Viv's Kitchen

Viv's Kitchen Good old fashion food, made with REAL ingredients, the way it used to be. Also our large wholesome homemade pies are a hit !!
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Here at Viv's Kitchen our motto is "Food The Way it Used To Be", good old fashioned homemade food, using real ingredients, no packet mixes used here !! and we are Famous for our huge CREAM HORNS, with literally thousands having been sold ! We realise times have change so we can also cater for the Gluten Free, with a specific menu. We have lovely staff, a huge car park, and a massive outdoor area t

o enjoy. We have a tree house, and playground equipment for the kids to have some fun and give mums and dads a bit of peace while enjoying their food outside under one of our a lovely new umbrellas or a tree. and we are also happy for the family dog to get out and stretch their legs as well. Why not pay us a visit and enjoy it all for yourself !!!

Good afternoon everyone A little longer post. Sorry for the late update, but everything has been all go since Monday mor...
03/09/2026

Good afternoon everyone
A little longer post.

Sorry for the late update, but everything has been all go since Monday morning and to be honest I'm feeling a little tired.

Kevan was taken to Wellington Hospital via Ambulance Monday morning and I remained at home. Tuesday morning I was given a ride to Wellington, caught up with the cardiologist and given all info on what was going to be happening that afternoon. With our heads swirling we waited while Kevan was prepared for his procedure. Before we knew it, he was on his way to have his new life saver implanted. He was gone for approximately 2 hrs, I stayed with him for a while and then returned home later in the afternoon to Boo, Lucy & Charlie.
Wednesday morning, it was another trip to Wellington and I'm so pleased to say he was doing well and soon after I got there, we were in the Discharge Lounge and ready to return home.
It had felt like an eternity since he had been gone and horrible to think he had left for his morning walk the Tuesday before and never came back in the door.
But thanks to Paramedics Ben & Brendon, the First responder, the medical team at Palmerston North ED, all the nursing teams at both Palmy & Wellington Hospitals he is now home.
It was an extremely frightening ordeal and we would certainly never want to go through that again and with the help of medical technology we shouldnt need to. Now if his heart starts to play silly games his implanted defibrillator will try to set things right and if it doesn't he will receive a shock and be back to a normal heart rhythm.

He's doing really well albeit somewhat drained but extremely humbled by all the care he has received...we cannot fault our health system and how he has been looked after and the money that must have been spent in the process, goodness knows how much his new best friend and potential lifesaver must have cost. See the attached picture of the implanted defibrillator.

Charlie was happy to see him, Lucy took a little while to come around and Boo stayed in hiding for a bit, but Im happy to say they're all back to being how they were before this all happened.
He's not allowed to drive for 6 months, so the poor guy has me for his chauffeur.

Lastly, thank you all so very much for your kindness, your comments and your personal messages and too our team for holding everything together and continuing to deliver the service we are known for
Where to from here, we're not 100 % sure, but it has certainly put a few things in perspective.
Thank you everyone 💓

Good morning everyone Kevan is having his procedure done today and I will update his progress soon, but one week on sinc...
31/08/2026

Good morning everyone

Kevan is having his procedure done today and I will update his progress soon, but one week on since he suffered his Cardiac Arrest I wanted to share some good news. A post I intended to do before our world turned upside down.

A short while ago I did a post to congratulate our Cris on the news that she and partner Evan had purchased their first home together.
It was also to share how lucky we are to have her and the progress she has made in life since arriving in NZ from the Philippines.
Anyway, long story short.... life just continues to get better and better for her and while out doing what she loves, hiking, Evan got down on one knee 😊 and she said YES ❤️
We couldn't be more happy for her, she deserves all the good things life continues to give her.
Im sure you would love to join us in congratulating them both.

Have a lovely day everyone and I will post an update on Kevan shortly ❤️

Good afternoon everyone Im sure many of you will be wondering how Kevan is progressing. He is still in the hospital and ...
30/08/2026

Good afternoon everyone

Im sure many of you will be wondering how Kevan is progressing.
He is still in the hospital and will definitely be going to Wellington.

