27 May 2009
Espresso Pioneer wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Jeff Kennedy, the founder of Caffe L'affare, was awarded the inaugural NZ Coffee Roasters' Association (NZCRA) Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday 23 May.

The NZCRA is an industry association with over sixty member roasters from all around New Zealand that was founded in 2003. The Award was presented by NZCRA President Chris Dillon, who admitted that if it hadn't been for the time he spent with Kennedy he would not have started his own company Coffee Supreme.

As part of the evening a nine minute tribute movie was screened in which fellow "coffee baron" Geoff Marsland stated that Kennedy was responsible in part for the creation of Havana Coffee Works.

Tributes continued to flood in that evening from fellow roasters such as Craig Millar of Millar's coffee, Auckland, and cuisine legends such as Ruth Pretty and Lois Daish.

Jeff Kennedy was born in USA but moved to New Zealand at a young age. He was raised in Nelson, where he was influenced by the communal atmosphere at Chez Eelco. His first business was Toad Hall in Wellington. He started Mt Cook Café in the eighties with Lois Daish. And went on to transform spice manufacturer Empire Foods. He started L'affare Imports, importer of high-end kitchen products at exactly the wrong time, the beginning of the stock market crash.

Facing the threat of bankcrupcy, Kennedy started roasting coffee in 1990. At that time New Zealand was flooded with imported coffee. Kennedy would roast in the morning then get in his truck to deliver in the afternoon to local cafes. He is credited with being the first to take fresh coffee to supermarkets - a highly criticised move at the time.

He built Caffe L'affare to supply over 250 cafes around the country and to being the premium fresh coffee leader in supermarkets. Kennedy's signature roast "Primo" became the top selling fresh coffee in New Zealand.

Kennedy sold Caffe L'affare in 2006, but remains a consultant roaster there and still frequents the iconic café he built. He went on to purchase Milan-based espresso machine manufacturer Rocket Espresso Milano in 2007.

Watch the movie on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvUm9XCYmI8