Krishna
Botica
Creating great customer experience teams
Creating great customer experience teams
award winning business leader
meet me
Action oriented, enthusiastic and a total 'people person''. I have been the driving force behind some of New Zealand's most successful restaurants as an owner operator.
I am now pivoting my career and moving to Amsterdam.
I bring with me 30 years of doing everything that needs to be done to stay profitable and relevant in a highly competitive and notoriously difficult industry. I am now ready to dedicate my efforts to growing businesses in other industries that can benefit from my unique and broad skill set.
I adore working with passionate people, and believe that leadership is about working with their strengths but am always ready to have the hard conversations needed.
My career thus far has been a direct path to ownership with little deviation due to my energetic approach to all tasks and my single mindedness.
I find reward in others success, only take credit where credit is due and am curious about all things to do with humans and food.
Skin in the game
cafe hanoi
A force to be reckoned with. In a derelict area, surrounded by empty carparks, my husband, Tony McGeorge, a young and passionate chef, Jason Van Dorsten and I created a Northern Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Auckland City's CBD. With lines out the door for years, shared plates and a no bookings policies, Cafe Hanoi changed the dining scene in Auckland. I ran the team whilst still managing my foundation business, Prego. 45 staff across an average of 12 nationalities at any one time. They said we couldn't do it; an unknown Asian cuisine, in an unproven area, owned and run by Westerners. It was 2010. We proved them wrong.
Ghost Street
Reflecting on our journey and delving into the core of our mission.
Ghost Street was launched during the pandemic, offering a bold tribute to our chef Nathan Houpapa's favorite Chinese dishes. The atmosphere is vibrant, with music that rocks and customers who hang menus from the ceiling, embracing our curated tastes. This venue is raw and intense, demanding resilience, confidence, business acumen, and reputation. We poured everything into it.
It has energy and charisma. Just like me.
Teams and leadership are central to every successful business I've managed or owned. At my core, I care deeply about people. In my life, I'm driven by the desire to find joy through relationships, business, food, and community. I believe in leaving a legacy, committing to tasks, and getting things done. Find the evidence below.
Prego restaurant - Auckland
I began my journey in the restaurant industry here. The business opened in 1986, and I joined in 1990. Over the years, I climbed the ranks and was eventually given ownership in 2003 at the age of 32. I developed the training systems from scratch. I was then given the opportunity to manage another restaurant, SPQR, where I focused on improving service quality and profitability. By the age of 28, I had successfully achieved these goals. I later returned to Prego to manage the Front of House and eventually took charge of the entire operation.
In 2000 we expanded the footprint of the venue by 20 seats and increased profit by 65%. Early retirement for my then business partner who then left me and my wonderful team to get on with even more legacy work.
I sold out in 2013, after 24 years of dedicated service. This company still uses my 'trademark training', remains wildly successful, and will turn 40 in 2026.