From all the tests he has undergone, the MRI showed he has an hereditary condition which is Scar Tissue in his right ventricle which is what caused the whole terrifying situation. It could have happened at anytime under any circumstances, it could have even happened while sleeping.
It may possibly never happen again, but should it do so the the implanted defibrillator will kick into action and immediately shock his heart to return to a normal rhythm.
I have posted a couple of screenshots which can best explain what happened and why it was so serious, and also why the cardiologist couldn't believe how long he stayed in it for.
It also shows how it is the "electrical" workings of the heart that caused it, (which is how a couple of others have commented).
Heart Attack is the plumbing and Cardiac Arrest is the electrical.
Goodness me, in a short time, we have learnt an awful lot about the workings of the human heart ❤️ 😊

I will endeavour to keep you all posted and once again thank you all so very much for each and every one of your caring comments, it has helped us through a very unexpected ordeal.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone 😊

Good afternoon everyone A little but longer update 😊First and foremost I want to thank you all so very much for the ove...
27/08/2026

Good afternoon everyone
A little but longer update 😊

First and foremost I want to thank you all so very much for the over 400 comments wishing Kevan all the best and also for your concerns as to the effect the events of Tuesday morning have had on me.
I would personally loved to have reacted and commented on them all, but right now that not possible, but please know that myself and Kevan have read them ALL.

At this stage I can't give you much of an update as we are still waiting for one ourselves.
What I need to make you aware of is that he never had a Heart Attack, his episode was a Cardiac Arrest, ( yes they are two different things).

He has had an Angiogram and he has NO blockages and yesterday he had an MRI and today an Ultrasound. We are waiting to hear the results of these before we will know the next steps. Its been suggested that he will go to Wellington and have an ICD or (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) inserted into the chest wall. It can pick up and track life-threatening heart rhythms, so if what happened to him happens again, it will automatically shock the heart ❤️
The cardiologist has already said once its done, ( if thats what they decide to do) he can return to living his life doing things just the way he has.
I said on my previous post that Im sure he has the heart of an Ox and I truly believe his very strong will helped him get through the horrible ordeal. The cardiologist has said he does not know how his heart went through the cardiac arrest for as long as it did.

Im so proud of how calm he remained through it all and in his words to me, he said he felt completely helpless and he knew there was nothing he could do.
Which once again brings me back to the First Responders, we know there was nothing we could do.....but they certainly did. Theres not enough words to thank them.

At this stage as far as we know, he will remain in hospital until he goes to Wellington, ( if that's the decision they make). I will definitely keep you all updated and tomorrow keep an eye out and I will try and do a Charlie post, which I know some of you are probably hanging out for and it will be nice to share a happier post.
So until then, from Kevan and myself, thank you all again for your lovely messages of love and support its so very much appreciated ❤️

Good afternoon everyone A very long and thought provoking post....How quickly things can change in the blink of can eye....
25/08/2026

Good afternoon everyone
A very long and thought provoking post....

How quickly things can change in the blink of can eye. Today I was going to be doing a Charlie post...
Instead I am currently sitting in a chair at Palmerston North Hospital.

Kevan had gone for his early morning walk and at 4.30 my phone was ringing.
It was Kevan, not in a good way at all. I found him slumped over a fence at the local Church of all places After a struggle to get him in the car and home, I phone for an ambulance.
It seemed to take forever, ( as it does when you're in a panicked situation)
One look at him and they immediately got him into the ambulance and it was obvious it wasn't a good situation.
He suffered a Cardiac Arrest, his heart stopped beating just as they were about to shock him and because he remained conscious the whole time this was happening, they had to sedate him before shocking him. They gave him the " normal amount ", but bloody typical of him, it wasn't enough to knock him.
Then as soon as they shocked him his heart rate went from 280 to 120.
The relief I felt when I heard the first responders telling him he was okay, was the most incredible feeling.
I knew then that he was in a far better state than 5 minutes earlier.

They will carry out some more tests to see why this happened and how to prevent it again.

As I said earlier, its incredible how quickly things can change and you never know what can happen from one minute to the next.
A huge thank you to the first responders, they need to be recognised far more for the work they do. Although these are everyday occurrences for them, it surely can never be easy trying to save someone's life and thsts exactly what they did.

One thing Im convinced of though is my husband has the Heart of an Ox 🐂
Take care everyone, look afterceach other x

Good morning everyone A couple of weeks ago a lovely man approached us about the Trains not operating. Unfortunately the...
22/08/2026

Good morning everyone

A couple of weeks ago a lovely man approached us about the Trains not operating. Unfortunately they must be supervised while in use, because the rules don't always get read or adhered to and within no time we'll see them being disrespected and they can so easily get damaged.
David and his family have offered to open them and watch them for us as and when they can and on a weather permitting basis..hours 10am until 2pm.
However, one good turn deserves another and as it turns out, David has a small business selling Candy Floss, so while he is supervising the trains he will sometimes bring his Kiwifloss cart along and sell his Candy floss 😊
Win, win. David will be there today and altjough the weather may be a little cold, its expected to be fine 🤞
Maybe we'll see you there.

