my car, a Zephyr I think it was."

In a letter sent home to family, Kelly spoke about the unfairness of apartheid South Africa, saying black South Africans were "despised" and treated "pretty poorly".

He wrote that he gave a black man a ride home to Soweto and that he was appalled by the poverty and cramped living. He finished the letter saying he was flying to England soon and would send his new address to the family. He never made it to England, dying a few days later.

Brebner, now living in Australia, planned to speak to Colleen Wech this week. He said it would bring him great peace after 45 years to tell Red's story.

"I can't believe how long I have held on to this."

*Brebner previously used the pseudonym Brett

More:

Mystery solved: New Zealand backpacker who died 48 years ago identified by family - New Zealand Herald

ANALYSIS: Communications Minister David Clark might see no reason New Zealand cant be the Silicon Valley of the Southern Hemisphere, but others are more than happy to point out some potential problems.

Here are the big ones: the quality of our education system, immigration issues, a high cost of living relative to wages, a lack of engineers, and cultural issues like the tall poppy syndrome and a natural Kiwi aversion to risk.

Others ask what making New Zealand the Silicon Valley of the Southern Hemisphere really means. Does it mean we want the country to grow more $1 billion-plus companies, or is it about creating a society which is proactive about trying to solve problems through technology?

Then there are the various parts of the country that already lay claim to being Silicon Valley-esque: St Georges Bay Rd or Wynyard Quarter in Auckland, Wellingtonians who call their city Silicon Welly, along with Hamilton, Christchurch and Queenstown which have all tried to portray themselves as being potential Silicon Valley locations at different points in time.

The reasons why we cant become the next Silicon Valley are aptly summarised by former Pharmac director Jens Mueller, who has worked in corporate leadership positions in the United States, and is currently a director of Massey Universitys executive development programme.

New Zealand will do clever things, we have the fastest robotic apple-sorting machine, we have very clever husbandry rules, we know every cow by genetics.

The idea of making this a market that is focusing on gadgetry high-impact, short-term rocket-start type development is never going to be successful because it misses the market, it misses the money, it misses the skills.

But even if we can turn New Zealand into a global technology hub, should we?

The timing of this push to embrace a Silicon Valley ethos in New Zealand is odd too: Tesla is currently moving out of Silicon Valley to Arizona, Facebook lost daily users for the first time in its history, Netflix saw US$45 billion lopped off its market capitalisation after subscriber numbers declined, DoorDashs share price sank below its initial public offering (IPO) level, and Kiwi high-flyer RocketLab has seen its stockmarket value plunge, too.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

David Clark says he sees no reason why New Zealand cant be the Silicon Valley of the southern hemisphere.

Mueller argues we would do better to focus on helping firms that are doing a good trade right now, but could supercharge their offering with help on how to export better or grow.

Nonetheless, the idea of New Zealand becoming a powerhouse of tech unicorns (the title given to privately held companies worth over $1b) is very popular in Wellington and within Government circles.

Last year, the Productivity Commission alluded to the need for New Zealand to build more Frontier Firms, with technology firms likely to make up a big part of that. A recently released Digital Transformation Plan also champions the idea of trying to grow the tech sector to something many times the size of what it is today.

Currently, the New Zealand technology sector is dominated by Xero, which comprises 79 per cent of the New Zealand technology sectors market capitalisation, and 95 per cent of the SaaS sector, according to a report by Clare Capital released last year.

You might see it as a bad sign that much of the technology sectors valuation comes from the rise of just one company, but Callaghan Innovation head of SaaS (Software as a Service) Bruce Jarvis doesnt see it that way.

Xero has grown (from $144m market capitalisation in 2010 to $22.5b in 2021), but the rest of the technology sector has grown too ($274m in 2010 to $5.9b in 2021), it is just that Xeros growth hasnt stopped.

Jarvis argues this is the exponential growth factor that SaaS can unlock.

The internet has reduced the cost of distribution and production, so it costs a similar amount to service one million customers as it does to service 50 million, meaning your costs stay the same as your customer numbers take off.

There are still costs though, and Rush Digital co-founder Danu Abeysuriya says New Zealand is at a disadvantage because it is a high-cost environment.

