Everyone’s Got to Eat

Connie Clarkson has been cooking food and writing about it for a large part of her life. After operating Auckland’s French Café, contributing to Metro magazine, writing a cookbook and even being a judge, she now is the Head of Commercial Place Operations at Auckland’s Panuku Development. Connie describes her role as the job of a lifetime. At Panuku, she pulls on all her experience and connections she’s made over decades to regenerate spaces like the Auckland Waterfront or Wynyard Quarter and add new life to neighbourhoods, making sure people can eat well no matter where they live.

Connie believes that food is the cornerstone of a great neighbourhood and that cookbooks are history books. “It’s an amazing thing, food. We all have to eat. More than that, food has the power to transcend age, place and wealth to give a voice to our experiences”, says Connie.