Kevin Gilbert

Kevin is the key person behind Gilbert's – master baker, product developer, salesperson, procurement officer, chief of staff and many other titles.

Kevin got into baking in around 1989 when he wanted to leave school but was only allowed to do so if he had a job or apprenticeship lined up. Once qualified, he went on his OE where he ended up in Scotland. When he got back NZ, he retrained as a chef and worked in restaurants such as Thornley's and Te Papa's Icon, before a 5 year stint in hotel front office in Wellington, Queenstown and Auckland.

A long-standing belief that there is more to bread than what can be found in a supermarket led to the ongoing experiment that began with Charlotte's French Bakery, progressed to Lievito Bakery and has now established itself in Gilbert's Fine Food.

He is currently also a Councillor for the Dunedin City Council, and the bakery expert for WorldSkills NZ. A regular contributor to The Star and other publications, he can also turn a dab hand to cooking and baking demonstrations to groups large and small.

In his spare time, he likes to play guitar and piano; distill and brew his own concoctions; and spend time in the garden (tending to edible plants only; the decorative ones tend to disappear).

Esther Gilbert

Esther was born in Switzerland moving to New Zealand with her family in 1986 when she was still young enough to develop a sense of humour. Her Swiss background has had an influence on many of the products available at Gilbert's and continues to be a source of inspiration.

After attending high school and the University of Otago and still having no idea what to do as a proper grown-up (a state of mind that continues to this day), Esther spent almost a decade working in hotels (reception, conferencing and management) in Queenstown, Wellington and Auckland.

A couple of positions in senior management provided a good grounding for the bulk of the work Esther does for Gilbert's - namely, the admin - hidden away but apparently necessary. Accounts payable and receivable, payroll, health & safety, Food Control Plan, website, and plenty of emails - the list is endless.

She enjoys being at the Farmers' Market on a Saturday and completing some of the delivery runs during the week as an anti-dote to sitting in front of a computer most days.

Spare time is usually spent reading a good book or indulging in crafts.

Dana Noye

Originally from Christchurch, Dana decided to live in a city with more solid foundations and moved to Dunedin shortly after the 2011 earthquakes.

She joined the Gilbert’s team when we opened the shop in 2012, and has been the friendly face at the counter ever since. She is in charge of most of the non-bread production, and has become a dab hand at biscuits, cabinet items and cake decorating.

She is our second-in-charge and left to make all decisions, big and small, when we’re not around. In 2020, Dana signed up as one of our apprentices, working towards a qualification specialising in cakes and biscuits.

An avid reader Dana is often engrossed in a novel and when asked to describe what else she does Dana says she "searches the world for unicorns leaving a trail of mischief and mayhem in her wake".

Greg Hollick

Another born and bred Dunedinite, Greg learnt the baking trade in supermarkets. After a detour into the world of car mechanics, he returned to baking when he joined us in 2015 as a journeyman baker. In late 2020, he signed up as one of our apprentices and is looking forward to finishing what he started many years ago, qualifying as a baker specialising in breads.

He is our head baker and tries his best to keep everyone on the straight and narrow while creating beautiful breads daily.

Greg continues as a car enthusiast and has a couple of vehicles at home which he is trying to resurrect in his spare time. He is also a keen gardener.

He is a very devoted dad to Macklin.

Lucy Neilson

Lucy grew up in Oturehua and came to the big smoke after finishing high school.

A long-held dream to work in hospitality has distilled down into a desire to become a baker and since 2020, she has been with us as an apprentice, working towards her qualification, specialising in pastry.

She has been part of the New Zealand Under-21 Women's Team for curling and with this team has travelled overseas for tournaments on a regular basis.

All the others

We also have a varied team of part timers who help us at the Farmers' Market, in our shops, and with our deliveries. 

Each one of them comes to work with a friendly face and a willingness to help and answer all queries.