Everybody Eats has partnered with rising young Māori chefs for a one-night-only pop-up event in Wellington.
A hearty winter boil-up will take centre stage in Wellington this week, as rising young Māori chefs and artists join forces with charity Everybody Eats to dish up nourishing kai and cultural connection at a one-night-only pop-up at LTD.
Chef Josh Hunter (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) of Whakapapa of Your Kai will deliver the koha-based event alongside artist Ngaio Cowell (Ngaati te Ata te Waiohua, Waikato, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua), aiming to introduce the traditional boil-up to a new generation of fans.
Josh and Mitchell Tierney (Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa) founded Whakapapa of Your Kai to honour Māori cuisine and create space for others to explore te ao Māori through kai. For Josh, boil up is more than a meal, it’s a vessel of cultural heritage.
“Some of my earliest memories are of a pot bubbling away at home or having it on the marae, and fighting with my cousins over who got the most doughboys. I wouldn't think much of it back then, but now I crave it,” said Josh Mitchell.
“It’s a connection to our ancestors and our community. It’s wholesome and reminds us who we are.”
The event is part of this year’s Visa Wellington On a Plate programme. The menu will include a traditional pork stew with ham hock doughboys, followed by Black Doris plums with a charcoal-steeped custard, offering a taste similar to roasted marshmallows.
Cowll has worked with the chefs over several years to create events that reconnect Māori with the whakapapa of their kai in an accessible, no-frills way.
“With urbanisation, many of us have lost that link to the land and our food traditions. These events aim to reclaim that connection and provide a space for whānau to eat well,” she said.
“This is why we wanted to work with Everybody Eats; their kaupapa aligned with our values and beliefs for what these events should be - about doing the mahi to ensure everyone can be at the table.”
Founded in 2019, Everybody Eats has been a charity partner of Visa Wellington On a Plate for over five years. The innovative restaurant model offers three-course meals made from rescued food, featuring a pay-what-you-can model that aims to reduce food waste and address food insecurity across three restaurants in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Food is Love is the theme of Visa Wellington On a Plate 2025, and Festival Director Beth Brash said events like this are at the heart of the country’s biggest food festival.
“The connections we share over kai are some of the most important, and to have a space where everyone is welcome to the nourishment of a shared boil-up, there is no greater connector,” said Josh Hunter.
“Offering a meal that is so deeply tied to culture and community means we're not just feeding people; it’s strengthening bonds and passing on a legacy of generosity and cultural pride.”
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