Have a great day everyone 😀

Good evening everyone Today, I was privileged to share a moment with a delightful gentleman and his 2 daughters who had ...
22/08/2026

Good evening everyone

Today, I was privileged to share a moment with a delightful gentleman and his 2 daughters who had brought him over from Wanganui to enjoy his 96th birthday at Viv's Kitchen, ( one of his favourite places his daughters informed me).
He was so lovely and immaculately dressed, (which his daughters also informed me)..... he has always done so.
Our girls joined in and sang him happy birthday and I know it made his day, just that much more special.
Im so lucky to share these special times with people, whether its younger visitor's like Pepper last week or the lovely Bob today, every encounter has its importance to me 😊

Then, as I sat there starting to write this post, Im hearing the news on the radio that a Police officer is lying critically ill in Wellington hospital. Hit by a speeding stolen vehicle, its occupants 14 & 15 years of age.
Just last week I had written in my post about our early morning wake up call, police sirens outside our house at 2am. It turned out to be the very same thing, a stolen vehicle that had just been spike.
Luckily though, as far as we know, no one was hurt in that incident.

My mind then wanders back to 96 year old Bob and what he would have been doing at age 14 and even what I myself was doing at that age.
One thing I know for sure, we would never have been stealing cars, or speeding in one.

Its so sad and tragic what is happening in our world today and Im so grateful to have grown up in what I and Im sure many others would agree were undoubtedly better times. Times of innocence and fun.

So with that said, please feel free to join me in wishing Bob a very happy birthday and praying the injured Police officer can make a speedy recovery 🙏

Have a lovely evening everyone ❤️

Good morning everyone A little longer post today.While im sitting here writing this post, Im listening to the news on th...
16/08/2026

Good morning everyone
A little longer post today.

While im sitting here writing this post, Im listening to the news on the radio, reporting on how the hospitals are clogged with people and the winter ills.
We ourselves have been feeling the effects of them, with staff absences and its been a pretty rough week.
We get through the best we can, trying to find ways to lighten the stress, but there honestly isn't a lot we can do apart from shutting the doors. We put up the signs, ti say we can't make cold drinks,( it a time factor), signs on the door to let people know we're short sfaffed, before they walk in the door, and to please be patient......all while still trying to deliver the best service we can, while under the added pressure.
The people still keep coming and most are very understanding, but you still get those who are a little unforgiving, ( thank goodness this only counts for a few)

Then amongest all the chaos Jess comes out to me in the kitchen and says theres a young girl wants to know if I can pop out and meet her.
I could just say...."sorry I can't, I myself am far to busy trying to get baking done", but I would NEVER do that because what might not seem important to some, is huge to me. The fact that a young girl wants to say hello to me is what reminds me why we do what we do. The joy it brings.
Thankfully that young girl doesn't see the strain on my face as I try to hide it, but then she makes a statement to me and asks.....

"Why aren't you out here, walking around, seeing the people"

My reply....

"Hmmmm, I ask myself that everyday" 🤔

Its coming up 20 years since we started this business and I know life should have got a lot easier...., and for those who think owning a business is a walk in the park...Wrong !!
But thats a whole other story for another day.
The point of this post isn't to get sympathy or criticism, but to show, no matter how rough it gets, theres those very simple, special moments, ( like a young girl wanting you say hello) that motivates you to keep going.

So thank you Pepper, for simply noticing. ❤️

And to all of you, Thank you, whether its just taking the time to read my posts or making time visit us we appreciate you 😊 have a great day.

15/08/2026

Good morning ebryones

Well good golly me, what a night we's just had.
At 2am,( when I should have been doing Zoomies), we all's got woken up by this loud, scary noise. It went sumfing like...
Whoop-whoop...whoop-whoop ,( mum said its called a siren 🚨), I don't cares what its called, it scared the ( you know what out of me 💩) and there was lights flashing too. Then Dad got up to see what was going on and there was car headlights shining ebrywhere.

Boo kept sticking her head through the blinds to see what was happenings and then mum couldn't go back to sleeps so she had a look and there was a man in a uniform with a big scary dog on a lead in our driveway 🙀

So as you can imagine, we're all' pretty tired this morning...
But me, well....I'm feeling pretty chilled as you can see in the video, and Boo, me and Lucy will be able to sleeps all day, but Im's a bit worried about Mum & Dads cause I knows they're both pretty tired and they have to go to works and spend all days at that place Mum rescued me from 😿

Have a lovely day ebryones, Im off to catch up on some z's 😽

Address

9 Dundas Rd (Main Road ) Ohakea End
Sanson
4817

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Tuesday 7am - 3pm
Wednesday 7am - 3pm
Thursday 7am - 3pm
Friday 7am - 3pm
Saturday 8am - 3pm
Sunday 8am - 3pm

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06 3293234

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