De-Lish celebrates 10 years in town

KAITO KAMEYAMA

Ten years. That’s how long Jilly Burrell has owned and operated De-Lish Café. Located in the heart of Tākaka’s Commercial Street, De-Lish is both a delicatessen and a small, character-filled café.

She originally started the business with three other associates, but over time they all moved on to other things, leaving Jilly as the sole owner.

As the years have gone by, the focus has shifted away from the delicatessen and towards the café side of things – selling hot drinks and homemade foods, including pies, custard squares, and chocolate brownies – but deli items, from exotic French cheeses to local goodies such as East Tākaka oil, chai, and honey, still stock the shelves.

Another major change in the operation was brought about by the recent pandemic, which Jilly explains prompted her “to be careful about our hours". Pre-covid, De-Lish was open from 6am until 5.30pm six days a week and employed 12 staff. Fast forward to 2023, De-Lish now opens from 6am to 2.30pm five days a week and employs half as many staff.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the early start time, when De-Lish’s doors open to greet the surprising number of early risers, tradies, and travellers. Jilly says serving the early morning crowd is very rewarding. "It's nice being a part of the beginning of people's days... For some people, collecting their morning coffee is the only social interaction in their day."

Something very noticeable about De-Lish is its size; it’s a very compact café. But Jilly says bigger isn’t always better. “…People enjoy a small space, and it becomes more intimate.”

In addition to the onsite café and delicatessen De-Lish also caters for events.

Recalling some of the highlights from a decade of catering, Jilly talks of feeding 1500 people at the Golden Bay Spring Challenge in 2016, catering for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their visit to Totaranui in 2018, and even sending food for a wedding in Fiji. "It's kind of crazy."

Reflecting on what's next for the café over the next 10 years, Jilly said she’s not sure, but would definitely "miss not being here".

Kaito Kameyama is a year 11 GBHS student and this article was written as part of his work experience with The GB Weekly.