Sculptor cooks up new Kiwi icon
By EMMA DANGERFIELD - Kaikoura Star
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Kaikoura
Sam Genet is blessed with a great imagination and real artistic flair. He has also enjoyed baking and sculpting for as long as he can remember.
Now he has combined all these skills to create the tiki biki, an edible Kiwi emblem which he hopes will take off not only here in Kaikoura but eventually across the country.
The idea came about a year ago, when Sam was working in Twizel. He had a bit of spare time on his hands and that, along with no television, led him to thinking about combining baking and sculpting.
He came up with the idea that if he could harness New Zealand's favourite ginger biscuit and add a uniquely Kiwi twist, he must be on to a winner.
As his experimental phase went on, and he baked biscuits for his friends who loved them, he began to discover how many people did not know the meaning of the tiki symbol, which so many take for granted as being truly Kiwi.
"That's tourism – and that's what we are all about in Kaikoura," he says. "I decided if I could try to educate people about the meaning and sell biscuits at the same time, it could be a great concept."
Spending much of his time working in the movie industry, Sam is acutely aware that his income relies heavily on the fickle nature of this industry, and although he has worked on a number of successful films, says he would much rather be home in Kaikoura making biscuits.
As an artist, Sam has a keen interest in Maori design, and his roots on his mother's side are from Ngati Pamoana, a subtribe of the Whanganui iwi from the Koriniti Marae, on the banks of the Whanganui River.
So he thought he would try to share his love of the design of the cultural aspect of the tiki, or hei-tiki, with an educational aspect, created a tiki mould and research the meaning of the symbol. He discovered a number of legends surrounding its meaning, but the one he favours is the representation of the first man of the world.
The biscuits are not only shaped like a tiki, but the packaging explains a bit about this meaning, and that the tiki has brought good luck, inner knowledge and strength of character for centuries.
The process has not been an easy road, however. Although Sam had the knowledge and the skills to create the mould and bake the product, he has had to learn all about copyrighting, barcoding, packaging and other legalities which are necessary to produce a marketable product. But with much work and research on his part and a lot of help from Andrew Spencer, to whom he is very grateful, he now has all the ticks of approval and his own website, www. tikibiki. co.nz.
The next step is to find an industrial kitchen where the biscuits can be made. However, with funds a bit tight at present, Sam has gone to Australia for a few months to work on new movie, Sanctum. He then heads to Sydney to sculpt concrete at a crocodile park in order to save up some money to continue his biscuit quest.
He would also like to find an alternative environmentally-friendly packaging material. At the moment the tiki bikis are individually wrapped in plastic, which he would like to avoid to fit in with Kaikoura's Green Globe status and recycling ideals.
"It would be great to find see-through packaging that's environmentally sound, especially coming from Kaikoura. I'm still working on that on, and open to suggestions."
The tiki bikis, either ginger or chocolate chip, are made from natural ingredients, with no colourings or preservatives. They are available at the Beach Hutt in West End and the Coffee Cart on Beach Rd where their popularity will be tested before Sam's return from Australia.
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