Sometimes beautiful ideas arise from challenging situations, and this has definitely been the case for Sini and Tyson Ropeti. Tyson had to give up running a construction business after developing polycystic kidney disease and had to find things to amuse himself while receiving dialysis treatment three times a week. “There’s not much to do when you’re in there for a few hours multiple times a week, so I watched a lot of things on my phone.” he laughs. One day, Tyson came across some delicious-looking baked potatoes, and this sparked the idea of recreating them with his wife. Turns out they were pretty good, and the couple wondered whether they could take this concept into a commercial situation. Tyson’s sister Trina had been through The Kitchen Project programme and encouraged them to give it a go – and so Sips and Spuds was born. Tyson and Sini have created a range of incredible fillings ranging from ‘bougie baked beans’ to fish curry to more Pacific influenced tastes like palusami. The ultimate comfort flavours wrapped up in perfectly cooked potatoey goodness.