As featured in current BayBuzz magazine article, Twenty.
Lucie’s a primary school teacher and a brand-new mum, Holly’s a surf instructor with a BA in English lit. Together they run Hermana Food Truck, creating beautiful Mexican-inspired food from fresh local produce “with a Kiwi, Hawke’s Bay-infused twist”.
The Macdonald sisters have always been close, and knew they wanted to do something foodie, fun and creative together, but the impetus came from the 1960s caravan they discovered down in Wanaka three years ago, with everything else happening “naturally” from there.
Growing up in Waimarama, their mum, who was always trying out new dishes, cooked “amazing dinners”, while their dad was into gardening and growing. “Good healthy food is what we know,” says Lucie, and “we’re almost perfectionist in wanting what we offer to be sustainable, ethical, organic.”
Their menu is seasonally driven and they go out of their way, covering kilometres if need be, to support local businesses and Hawke’s Bay grown, letting the produce direct their food creations, whether that’s Bostock’s chicken, Good Vibes mushrooms or Pakowhai jalapeno chillies.
They are inspired by people doing new things, people who take risk, like Gemma and Matt at Brave Brewery, Gretta at Hāpi – “such an awesome business”, Alex Tylee’s seasonal menu at Pipi, and the three guys at Hands On in Napier who make all Hermana’s tortillas.
“They shipped in a tortilla machine from Mexico to make their own mesa from scratch, without knowing if there was a market for it here, just following their passion – we love that.”
“We are so lucky to be in Hawke’s Bay, with all the produce that is grown here,” says Holly. But operating a food truck at the farmers’ market and local events is not just about the food, “It’s a cool way to get to known people in the Bay, to build connections and relationships.”