​Woodspirit Turkish Pide isn’t just another food truck. It’s a love letter to heritage, fire-forged flavour, and the kind of food that sticks with you — honest, comforting, and made entirely from scratch.

Founded in 2020 during the heart of the pandemic, Woodspirit is a Turkish wood-fired food truck based in Auckland, New Zealand, serving up handcrafted pide, Turkish street food, and soul-warming flavours that reflect years of global culinary experience and deep cultural roots.

 

What Exactly Is Pide? (And Why It’s Not Pizza)

While many people call pide “Turkish pizza,” it’s not quite accurate — and once you taste it, you’ll understand why.

Pide is a traditional Turkish flatbread with roots stretching back centuries. Pide starts with a naturally fermented sourdough base — something we’ve perfected since 2020. It’s shaped by hand into a signature waka-like oval, then filled with ingredients like the finest grass-fed New Zealand meats, finest New Zealand cheeses, roasted vegetables, or cracked eggs. Finally, it’s cooked in our custom-built wood-fired oven, which gives it a deep, smoky flavour, a blistered crust, and a chewy, pillowy texture.

Pide is comfort food at its finest — less greasy, more nuanced, and deeply tied to the culinary traditions of Anatolia.

 

The story of Woodspirit begins with Mehmet and Yigit — two chefs from Turkiye who met through a mutual friend while studying at MSA Culinary Arts Academy, one of the country’s leading culinary schools.

Mehmet, originally coming from a business background, took a leap of faith and retrained in the culinary arts. Before moving to New Zealand, he worked in the R&D department of a major bakery chain in Turkiye, where he developed a deep understanding of fermentation, texture, and dough development — knowledge that would later become the foundation of Woodspirit’s signature sourdough pide base.

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Yigit, who first trained as an electrical engineer, followed a different path. His passion for food led him to the kitchens of some of the world’s most respected restaurants, including Michelin-starred kitchens like Nicole, Mikla, and Restaurant Andre. His career spanned continents, cuisines, and cultures — and eventually brought him to New Zealand.

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Both Mehmet and Yigit ended up working at Ima Cuisine, a beloved Auckland restaurant known for its bold, Middle Eastern-inspired flavours. Their shared love for Turkish cooking, respect for craft, and obsession with quality sparked the idea that would soon become Woodspirit.

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Building a Dream — One Brick (and Ute) at a Time

Like many great stories, Woodspirit was born out of challenge — specifically, the challenges of 2020. In the midst of COVID lockdowns, restrictions, and uncertainty, Mehmet and Yigit saw an opportunity to bring their heritage to life in a new way: through a mobile kitchen powered by a custom-built wood-fired oven.

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They started small — just a white half-ute, a gazebo, and a couple of folding tables. Every pide was handmade. Every ingredient carefully sourced. Every dough fermented to perfection. Word of mouth spread quickly, and it wasn’t long before their small setup couldn’t keep up with the growing demand.

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So, they built their own food truck — from scratch. With Mehmet’s practical skills and Yigit’s culinary precision, they transformed their vision into a fully equipped wood-fired food truck, designed to serve Turkish comfort food with both soul and skill.

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What Makes Woodspirit Different?

• Everything is made from scratch — including our sourdough base, which has been perfected since 2021.

• Our wood-fired oven gives our food a unique flavour and authenticity you won’t find elsewhere.

• We use traditional Turkish techniques paired with modern culinary training.

• We serve handcrafted, artisan pide — not pizza — inspired by the street food of Turkiye.

• Our founders are real chefs with international Michelin-star experience and deep R&D backgrounds.

• We're committed to culinary storytelling — every bite tells a story of tradition, innovation, and passion.

 

A Taste of Turkiye in Aotearoa

Whether you’ve found us at a weekend market, booked us for your wedding or corporate event, or followed the aroma of our wood-fired Turkish bread down the street — Woodspirit is here to bring you a moment of warmth, flavour, and connection.

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We’re proud to bring a slice of Turkiye to New Zealand — one pide at a time.