He says in the startup phase companies survive by keeping their costs low, but in New Zealand things like land, housing, and basic costs of living, are very expensive especially relative to incomes.

Regardless of where you sit in this debate, there is one major constraint most agree is holding us back: People.

Jarvis says capital was once the main barrier to startups scaling up fast, but with increased interest from global venture capital firms he thinks the biggest barrier now is access to skilled personnel.

The only constraint is people. Its not land, its not physical infrastructure.

The shortage of skilled personnel is a big reason why the Government is spending $1m on an advertising campaign to attract skilled technology workers to New Zealand.

While immigration is generally ranked as an area of lesser concern amongst the public (an Ipsos NZ poll in February showed immigration was not even within the publics top five issues of concern), leaders within the technology sector consistently rank it as one of their biggest issues.

Supplied

Jarvis says people is the big constraint when it comes to the growth of the Software as a Service sector.

Yet there is a big disconnect between what the technology sector is looking for and what the Government thinks is necessary.

Abeysuriya says the announcement of a border exception for 600 tech workers at the end of last year was a real let them eat cake moment for the industry.

The fact that the press release pitched the deal as an excellent way to finish the year, but provided no analysis of how the figure had been arrived at, only added insult to injury.

You know that story where Marie Antoinette says oh the people are starving, let them eat cake. Its like a really fantastic anecdote for a disconnected leadership.

I feel like immigration is like that, thats their f...ing let them eat cake moment.

Its like, okay, you want a couple of hundred companies to split up 600 employees? At least half of those companies have a market capitalisation of over $1b.

So tell me how that 600 number was derived. Was it calculated from our need, or was it calculated from what you can handle? Because if its from what you can handle then thats a f...ing problem.

DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Danu Abeysuriya says a border exception for 600 workers last year was a real let them eat cake moment.

New Zealand Game Developers Association chairperson Chelsea Rapp has a long list of examples illustrating the same point; that the immigration and border exception system around IT workers has been poorly managed over the past two to three years.

One tech sector worker on a temporary visa in the United Kingdom spent so long waiting to get into New Zealand they ended up qualifying for residency in the UK while they waited (and decided not to take up their job offer here).

Then there are the tech sector workers already in New Zealand on temporary visas who cant get new visas because the immigration system has ground to a halt.

A replacement system was supposed to be in place by November, but it has been delayed until July a decision which leaves these workers, and their status in the country, hanging under a cloud of uncertainty.

The number one issue for games right now is immigration, and I think the biggest issue is not necessarily that our immigration settings are wrong, its that they are uncertain.

Rapp says there are enough qualified graduates, but there are not enough people with the right experience, and this is the gap immigration can fill.

Right now we cant hire anybody from overseas, regardless of what their skills are, because we cant guarantee that theyre going to be able to get a visa through immigration in any meaningful amount of time.

Supplied

Chelsea Rapp says immigration is the most important issue facing the gaming industry.

Rapp says it is also hard for fast-emerging sectors to make their case for letting workers in until the sector, or need, becomes more well established.

She says technology trends shift quickly, but immigration rules and bureaucracy do not, and a recent trend in immigration policy to focus on salary makes it much harder for emerging firms like videogame studios to access talent.

I just think that its unfair to say that the requirements should be exclusively salary-based, because I dont think New Zealand studios are ever going to be in a position where they can pay the same amount that American studios pay.

All of this is important because scaling up and grabbing market share before anybody else can is the name of the game in Silicon Valley, and for that you need top engineering talent.

It is no accident that Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and Singapore - three globally recognised technology hubs are great generators of top engineers and scientists themselves. Silicon Valley from its proximity to Stanford University, Tel Aviv through the Israeli Governments investments in defence-related technology, and Singapore through its highly competitive education system.

123RF

Technology hubs like Singapore produce a large number of scientists and engineers.

New Zealand expat, and Stanford University data science graduate, Keniel Yao, is a current resident of Silicon Valley. He says there is not only more talent in Silicon Valley, but a higher level of technological aptitude amongst the general population there, especially on a campus like Stanford.

Yao says high schools do a better job of teaching computer science in the US, and the best out of that system then go on to Stanford where computer science is the most popular major.

