John Tipene’s dream was to recreate the taste of a hangi without having to prepare the traditional pit, which was impossible for people renting or without land available. Inspired by his uncle's catering business in Northland, where a huge hangi maker was packed on the back of a truck and carted around the upper North Island, John designed a prototype out of an old beer keg, then spent 18 months refining his idea and getting the process just right.
He started to produce a rectangular hangi cooker made from stainless steel, using real river stones which were sourced locally. These stones imparted a beautiful flavour to the food being cooked, and as they were used more and more they took less time to heat up. Each cooker came with a blower attachment which could be attached to any standard gas bottle, and got the stones glowing white hot within an hour. The kai then cooked for two to three hours. As John said, "The success of the product is in the kohatu, in the stones".
Tipene initially sold the keg-shaped prototype models on Trade Me, with the first 40 selling out within days. He then moved to the box shaped models, and his business went from strength to strength. He began running the business full time and hired staff to help weld and construct the cookers, all out of his garage in Waitara.
Sadly, these portable hangi cookers are no longer being manufactured.