August 5th, 2026
If you’ve spent any time working out of The Workshop Ponsonby over the last three months, you’ve probably spotted André Taber with his head down at his desk, locked in absolute focus.
While a lot of our community spends their days building SaaS platforms or engineering the future, André has been quietly cooking up something a little different: a comprehensive history of New Zealand’s Chinese restaurants, set to be published by Massey University Press in August 2027.
“I’m an author and food historian,” André explains. “Look in secondhand shops for my out-of-print and highly collectable books A Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Olive Oil and The Great New Zealand Pie Guide — and stay tuned for my forthcoming, as-yet-untitled book on Chinese restaurants!”
Becoming a food historian isn’t exactly a linear career path. For André, it was a journey of following his passions until they lined up.
“As you can imagine, the process of becoming a food historian is a circuitous one. It started with a love of eating and cooking, then journalism school training, then figuring out history was what I was really interested in, then returning to history studies at university. All sorts of surprising and fascinating projects have come my way, even in a small market like New Zealand.”
André spent his three-month stint at Ponsonby putting the final touches on his manuscript. Now that the first draft is officially wrapped, he leaves us to dive straight into the editing, design, and production phase.
When asked how he powers through such a massive writing push, he’s quick to dismiss typical advice: “Don’t ask authors about productivity hacks — inspiration hits us in the weirdest ways! But if you know an office environment stimulates your work ethic or helps your focus, coworking at The Workshop is for you.”
So, what does the ideal environment look like when writing a book?
“Coffee and some of Pippa’s fresh baking is the best place to start when I have to define my ideal work environment. Most of the resources I use for my historical research are online, so good Wi-Fi and a decent monitor are a must. At The Workshop Ponsonby there’s a good energy. Everyone’s so friendly, yet they also set the tone by being driven, focused workers.”
If you want to keep up with André’s ongoing research, check out aristologist.com for local food history news and events. You can also dive into some of his past research through these Auckland Libraries talks:
Farewell, André!
We’re so glad The Workshop could serve as the launchpad for your draft. Thanks for bringing such great energy to Ponsonby—we can’t wait to grab a copy off the shelves in 2027!
Want to give coworking a try? Get in touch with us here or send us an email [email protected]. We’ve got great options to suit a wide range of business requirements.
