Taste of Peru:

Kasey Te Awa-Bird tries guinea pig in the latest season of the food and travel show Kasey And Karena’s Kitchen Diplomacy. She tells Sarah Nealon why it’s an experience she’s not in a rush to repeat.

of Peru. Kasey and Karina ‘enjoy’ a taste

If you’ve ever had a guinea pig for a pet, you may find it hard to watch the new season of Kasey And Karena’s Kitchen Diplomacy.

In the series, sisters and former MasterChef New Zealand winners Karena and Kasey Te-Awa Bird (above) visit Peru and sample a cooked version of the cuddly rodent.

“Over there it’s a really popular protein that they eat,” says Kasey. “Initially, you just have to get over that feeling you have of how we’ve always considered guinea pigs as pets. For them, it is just like beef or chicken or those things we find so normal. But in saying that, I’d say the flavour isn’t that great. I probably wouldn’t eat it again.”

Kasey, 27, and Karena, 29, are once again eating their way around the world for the series. Places visited for this season include Taiwan, Arizona and Sri Lanka.

“A highlight was definitely Sri Lanka and learning about the importance of tea, and the production of tea, and how that’s such a huge industry in Sri Lanka. It’s almost like wine in terms of soils and different areas and elevations, which change the flavour of the tea, which is quite interesting.”

It’s been a busy few years for the sisters from Maketu. Their 2014 MasterChef New Zealand win made them instant celebrities, but their achievements since then, which include writing two cookbooks, are largely down to sheer hard work.

“If you don’t put any work in you don’t have any results,” says Kasey.

“You have to make whatever you want happen. No one’s going to do it for you.”

The sisters, who live in separate houses in the same street as their parents, plan to open a restaurant one day.

“I don’t think we want to do travelling and the restaurant at the same time,” says Kasey.

“Once we do the restaurant, it’s like settle-down time. It’s the next thing we want to look at once we’ve finished travelling.”