He says it creates an environment where it feels like almost anybody has the skillset to build anything.

So the question is always about the business viability of the idea rather than technological capacity for it.

Imagine trying to do that in New Zealand right? Youre spending most of your time trying to find an engineer.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF

Ariki Creative kaihaut Hori Te Ariki Mataki is using his passion of digital design to create opportunities for others who haven't had the chance to learn about the endless possibilities of computers.

However, the skills required to create unicorns also go beyond just pure technical knowledge.

Mueller says New Zealand does not have enough people who are skilled at turning companies into unicorns.

Crimson Education founder Jamie Beaton agrees, and says it makes a big difference hearing from people who have personally transformed a company from startup into a multibillion-dollar success.

Entrepreneurs in places like Silicon Valley, and students at top universities in the United States, have ready access to these types of people, and get to hear from them all the time.

That makes you believe you can do anything. It really infects you with this belief that you can keep building, and it makes you dream big, Beaton says.

Startups are against the odds, and you have to really believe that youre seeing something that the market hasnt, and youve got to push and push and push against all this resistance.

Beatons company helps train students to get into top-ranked universities around the world, and he is a big advocate of taking a Singapore-style approach to funding New Zealand students to broaden their horizons and study at elite universities overseas.

SUPPLIED

Jamie Beaton believes getting more New Zealanders into elite overseas universities is part of the answer.

Singapore underwrites the cost of citizens who manage to get into highly ranked universities in the United States. In exchange, Singaporean citizens agree to work for a government agency or corporation for six years after they graduate.

Beaton believes getting more New Zealanders educated at top universities overseas would go a long way towards creating the kind of talent pool needed to grow successful startups here.

Mueller says the types of technology skills needed here are more generalised than in large markets like the US, and New Zealand is not a large enough economy to provide employment for those type of specialised skills.

Jarvis says it is important not to focus solely on university education when it comes to trying to generate the skills New Zealand tech firms need.

University education carries a high cost, and some people will choose not to pay it, which will have implications for the diversity of the tech sector that comes out of the other end of it.

Instead, Jarvis is a big fan of focusing more on short-courses that are cheaper and more accessible, but which also can be adapted to fast-moving circumstances in the economy.

The markets the Ferrari, and the traditional education system is the Fergus tractor trying to catch up.

And the gap is getting wider and wider and wider.

SUPPLIED

Keniel Yao says there are so many engineers in Silicon Valley that the focus is much more on business viability.

New Zealand expat Richard Ngo is a researcher in artificial intelligence at OpenAI and his CV includes a two-year stint at Alphabets DeepMind project. He sports degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge.

Ngo says we should be careful to look at education tools beyond formal education, and he strongly supports a greater emphasis on activities like hackathons and competitive programming as a way of supporting future tech talent.

Most of the very best engineers and programmers I know were very self-motivated in their learning - we should think about how this can be nurtured.

Mueller says another factor behind Silicon Valley that New Zealand cannot hope to replicate is the size of its market, which makes it easy for companies to try out a product on large number of consumers to see if it works.

Yao says this is very much the reality in the Valley where processes for doing everyday things are continually changing, and people there are continually bombarded with ads to try new services from startups.

There are cultural differences between Silicon Valley and New Zealand too, not all of them good.

Chris McKeen/Stuff

Auckland-based AI developer Soul Machines addresses ethical issues in digital twin technology

Some people are wary about importing the bad. They point to Silicon Valleys culture of overwork, its lack of diversity, and a gung-ho attitude to business risk.

Hnry co-founder James Fuller, who is originally from London, says there is an attitude in both the UK and the US that people involved in a startup should be burning themselves out with 12 to 14-hour days, and he does not want to see that here.

I dont think anybody wants to live in that kind of a country either. Its about finding that balance.

Instead, he says we should stick with the kind of balance we already have, where there are plenty of hardworking people, but there is a great quality of life to go alongside that too.

Former Lynfield college student Jia Dua also argues that just because we want to become a technology hub, does not mean we have to lose touch with our countrys values.

Dua is now at Duke University on a scholarship, and was part of a team from New Zealand who won the world robotics championship three times.

