Koé Cheese Bread

Oohs and aahs were heard throughout the 2025 judging venue when stewards shared a delicious new product, Koé Cheese Bread. A Brazilian favourite, it became a judges’ and stewards’ favourite right that minute and earned itself an Outstanding Food Producer Awards Gold Medal at the same time.

If twenty years ago you had told young Búzio locals Camilla and Luca that their budding romance would carry them all the way to the antipodes, and that once there, they would be hand-rolling 80,000 cheese balls a year, they probably would’ve laughed you off the promenade and politely asked if you’d let them enjoy their pão de queijo in peace. “We were high school sweethearts,” the pair admit, “but of course, a lot happens in life.”

For Luca, ‘a lot’ roughly translates to his first love choosing just about the furthest place in the world away to leave him for. And although Camilla does not explicitly deny this—fate, as it so often does, would eventually have its say. “After a couple of years, she [Camilla] came back to Brazil to visit family,” explains Luca, “I told myself, ‘I’m not going to chase you’”. 

A month later, he was boarding a plane to New Zealand, one-way ticket at the ready.

Koé Cheese Bread is yet another one of our Outstanding Producers forged in the crucible of COVID. While some got stuck into sourdough, others baked their body weight in banana bread. For Búzio, Rio de Janeiro-raised, Camilla and Luca, pão de queijo—a traditional cheese ball snack ubiquitous in Brazil—was the only choice. It was a staple of their childhoods and, to them, the ultimate comfort food. 

This foray into home baking began as a way to reconnect with their culture and maintain a link home. Three busy years on, and the pair have won a Gold Medal for their frozen Brazilian cheese balls at the 2025 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.

With a decade of experience as a chef in New Zealand and a lifetime of memories and methods to draw upon, Camila’s lockdown batches never lasted too long on the kitchen counter. And with no existing suppliers in New Zealand, and the combined stomachs of our Latin community letting out one demanding groan, their home oven was about to get a workout.

“We always thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find these everywhere, like we do in Brazil’”, Luca explains, “every bakery, supermarket, gas station—even schools sell them back home.” 

Only with cooking for those from your homeland comes the weight of properly executing a taste of home. The pair knew, even during those early days, and despite rising costs and difficulties procuring ingredients, that no corners could or would be cut. “New Zealand has one of the best dairy industries in the world”, acknowledges Luca, “why would we take any shortcuts?”

This commitment to authenticity sees the couple import one key ingredient—the secret to the traditional texture and taste. Sour tapioca starch, also known as polvilho azedo, is made through a natural fermentation process of cassava starch, which, when ready, acts much like a sourdough starter—that is, once it’s delivered to Camila and Luca’s front doorstep in Christchurch.

It’s from this home that the pair has refined their pão de queijo—literally translating to ‘cheese bread’—over the years, testing countless recipes as they attempted to knead nostalgia into the dough. After the initial success of lockdowns—friends and compatriots with full stomachs and broad smiles—the next step was connecting with local distributors. This initial expansion began with Christchurch’s Spice Haven, now known as Bargain Me, a specialty market focused on imported foods, which trusted Koé during its infancy.

From there, markets beckoned. Mt Pleasant Farmers Market and Food Truck Alley were equally integral, along with some clear nous for marketing, branding and packaging. The pair explains that these are some of the “many hats” one wears when building a business from the ground up, and that they owe their natural business acumen to their parents.

“We got so much experience seeing them running their day, going everywhere, talking to suppliers—being on the phone, on the computer,” acknowledges Luca, “and when we started doing business, it felt so familiar. It felt like it made sense.”

This help was crucial, as although Camila's experience as a chef translates perfectly to the venture, Lucas’s career path is a touch more alternative. “Before arriving in NZ, I did petroleum engineering”, Luca recounts, “I thought I would be working on an oil rig. But I feel so much happier in New Zealand, the environment here is amazing, I’m not risking my life.” 

Now firmly in their stride, the pair manage mixed revenue streams. Weekly markets—presently, Christchurch’s Seekers Mākete at the Arts Centre, every Saturday from 10-3pm—wholesaling to stores and stepping up to stocking supermarket shelves. Most recently, and much to the delight of the pair, they have begun lining the cabinets of select cafes. 

“Even though we love the Brazilian community’s support, we don’t expect them to pay our bills,” explains Luca. And having just launched their webstore, it’s easier than ever to find out what all the fuss is about. “You’re going to take one bite and understand.” He adds.

To service such demand, they’ve expanded from the confines of their home kitchen to their garage and now offer a vegan alternative. But there are no plans to conquer the savoury game just yet. “We learnt that patience is key”, explains Luca, “there’s no way we rush this. We want to be recognised alongside high-quality Brazilian products, and we care about what we’re doing.” 

“One day at a time,” adds Camila.

This mantra echoes throughout their operations. Although they have enough demand to make a full-time go of it, they maintain part-time jobs to cover living costs and ensure that all profits from Koé are reinvested back into the business. They do all this while hand rolling over 2,000kg of pão de queijo a year, with each ball weighing just 25g. Luca explains that the herculean effort of hand-rolling each and every ball not only ensures a product fit for their own parents’ approval but also serves as a valuable opportunity for time together. “This is when we talk about business, about life, about goals and start developing ideas.” 

And although friends call them crazy for the lengths they go through to acutely manage and grow what is now an award-winning business, Luca’s response is as pragmatic as his last, “We’re just that crazy about it”.

Try Koe Cheese Bread for yourself - check out the website for stockists or to purchase directly from Luca and Camilla here.