Missing the cultural flavours of the Pacific and Aotearoa, two young Kiwi women flatting in a dingy Bondi flat started making Cook Island donuts, sowing the first seed for what would become DOE Donuts.
They launched the business back in Auckland and say the donuts stem from nostalgic Kiwiana and heartwarming Pasifika memories.
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Grace Tauber is one half of the partnership along with Shenine Dube and told Summer Times their donuts are inspired by flavours of the Pacific.
“One of our first flavours was pineapple pie, which was inspired by a Pacific Island desert. It has got a vanilla sponge base, a pineapple custard filling, and then fresh whipped cream on top.
"And so, I thought that would be so easy and delicious to turn into a donut filling. And yeah, it was a hit.”
The pair started off making traditional Cook Island donuts, she says.
“Cook Island donuts are sort of like the Pacific Island version of Māori fry bread.
"You actually eat them with savoury foods and you can have as dessert, they're just a nice accompaniment to a main meal in the islands.
“Super yummy - you can save them for the next day. They're a little bit dense. So, people often just heat them up in the oven or the microwave and have them with a cup of tea the next day.”
From there they branched out into other dough styles, she says.
“We developed our recipe into a more brioche dough.”
Inspiration comes from deserts they both loved growing up, Grace says.
“All classic bakery items such as vanilla custard slice, we've turned that into a donut flavour.
“We have got a lolly cake-flavoured donut which has got a malt biscuit chocolate ganache topping with desiccated coconut and lolly cake on top.
“We've got the pineapple pies and we've more recently started creating flavours from pandam leaves which is quite heavily found in Asian deserts.”
Business has taken off, she says.
“Now we've got four of us in the kitchen. So, the business has grown from just Shenine and I to four. So, we have more people to contribute and help develop recipes.”
And the business name DOE? That stands for donuts over everything, she says.