KEVIN STENT/Stuff

James Fuller says we don't want the kind of startup work culture seen in the US and UK.

You want to be a technology hub or a technology leader, but you want to also identify what is New Zealand known for?

Its known for inclusivity, its known for pushing the boundaries forward. How can we grow upon that in ways that America, even, cant?

Rapp doesnt want to replicate Silicon Valley here, but she is in favour of striving to build a better version of it. A technology hub that is more tolerant of diversity, with a less toxic work culture.

However, she thinks it also wouldn't be a bad idea for us to take a leaf out of Silicon Valleys book when it comes to tall poppies.

In the US you are definitely rewarded for standing out, and here [in New Zealand] Ive had kids tell me stories about how they wont tell their friends that they get good grades because they don't want to stand out.

More:

Silicon Valley of the South Pacific: Grand dream or pipe dream? - Stuff

Sport

24 Mar, 2022 04:48 PM2 minutes to read

Dame Lisa Carrington has married her long-time partner Michael Buck. Photos / Andrea Stephens Photography

Six-time Olympic medallist Dame Lisa Carrington has married her long-time partner Michael Buck.

Sharing the news on social media, Carrington announced the couple's marriage on Thursday night.

"Introducing ... Mr & Mrs. A glimpse into the best day ever celebrating with our amazing whanau and friends," Carrington posted on Instagram.

The caption is accompanied by a number of photos taken from the couple's special day.

Many people congratulated the pair including a number of female Olympians such as Canoe slalom athlete Luuka Jones and rugby sevens stars Tyla Nathan-Wong and Ruby Tui.

The pair announced their engagement back on March 11, a few months before the Tokyo 2021 Olympics.

Carrington became New Zealand's greatest Olympian in the Japanese capital, overcoming a tough schedule to win gold in the K1 200m, K1 500m and K2 500m (with Caitlin Regal), increasing her tally to six medals (five gold and one bronze).

Since the 2012 Olympics, Carrington has been involved in 29 per cent of the 17 gold medals achieved by this country.

Last month, Carrington won the supreme award at the 59th Halberg Awards ceremony.

She was named the sportswoman of the year earlier in the night, before being presented the supreme award honours by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.

It was Carrington's second supreme award, having also won the ultimate honour in another Olympic year in 2016, while she has now won five consecutive sportswoman of the year awards, to go alongside her sportswoman of the decade honour, claimed last year in the absence of the yearly Halberg Awards due to the impact of Covid-19 on New Zealand sport.

Original post:

New Zealand's greatest Olympian Lisa Carrington announces her marriage to long-time partner - New Zealand Herald

The biggest name in plant-based meat has landed in Aotearoa. Its about to cause some beef.

Its completely mind-blowing, says Sophie Gilmour. The owner of Fatimas has only been on the phone for a few moments, yet shes already running out of adjectives to describe something that appears to be a little bit like magic. Its like theyre playing a trick on your brain, she says. Its so clever thats their genius. It feels impossible. There is no difference.

For the past five months, chefs at Gilmours Auckland Middle Eastern restaurant chain have been meddling with their koftas. Ground meat goes into a mixing bowl with spices, ginger and coriander, and is then shaped and fried. These are served in two ways, in a pita pocket with harissa, tzatziki and pickled cucumber, or on skewers with spicy tomato sauce and garlic yoghurt.

The twist? The ground beef Fatimas uses to give their koftas a meaty texture doesnt come from cows. Its from Impossible, the biggest and coolest name in the plant-based craze. Lab-designed, made in California, then shipped to Aotearoa, Impossibles arrival in supermarkets this week has many chefs smiling, vegans frothing and beef and dairy farmers probably feeling a little anxious.

After a trial run in select restaurants, the first Impossible product, a plant-based burger patty, can now be found on shelves at 200 Countdown stores. Mince meat, like that used in Fatimas koftas, is coming later in the year, and fans will be hoping Impossibles full range of plant-based products pork, sausage, chicken and even nuggets joins them shortly.

Its a brand Gilmour believes is here to stay. Fatimas Impossible koftas are so popular they pop off in Ponsonby theyve become a permanent menu fixture. She raves about the products resemblance to regular beef. It looks and cooks and eats like mince, she says. Shes had no trouble winning over customers, or staff. Half of them are vegan. Theyre jazzed about it.

