The following is a statement from Egmont St Eatery and The Catering Studio, and is attributed to owner Simon Pepping.

Tonight TVNZ ran a story about Egmont Street Eatery and sister company and commercial supplier kitchen, The Catering Studio, in which our delivery businesses were portrayed by MBIE as “testing boundaries” and, implied we were knowingly putting people at risk through our operations.

This is false and we wanted to put out a statement in response, to set the facts straight:

We were completely shocked and surprised to see an MBIE representative say that our food operation violates Level 4 lockdown rules.

Prior to launching, we had complete and explicit approval from both MBIE and MPI (the lead agency for food production) to operate and deliver via our commercial supplier kitchen at Level 4.

We ran our entire business operation plan through both MBIE and MPI multiple times in the days and weeks ahead of launch. Both confirmed that we had the green light to go ahead because The Catering Studio has been a supermarket supplier for six years and would be delivering the same products we supply to supermarkets - and also as we have been classed as an essential service since lockdown started.

We had spoken to three different MBIE business advisors via the designated business query channel to confirm our methods and delivery in great detail before launching, all of whom gave the same answer - yes.

We even reconfirmed this “yes” with a fourth MBIE advisor two hours before the story aired, because the reporter relayed back to us the contradictory response she had received from Paul Stock at MBIE.

The reason we checked so many times was to be absolutely sure we were complying with the rules.

We also requested written confirmation of this advice from MBIE. They said they do not give out written advice, and said we had to receive that written confirmation from the lead sector agency, which is MPI.

Thanks to our team's diligence and early preparation, we had already applied for and received this written confirmation from MPI.

When MPI called to re-check our processes early last week, they clarified everything we had submitted in our safe practice registration application, including areas such as social distancing protocols, hygiene practices and delivery regimes, which includes chilling, and confirmed that we were able to carry on with our production and deliveries.

I'm sure you can imagine - given the effort we have gone to to meet what is required and how long we had held our breath for - the absolute joy with which our team planned our launch, once we were absolutely sure we were signed off to go.

So, we were incredibly shocked to turn on the 6pm news and find a representative of MBIE unilaterally declaring that our service contravenes Level 4 regulations, contradicting all official advice we have received.

We have no idea why the tables have so suddenly turned or why MBIE's public messaging in the media is different to the private messaging we’re receiving as an essential service.

At this stage, we can only rely on official advice given to us, through the official channels, where our specific situation has been reviewed.

So, as soon as the sun comes up, we will check with MBIE for a fifth (!!) time and get back to you.

One last thing we will say is this: we absolutely believe in the power of the lockdown to keep us safe. Many businesses like ours mean to do good and do it responsibly. We have been transparent and open through this process and acted in good faith throughout.

To plan and resource such a large operation covering the Wellington Region comes at a great cost. This is not something we would have undertaken had we not been absolutely sure, and had we not checked multiple times.

To be told one thing very clearly and then to have the rules changed so dramatically and so suddenly and so publicly is quite disappointing.

A lack of consistency from organisations who we trust to support and advise us through this time is one of the most difficult things a small business can go through, when we and our team members and our wider industry are on the brink of losing our livelihoods.

Stay safe, stay home and #lovelocal

We’ll see you soon

The Egmont St and Catering Studio teams

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