Meet Darren Jarrett: The King Of Ashby Pies
Darren Jarrett, known by more than 68K followers as @Dazzas_Cooked, is changing the bakery game and supporting the Warriors every step of the way! 🏉
Owner of Ashby Pies, Dazza found his success when he ditched the regular cafe sammies in place of imaginative and ever-changing pies filling the glass cabinet. 🥧
Darren documents hospo life, delish foodie creations as well as his NRL fantasy league throughout his content. He leaves a smile on viewers' faces, as well as a few rumbling tummies every step of the way! 🙌
Where does your passion for food come from and how did you get started in the industry?
My passion for food started really early, actually! As a kid, my auntie used to take me out instead of a birthday present. She'd take me out to weird and wonderful restaurants, eating all sorts of food, cuisines and cultures that I wouldn't otherwise have experienced. And so from that, I fell in love with food.
I got started in the industry real young. I moved to Queenstown when I was 17 to work in a couple of well-known restaurants down there. It was the best thing I ever did for my career was to get away from Auckland and immerse myself into one of the hospitality Mecca’s of the entire world.
Having my own bakery now is a dream come true for that massive kid inside of me!
You’re the owner of the iconic Ashby Pies in Auckland, what advice do you have for other foodies out there wanting to get into business too?
My advice for other foodies trying to get into business is make sure that you really love it. Owning a business gives you all the freedom in the world and absolutely none as well.
So many people fall into hospitality without a background of working in the industry. Make sure that you're ready for long hours and long days! Also, have a test run in someone else's business before you pour a lifetime of savings into a dream that may or may not work out for you.
Hospitality is very hard, but it's so rewarding seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they tuck into delicious food. Anything will work out if you work hard!
“Having my own bakery now is a dream come true for that massive kid inside of me! ” - Dazza
Congratulations on releasing your own cook book! What inspired the idea and what was the process of creating it like?
With ‘Dazza’s Cooked’, I wanted to show people that there is a bit more to me and what I can cook than just pies! We make heaps of other stuff and I wanted to share these recipes and adventures so that if you're not in Auckland and you can't get to St. Heliers, you can still try the delicious Ashby Pies!
The entire process was quite long, about 18 months or so.
We know it’s a hard one, but which one of your pie flavours is your personal favourite? If you can’t pick one, what about a top 3?
If you come to Ashby Pies, there's three things you have to get.
One of them is my favourite pie – it's the Beef Cheek and Cheese. We've been making that pie now for ten years across a couple of businesses.
I also want you to get the Pork and Jalapeño Sausage roll and the Cinnamon Bun with Cream Cheese icing!
“Anything will work out if you work hard.” - Dazza
To see more of Darren, visit him on social media or check out his talent page.
