Maarten was invited to chef at one of the most prestigious hotels in Christchurch. He was enticed by the offering of a new life, good pay and an all expenses paid flight to New Zealand. Until the 1970s there was no formal training for chefs in New Zealand, leading most fine dining restaurants to recruit chefs from overseas.
Maarten immediately found that that there was a lack of knowledge of European cuisine across the New Zealand catering industry and by restaurant diners.
“Butchers didn’t know what a Pork Medallion or Filet Mignon was, so instead they would send over a whole pig and we would prepare it ourselves. We would put French cuisine on the menu but most diners would not have a clue what they were eating,” says Maarten.
“We learnt pretty quickly that we needed to make a change. Our food became a New Zealand version of European style cuisine,” he says.
Achieving the right taste was the easy part of the business for Maarten. But transferring his chef’s knowledge to bulk manufacturing was something he needed help with.
“My experience as a chef provided me with a good knowledge base but essentially I self-taught my way into the manufacturing business.” With his wife Henderika and two young sons the foundations of French Maid were laid – initially as Fineline Foods Limited.
“I didn’t have time to go to university to gain a Food Technology qualification so I sat down and read everything that I could find about manufacturing bulk food.”
What sold the deal for the chefs was that Maarten could make sauces as good, if not better, than what the chefs were making themselves - and a lot faster.
His first product off the line was mayonnaise. Tartare sauce followed shortly after. Now the company produces over 165 variants of authentic tasting sauces and condiments.
The Groen family has built up a company which now employs approx 67 staff – a far cry from the team of four the family started with.