Recently there’s been much discussion in erudite food circles about the New Zealand food story as writers, critics and chefs attempt to identify what our cuisine looks like to the world, and what could be claimed as distinctive about the way we choose what to cook and how we prepare it.

We have become the masters of fusion cuisine as waves of immigrants from all over the world change what we eat (Auckland alone has more than 80 restaurants offering menus of differing ethnicities.) We’ve adapted, embraced and incorporated plenty of new ideas into a diet that for many years was essentially based on early colonial fare.

There was, however, a missing factor that can truly be claimed as unique to Aotearoa; the tradition, ingredients and methods of Māori food. It has been exciting, and not before time, to observe the awakening of chefs and cooks to the possibility of incorporating native foods into their menus. But it has taken a visionary young chef, Monique Fiso, passionate about her heritage (Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Ruanui) to immerse herself in research, to reimagine and present traditional Māori food which she does in her stunning Wellington restaurant, Hiakai (hungry or having a desire for food).

Her book, Hiakai, may be the singularly most important food book ever published in New Zealand with a deep dive into everything that plays into modern Māori food. Fiso’s painstaking investigation into traditions and ingredients gathered information from numerous sources in libraries and collections, here and abroad. Māori traditionally told their stories and history orally, handing it down through generations. This is the first time this valuable information has been recorded and crammed into one volume. For the mind-bogglingly ambitious task, which encompasses Māori history, mythology, tikanga (customs) and indigenous ingredients, Fiso was assisted by an associate professor of food culture Tracy Berno and local food writer Lucy Corry.

The book has three major sections. The all-important section of stories, mythology and history is followed by a comprehensive explanation of all past and present indigenous ingredients, from the earth, land and ocean. Finally there’s a taste of the restaurant fare that diners have to book months ahead to try at Hiakai.

The recipes are brilliant and joyful, delving into previously unknown territory to encompass indigenous ingredients that can be sourced today, yet no doubt with much effort. Fiso’s extensive acumen for foraging and fermentation is evident but with few recipes that other cooks would even attempt. There’s no doubt she is leading the way for New Zealand chefs to embrace Māori cuisine and ingredients, and hopefully many (or all) will see this book as a highly desirable reference for their own kitchens.

The photographs by Amber-Jayne Bain and Manja Wachsmuth too are stunning. Fiso’s personality and focus are well captured as she ventures into bush and shoreline on foraging trips, works with her staff, and cooks for the sophisticated and receptive audience at Hiakai.

Hiakai is serious, ground-breaking and a genuine taonga.

Reviewed by Lauraine Jacobs

Nā Hēmi Kelly i whakamāori

Nō nā tata nei, ka nui te rere o te kōrero i waenganui i ngā kāhui ihumanea ki te kai mō te kōrero mō te kai o Aotearoa i ngā kaituhi, i ngā kaiwhakahāwea me ngā ringawera e whai ana ki te whakaatu i te āhua o ā tātou kai ki te ao, ā, he aha hoki ka kīia pea he motuhake i runga i te āhua o tā tātou e kōwhiri ai hei tunu me te āhua hoki o te whakarite mai. Kua tohunga tātou ki te kai whenumi, kua huri ā tātou kai i te nui o te manene nō ngā tōpito katoa o te ao (Nuku atu i te 80 ngā wharekai kei Tāmaki-makau-rau noa iho nei e whakarato ana i ngā kai nō ngā iwi rerekē.) Kua urutau, kua hāpai ake, kua whakauru hoki tātou i ngā tini whakaaro hou ki tētahi kōwhiringa kai kua hia tau nei e hāngai ana ki ngā kai a te hunga manene o mua noa atu.

Engari rā, arā tētahi wāhanga e ngaro ana ka kīia māriretia he motuhake ki Aotearoa, arā ko ngā tikanga, ko ngā kīnaki me ngā tikanga whakarite kai Māori. Kua hiamo te ngākau, ā, kua tika hoki te wā, i te mātakitaki atu i ngā ringawera me ngā kaitunu e whakaaro nui ana ki te pitomata o te whakauruuru i ngā kai taketake ki ā rātou rārangi kai. I pēnei ai nā tētahi ringawera rangatahi e kaha nei ki te titiro whakamua, nā Monique Fiso, e ngākaunui ana ki ana taonga tuku iho (Nō Ngā Rauru me Ngāti Ruanui ia), i tahuri ki te rangahau, ki te whakaahua anō me te whakaatu i ngā kai Māori, taketake nei, i tōna wharekai mutunga mai o te ātaahua i Te Pane-o-Te-Ika, arā i Hikai.

Ko tana pukapuka, ko Hiakai, te pukapuka mātuatua kotahi nei kua whakaputahia i Aotearoa e titiro whānui ana ki ngā āhuatanga katoa o te kai Māori ināianei. I roto i tā Fiso rangahau i ngā tikanga me ngā kīnaki i kohikohi ia i ngā mātauranga i ētahi putunga kōrero huhua, i ngā whare pukapuka me ngā rokiroki o konei, o tāwāhi anō hoki. I ngā rā o mua, he mea kōrero ā-waha e te Māori ā rātou kōrero paki me ā rātou tāhuhu kōrero, he mea tuku iho i tētahi whakapaparanga ki tētahi atu. Koinei te wā tuatahi kua tuhia iho, kua whakakaohia mai hoki ēnei mātauranga whai tikanga ki te pukapuka kotahi. He mea āwhina a Fiso, i tēnei mahi nunui mō ngā tāhuhu kōrero Māori, ngā pakiwaitara, ngā tikanga me ngā kīnaki taketake, e tētahi ahorangi tūhono ki te ahurea ā-kai, e Tracy Berno rāua ko tētahi kaituhi ā-rohe kai, ko Lucy Corry.

E toru ngā wāhanga matua o te pukapuka. Kei muri i te wāhanga nui whakaharahara o te kōrero paki, o te pakiwaitara me ngā tāhuhu kōrero ko ngā whakamārama whānui mō ngā kīnaki taketake katoa o mua, o nāianei hoki e ahu mai ana i te whenua me te moana. Kātahi ka whakakitea te āhua o ngā kai o te wharekai hei whakamātau mā te hunga haere atu ki Hiakai kua mate nei ki te tāpui tēpu e hia marama i mua mai.

Kia rawe mai hoki ngā tohutaka e tūhura ana i ngā wāhi kīanō i āta tūhuratia kia whai wāhi mai ai ngā kīnaki taketake ka taea te kimi i ēnei rangi, engari me mahi nui e kitea ai. E kitea ana te whānui o te mōhio o Fiso ki te kimi kai, ki te toroī kai hoki ahakoa te iti o ngā tohutaka e kore hoki pea e whakamātauhia e ringawera kē. E kore e hapa e para ana ia i te huarahi e hāpai ake ai ngā ringawera o Aotearoa i ngā kai me ngā kīnaki Māori, ā, ko te manako hoki ka mōhio te tokomaha (te katoa rānei) ki te nui o tēnei pukapuka hei toro mā rātou i ō rātou ake kīhini.

Inā te ātaahua rirerire o ngā whakaahua nā Amber-Jayne Bain rāua ko Manja Wachsmuth. Kua kapohia ko te āhua me te arotahi a Fiso nōna ka hāereere i te ngahere me te tahatai i ngā haerenga kimi kai, nōna ka mahi i te taha o āna kaimahi, nōna hoki ka tunu kai mā te hunga mātanga, mauminamina hoki i Hiakai.

He take nui, he hou, he tino taonga hoki a Hiakai.

Nā Hēmi Kelly i whakamāori