Great aromas start to fill the room, in one corner garlic and spices spit on hot pans, while in another, dark Fijian cacao is baking. All around coconut cream flows.
Peter Gordon hopes to promote food tourism within the Pacific
New Zealand-based chefs and food writers were invited to Peter Gordon’s restaurant and cooking school, Homeland, for Kai Pasifika, a celebration of Blue Pacific cuisine.
Introducing unique ingredients from Pacific Island producers to New Zealand chefs, importers, distributors, food lovers, and media, Pacific Trade Invest New Zealand (PTI New Zealand) invited 20 Kiwi chefs and five of the Blue Pacific’s finest culinary stars to spontaneously create new dishes from the mountain of specially imported Pacific ingredients.
The hope is that this event will help promote food tourism in the pacific, as well as the use of these fine ingredients on New Zealand menus.
“We see this is as key part to the future of the Pacific, particularly with the region opening up for more tourism,” noted Gordon.
With Homeland, it was always Gordon’s plan to create a “food embassy” with the goal of teaching people about local ingredients and showcasing producers from Aotearoa and the Pacific.
Leonid Vusilai
‘Buy’ and ‘Source local’ are key trends in our current climate where, due to issues like the global pandemic and supply chain woes, there has been a pull back of globalisation. Of course, for us Kiwis ‘local’ doesn’t just mean using and buying products within New Zealand. Local for us is our pacific neighbours, our region in the world that has such unique produce to offer.
These are ingredients that are connected to the land they come from and the story they can tell on the plate reflects this. As the Pacific-based guest chefs worked their magic, it was clear to see that the hand using the ingredients has its own influence on the dish – of culture, place and time, a combination of food that has been around for centuries and the techniques of a modern chef.
“There is an abundance of knowledge about food in our islands,” noted Leonid Vusilai, guest chef from Vanuatu.
“Food helps tell stories of our people. And when you invest in our food, you are investing in our people.”
With a tradeshow running concurrently to the cooking events, featuring the products being presented to New Zealand importers of fine foods for supermarkets, delis and restaurants, Kai Pasifika was a celebration of, not just food, but also community, a way to encourage a cultural exchange between Aotearoa and our Pacific partners.
by Chef Mafi
“We are proud to partner with both Homeland and PTI New Zealand to deliver a programme that supports innovation and partnerships with the Pacific,” expressed Felicity Bollen, MFAT’s Director for Pacific Connections.
The guest chefs from the Pacific were:
- Leonid Vusilai (Vanuatu), winner of Pacific Island Food Revolution Season one, and owner of Island Kakae
- Rangi Mitaera-Johnson (Cook Islands), consultant Chef and trainer at the Rarotonga Cooking School
- Losavati Sewale (Fiji), Executive Chef at Raymond’s Restaurant and a trainer chef at Fiji Orchid Resort
- Dora Rossi (Samoa), owner of Paddles Restaurant and Milani Café in Apia;
- Tuiohu Mafi (Tonga), Head Chef at Tanoa Hotel, caterer to the Tonga Royal Family and President of the Tonga Culinary Association.
