Meet the Team Behind the Cheese
We’re Marie-Camille and Nicolas — partners in life, food, and now, cheese curds.
Originally from Québec, Canada, we moved to New Zealand in 2019 with our two kids. After decades in hospitality — we decided to bring a little old taste of home to our new one.
Marie is the dreamer, the creative spark, and the one who keeps the ideas flowing.
Nic is the rock — steady, structured, and practical, the one who turns those ideas into something real.
We’re both passionate about everything that lands on a dining table — from food and wine to cocktails, coffee, and local produce. Curds First combines all those passions in one place: something fresh, honest, and fun that people can share.
Why We Started Curds First
Before our cheese grows up, it’s a curd. Soft, salty, squeaky — still full of life.
That’s where we start.
Because we believe the best things don’t always need time — just great milk, a little care, and a lot of character.
Curds First isn’t just a name. It’s a way of thinking.
A reminder to put joy first, flavour first, the moment first — everything else can wait.
We’re the people who eat the toppings before the fries.
Who snack mid-cook.
Who think “mature cheese” is only half the fun.
We’re here for the squeak, the melt, the messy, the mmm that's good.
Fresh milk. Real squeak. No apologies.
Curds First.
Everything else later.
team@curdsfirstcheese.co.nz
Tauriko, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand