For more than a decade, Michael Van de Elzen and his wife Bee have poured almost every waking hour into building the self-sustaining cooking school of their dreams. But with daughters Hazel and Ivy growing up fast, the couple has realised there’s something more precious they don’t want to miss: the final few years before their girls fly the nest.
So after 12 years at their beloved Muriwai farm, the couple has made the emotional decision to sell up and start a new chapter.
“It’s a little bit bittersweet, but we’re looking forward to taking a break,” says Mike. “But not much of a break – I’m happiest when I’m busy.”
On his new adventure
Though he’s keeping his next move close to his chest, Mike is clear that after 40 years in the business, he isn’t walking away from hospitality. Instead, he’s redefining his priorities.
“Hospo is in my blood – it’s all I’ve known,” tells the 54-year-old. “So I’m not quitting. I’m just changing the way we do it. I’m not 21 any more. I can’t do an 18-hour shift in the kitchen and then back it up the next day.”
Despite their deep love for both the farm and their Good from Scratch cooking school, Mike says the decision to sell came surprisingly easily.
Finishing on a high
Pushing through another hectic Christmas period at the end of last year, he and Bee, also 54, agreed they wanted to walk away feeling proud rather than wait until the demands of the business had taken too much from them.
“You’re only as good as your last meal and my greatest fear would be to serve something or give someone an experience that I wasn’t proud of,” Mike explains. “So we’re making the call to go out on a high. We’ve finished what we started.”
The property has now sold, but the family won’t hand over the keys until February, meaning one last busy holiday season ahead. But this year will be extra-special. Ivy, 13, will be working front of house with her mum, while Mike will be joined in the kitchen by their eldest, Hazel, 15.
“I’m looking forward to spending a final Christmas with her in the kitchen,” Mike smiles.
While Ivy is sad to be leaving, he says in typical teenage fashion, big sister Hazel “couldn’t be happier to have her own bathroom”.
Where to next
Exactly where the family will call home next is still uncertain, but they’re hoping they won’t have to venture far to fulfil Hazel’s wish. While the farm holds more than a decade of family memories, it’s their deep ties to the local community that make the idea of leaving Muriwai especially difficult.
In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, their farm became a community hub with the couple helping to raise funds for the recovery. In turn, locals have supported them.
“It’s a fantastic community and they have given us a lot,” Mike says. “Every farm shop and supper club, they turned up. For every birthday, wedding or work function, they came to us first. That has meant a lot to Bee and me.”
While their chapter with their cookery school may be coming to an end, Mike has no intention of hanging up his apron completely.
Helping Kiwis in the kitchen
One role that brings a lot of satisfaction is hosting Eat Well for Less NZ alongside fellow foodie Ganesh Raj. With six seasons now under their belts, Mike says he hasn’t lost his passion for helping Kiwi families put nutritious food on the table.
In fact, his own experience as a busy working dad constantly reminds him why the show matters.
“When I finish work on the farm and I come inside at 6 o’clock, the kids are hungry. I have 30 minutes to get a meal on the table and I’m standing there, thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ And that’s me with all that food knowledge. Imagine someone who doesn’t have that.”
For the first time in years, Mike doesn’t quite know what comes next. After a lifetime of deadlines and dinner services, that uncertainty feels liberating.
What he does know is that whatever follows, there’ll be more time for his family and the things he loves.
“I love mountain biking and cycling,” he enthuses. “I’ve recently bought a boat and I haven’t even gone out on it yet. And apparently, I’m going to school camp next year, which is something I wouldn’t normally have been able to do. So I’ll be busy in another way.”
Eat Well for Less NZ streams on TVNZ+.
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