Farrah’s journey started in the summer of ’99. Farrah and Jovan’s friend Jimmy, who owned a local kebab shop, commented that he couldn’t find a tortilla wrap that wouldn’t crack or split
when rolled. This sparked an idea. The pair decided to renovate an old fish and chip shop, and convert it into a bakery.
After much trial and error of both recipes and methods, they discovered traditional methods were the way to go. They rolled dough balls by hand and stretched each one into the perfect tortilla wrap, cooking them on a hot plate over an open flame.
“In the beginning, not everyone believed in us, but with pioneering spirit, we packed our bags and headed to the home of tortillas to refi ne our craft, Mexico!,” says Jovan. Many tortillas later, he and Farrah also journeyed through the US to discover the evolution of the wrap.
As word spread and Farrah’s began to grow as a business, Farrah and Jovan bought equipment to keep up with demand – including ‘Lucy’, their very first commercial mixer. Soon they traded the fax for a computer – and the upgrades kept coming.
Fast forward a few years, and at Farrah’s new, world-class purpose-built facility in Upper Hutt, they have upgraded to the very best of equipment, and continue to make all of their delicious wraps and tortillas here, baked the traditional way over an open flame.
From day one, food service has been a key part of Farrah’s business. “We started off delivering our handmade wraps and tortillas to local kebab shops and other food service customers – many of them are still customers to this day,” says Jovan.
Farrah’s gets a real buzz from the great relationships they have with the people they do business with, and are proud to support other New Zealand businesses, jobs, and communities. Farrah’s also prides itself on its relationships with local suppliers and New Zealand made products. The fl our they use in their wraps and tortillas is locally milled just down the road from their factory, the packaging is all made in Christchurch, and the cartons that the products are shipped in are made in Levin.
In the current hospitality landscape, where ingredient and labour costs continue to rise, Farrah’s knows that every single dollar matters to the success of food service businesses.
“Our range of food service wraps and tortillas allows our customers to adapt their menu and cabinet offerings all year round to capture the essence of seasonal ingredients in a creative, cost-effective way,” says Jovan.
“From kebabs, to soft shell taco platters, to café cabinet offerings, our food service range works perfectly, and the opportunities really are endless. Fill them, fold them, roll them, wrap them, shape them, fry them, bake them, stack them, grill them, or dip them – anything goes. We’re all about providing menu versatility, zero waste, solution-based menu items to our customers.”
Since that very first summer in ’99, Farrah’s has upheld their high-quality product standards. From the smell and taste of the real herbs and vegetables, to the smooth, soft, rounded edges, the care that is put into each batch of dough shines through in every wrap and tortilla.
Let Farrah's food service wraps and tortillas level up your menu or cabinet this season!
For more information, please contact Farrah’s food service team via email at info@farrahs.co.nz.
