Hot cross buns help keep Auckland eatery going: ‘The buns mean I’m still here’

By Kaye Albyt

A renowned Auckland hot cross bun baker says the Easter treat is helping to keep her restaurant afloat.

Customers queue each year for Ima Cuisine’s buns, which contain honey and freshly ground spices, topped with a custard cross.

But owner Yael Shochat said the hot cross buns have been a lifeline to the survival of her business.

“The buns mean I’m still here after Covid. Even the beginning of this year, the CBD – after the Auckland anniversary and Cyclone Gabrielle – it was again like Covid. People just didn’t come into town. Every lockdown, every incident, we were the first to see it and the last to come back.”

Shochat said she did not grow up in New Zealand and was surprised the hot cross bun recipe she perfected turned out to be so popular.

But she said this year, making hot cross buns has been harder than usual because it has been difficult to get staff.

“We’re all short-staffed. Everyone in hospitality is short-staffed, I don’t know anyone who’s not. So, it’s hard and I’m working very long hours and my staff are working very long hours and they’re amazing and I’m very grateful to them.”

She said the cost of ingredients was also a huge challenge, especially with the number of eggs that go into making the custard crosses.

With the price of other ingredients also rising sharply, she has put up the price of the buns by 50 cents but that was nothing compared to what they should cost.

“My buns are way more expensive to make than any other buns on the market.”

She said she hopes things improve but she was optimistic because there was no other way to be.

“I didn’t grow up here and I started making them years ago. I found a recipe I liked and tweaked it a bit and then I was shocked when people went nuts (for them).

“So I’m very happy that people in New Zealand love hot cross buns and I found something that makes a lot of people happy and that’s great.”

Given their size, Shochat said her hot cross buns were almost a meal within themselves.

“It’s like your breakfast for Easter morning. You put it in the fridge or freezer and you toast it on Sunday morning and that’s all you need for breakfast – a cup of tea, a cup of coffee – that’s what you need beside it, you don’t need anything else.”

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