the not serious Katie Woodhead
If you’ve ever had dinner downing dumplings at Hello Beasty in Tāmaki Makaurau, you may have met Katie Woodhead. If you’ve ever supped on a pint or scoffed a pizza at Scopa in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, you may have met Katie. And chances are, if you’ve given a glass of something from Huia, Seresin or Felton Road a nudge, then you may have come very near to meeting Katie — in essence, because you will have experienced a little bit of her energy that was imparted into the vines during her short stints at said wineries.
When I first met Katie – it was at Hello Beasty — I was with one of my favourite lunching sidekicks, Courteney Peters and we both felt sure we’d met her before. Turns out we hadn’t but instead, had just witnessed what true hospitality looks like. That sort of soft but confident, personable service that makes you feel right at home and cared for in an absolute instant. Sort of like if your Mum has grabbed your onesie from the dryer and popped you into a bed made of freshly cleaned flannel sheets, turned the night light on and sung you your favourite song. You know…familiar reassuring comfort. Look, Katie’s not your Mum, but her style of service is similar to being guided through the next two hours of your life by someone who has your best interests at heart and wants your dining experience to get the very best report card possible.
Katie on the tools at Hello Beasty
It’s fair to say, Katie Woodhead had made an impression.
That was PCT (pre-covid times) and Katie had been hired by Emma and Stu Rogan to help them establish some structure so their new restaurant could kick off with the best systems in place to perform well in the highly competitive world of making other people’s dinner. Katie earned the gig as her reputation for running a slick operation had preceded her. She was instrumental in setting up systems that made the likes of Scopa, The Bresolin, Madame Woo and others run like a tighter than tight ship where the people who worked there felt empowered by education.
It was DCT (during covid times) that Katie headed back home to meet a very important wee man named Stanley and where she had a crack at making English wine and also worked the floor at Noble Rot (the London version – not the one located in our own lovely capital).
Katie and I kept in touch and I’ve had the very good fortune of getting to know her better over the last year or two after she came back to the Shaky Isles but — it was during this not serious chat — that I learned that Katie’s story and the path that led to a life relocated to Aotearoa – is really quite something else.
This chat crosses continents, it includes high-risk travel hijinks, a delicious Marlborough Riesling, a robbery and a who dunnit and a story about a winemaker with one eye that saw Phoebe Waller-Bridge want a lot more of the Woodhead wine storytelling magic.
All that before we even get to the brilliant business that Katie has just started. It’s called Wineheads and it’s designed to share the wonder of wine and how to make it profitable for punters intent on living a life in hospo.
Hell bent on breaking the mold this wahine grabs life by the gonads and I’m here for it.
You should be too.
So, drag the backpack from the back of the closet, grab a dog-eared copy of a Lonely Planet New Zealand styles and sip on something super fresh and fly, this is the not serious Katie Woodhead chat.
CHAT FACTS
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Fromm Riesling Spätlese 2024
Notes from By The Bottle:
Fromm was established in the 1990’s, around the same time as a lot of Marlborough stalwarts, but they’ve always marched wonderfully to the beat of their own drum. Hätsch Kalberer leads the band with a ‘quality over quantity’ approach. Organically grown fruit comes from 3 vineyards that are densely planted and close to the ground. A celebrated producer that should be even more..... celebrated.1L antipodes
sparkling mineral water
We invited Katie to select something delicious for us to drink while we chatted away not seriously. A) she did not disappoint and B) it was seriously good wine.
Riesling is a bit of a Go To when you’re choosing to imbibe at 9am — it always delivers — but the Fromm Riesling Spätlese 2024 from Marlborough is a constantly reliable, absolute banger. 7% alc, a little sugar backed by a spine of super fresh acid. Fuck. Delicious.
Find Fromm at By The Bottle and…
Find Katie @_wineheads_