Theyre not the only ones. At Burger Burger, a $19 Impossible burger sold out at all five stores on launch day. Ive been chasing Impossible Foods, trying to get them on the menu, for five years, owner and Sophies sister Mimi told Stuff. Customers are loving it. Just like meat and so tasty with just the right amount of patty, pickles, cheese and sauces, wrote one on Instagram.

New Zealand fans have been waiting for this moment for years, ever since Impossible launched in Californian restaurants to rave reviews in 2016. Its taken this long because New Zealands a small market, but also because a key ingredient in Impossible beef, heme a genetically engineered soy ingredient that makes Impossible products bleed like beef wasnt approved until 2020.

Over that time, the market for plant, pea, kmara and soy-based meat alternatives has exploded. Veganism is on the rise and increasing numbers of meat eaters are trying to eat less of the stuff for the good of the environment. Most supermarkets have dedicated chilled sections full of vegan and vegetarian sausages, bacon and burger patties. New Zealands own innovation Sunfed is a popular chicken alternative made of yellow pea protein, and Off-Piste offers jerky. At $12 for a two-pack of patties, Impossible is among the most expensive.

How will it fare? If it doesnt taste good, it doesnt really matter, says Nick Halla. Impossibles senior vice president of international, who joined the company as its first employee shortly after Patrick O Brown founded Impossible Foods in Silicon Valley in 2011, is beaming in via Zoom, with travel restrictions keeping him away from Impossibles Aotearoa launch. Inferior products have built up consumer disappointment, he says. We have this anxiety built up, [that] if it comes from plants, its not going to be good.

Thats not the case with Impossible. Many meat lovers are unable to spot any difference to the real thing. Thats the key to winning over New Zealands massive meat-eating population, says Halla. What we see is consumers pick it up pretty quickly, whether its, Im going to overhaul my diet, or, Im going to replace [meat] once a week,' he says. I think pickup will be very quick.

That could be concerning news to one particular sector: New Zealands massive beef and dairy farming community. If too many people eat Impossible products, it could affect their livelihoods. Is Impossible coming for them? I think its an opportunity to think about where agriculture and farming are going to go, Halla warns. Its getting harder and harder. Prices are going down, pressure on the systems going up. Its an opportunity for innovators, for building food a better way.

If that sounds like fighting talk, thats because it is. Everyone knows whats at stake: the climate. Food production accounts for one-quarter of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions and takes up half of the planets habitable surface, reports carbonbrief.org. Beef is among the worst emitters. Things need to change. We cant feed the world this way, even if we wanted to, says Halla. As incomes rise, meat consumption rises too. We dont have the land and resources to feed [the world]. Impossible productsuse 96% less land, 87% less water and emit 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef. Converting diets, and minds, while helping the planet survive, is Impossibles mission impossible.

The only way to do that is to make a better product than meat. The reviews are in, and Impossibles already passing the taste test. Celebrity chefs like David Chang love it. Impossibles already appeared on The Simpsons. It has rave reviews across the board. Even dietitians think its protein and vitamin levels are pretty great. According to CNBC, the brand is worth $4 billion.

All that positive press means Impossibles landing in Aotearoa with Tesla levels of tech cool. Thats entirely by design. Halla talks about their products levelling up like an iPhone. We went from [version] 1.0 to 2.0 in 2019, says Halla. He admits the company has a Silicon Valley mindset. We should be getting better with our food system, he says. Many of our recent product launches are starting to beat the animal in taste. We launched our chicken product recently. In blind taste tests, Impossible is preferred over the meat counterpart.

Its impressive, but so far, theres one product that no one, not even Impossibles chefs and scientists, have been able to replicate using plants. Theres nothing quite like an eye fillet steak, grilled to perfection on a Weber barbecue, on a hot summer evening. Is it coming? Its completely possible, it just takes a bit more work to do, Halla says. When pressed, he laughs and says: Theres nothing to announce right now. He might as well wink at me. Hallas probably already taste-testing version 2.0.

Originally posted here:

Is New Zealand ready to eat the Impossible? - The Spinoff