Meet Jess Granada, Co-Owner of Nanam, as we chat about what’s cooking, what inspires them and what they love about Takapuna!
Q: What inspired you to start Nanam?
For a long time Filipino food in New Zealand was something you ate at someone’s house. It was birthday food, fiesta food, cooked in big trays and handed around, and people loved it, but nobody went out for it. Andrew and I could not accept that. We started with a night market stall in 2014, cooking for whoever walked past, and what we kept hearing was surprise, people telling us they had no idea Filipino food tasted like this. That is what we built Nanam on.
We want people to know Filipino cooking for what it actually is, generous and warm and built around making sure nobody leaves the table hungry, and we want it named in the same breath as Japanese, Korean, Italian and Chinese when someone is deciding where to eat tonight. Eleven years on, that is still the reason we open the doors.
Q: If someone’s visiting for the first time, what’s the one dish they have to order?
Our famous Crispy “Lechon” pork belly with lemongrass stuffing. Crisp skin, slow-cooked belly, with artichoke and apple sauce on the side, and it is the dish Filipinos put at the centre of every celebration, so it is the right introduction to what we do.
Q: What ingredient or recipe are you loving right now?
Banana heart, the purple-maroon bud at the end of a banana cluster. You peel back the tough outer layers to a pale, flaky centre that cooks up close to fish or artichoke hearts, and we are using it in our vegetable fritters for spring. and its only found in community gardens.
Q: What’s your favourite memory at Nanam?
We totally forgot about the awards that night, and someone had to call to tell us we won a Cuisine hat. The kitchen kept working through service and we only stopped to acknowledge it at the end, which felt right after eleven years.
Q: What do you love doing in Takapuna when you’re not at Nanam?
My morning walk along the coast, looking out at Rangitoto. It energises and calms me at the same time, which is exactly what I need before a day in the kitchen. I also love having great coffees around Takapuna, you just can’t beat it. Further out I go looking for community gardens, and I hike and trek whenever service allows.
Pop in to Nanam and try their Must-Try Dish: Iconic Eats Set Menu (and go in the draw to WIN dining vouchers!)
WHERE: 178 Hustmere Rd
nanam.co.nz
Stay tuned throughout the month as we meet more of the makers behind the incredible tastes of Takapuna!️