Krishna
Botica
Creating great customer experience teams
award winning business leader
meet me
I have been the driving force behind some of New Zealand's successful restaurants as an owner-operator, and bring 30 years of doing everything that needs to be done to stay profitable and relevant in a highly competitive and challenging industry.
Amsterdam bound, I am in the perfect position to leverage my skills and experience to assist Netherlands businesses, either within, or outside the hospitality industry.
My career thus far has largely been a direct path to ownership, with little deviation. Others have said that they believe it’s because of my energetic approach to any task, coupled with my single-mindedness, that has resulted in my success.
That said, the biggest rewards have always been witnessing the successes of colleagues, including those I have managed. In a nutshell, I adore working with passionate people, and am genuinely interested in how they tick.
I humbly believe I am very good at creating the right environments for staff, as well as those in my personal life, to elevate their strengths in, whilst supportively assisting on areas they can improve on.
I’ve been told that I bring an open-minded and empathetic ear to whatever the challenges a staff member may be facing, but I’m also the sort of person who will have the hard conversations when needed. I put this down to a dogged determination to see the best in others, and in myself, and not be distracted from challenges, nor sugarcoat areas needing improvement.
Skin in the game
cafe hanoi
A force to be reckoned with. In a derelict area, surrounded by empty carparks, my husband, Tony McGeorge, a young and passionate chef, Jason Van Dorsten and I created a Northern Vietnamese restaurant in the heart of Auckland City's CBD. With lines out the door for years, shared plates and a no bookings policies, Cafe Hanoi changed the dining scene in Auckland. I ran the team whilst still managing my foundation business, Prego. 45 staff across an average of 12 nationalities at any one time. They said we couldn't do it; an unknown Asian cuisine, in an unproven area, owned and run by Westerners. It was 2010. We proved them wrong.
Ghost Street
Reflecting on our journey and delving into the core of our mission.
Ghost Street was launched during the pandemic, offering a bold tribute to our chef Nathan Houpapa's favorite Chinese dishes. The atmosphere is vibrant, with music that rocks and customers who hang menus from the ceiling, embracing our curated tastes. This venue is raw and intense, demanding resilience, confidence, business acumen, and reputation. We poured everything into it.
It has energy and charisma. Just like me!
Teams and leadership are central to every successful business I've managed or owned. At my core, I care deeply about people. In my life, I'm driven by the desire to find joy through relationships, business, food, and community. I believe in leaving a legacy, committing to tasks, and getting things done. Find the evidence below.
Prego restaurant - Auckland
I began my journey in the restaurant industry here.
The business opened in 1986, and I joined in 1990. Over the years, I climbed the ranks, learned the trade, listened to great mentors, and started to suggest and then implement improvements, such as developing training systems from scratch. At the age of 32 I was offered an ownership stake, and given the opportunity to manage another restaurant, SPQR, where I focused on improving service quality and profitability. After successfully achieving the goals of this business, and the goals I had personally set for myself, I returned to Prego to manage Front ofHouse, and subsequently took responsibility of the entire business operation. In 2000, we expanded the footprint of the venue and increased profit by 65%. Early retirement for my then business partner created new challenges and opportunities for my wonderful team to further harness the legacy work and build for the future. I am extremely proud that when I eventually exited, after 24 years of dedicated service, the business was in a strong, financially sustainable shape. Not only was I financially and emotionally rewarded for this, just importantly, the business’s future under new guidance and ownership, commenced under solid foundations and staff disruption was minimal. The business continues to use my, now-branded training program, and is still wildly successful.
I’m extremely proud to have been there for over half the business’s life, and look forward to their 40 year anniversary in 2026!