Uelese Mua, Head Chef at Euro
As the kiwi-born Samoan chef takes the reins as new head chef at Euro, he reveals his foodie secrets – from what diners can expect in the new menu to his favourite Samoan dish, and giving cooking advice to his aunties as a young child.
Hi Uelese, congratulations on your new role at Euro! What do you hope you will bring to the role?
Uelese: Thanks! I’m honoured to follow in the footsteps of many great head chefs before me. A big part of my job will be carrying on that legacy, while introducing new flavours, techniques and practices to align with Euro’s new direction and for diners to enjoy.
The new autumn menu at Euro will be split into moana, māra and whenua; what do you hope diners will take away from dishes being represented in this way?
Uelese: The menu is a reflection of the special country we live in. New Zealand is home to so many different cultures and styles and the new menu plays into that, showcasing Aotearoa’s changing tastes. This, coupled with our proximity to the water, means we get some of the best fresh produce to work with. I want diners to walk away knowing they’ve experienced the best of what we have to offer, whether it be from the sea or land – this menu does just that.
What else can diners expect from the new menu?
Uelese: It truly is a culmination of Pacific, Māori and European traditions. Standouts include snapper ‘on the bone’ with XO butter and lime, fermented heirloom tomatoes with flat-bread, whipped goat’s curd and basil and grass-fed beef tartare with horseradish, warm truffle potato rosti and raw egg yolk.
How much of a role does your Pacific heritage play in your cooking?
Uelese: Massively, it inspires a lot of the flavours and ingredients I work with. Recently I’ve been playing with taro and have plans to create a traditional Samoan dish with boiled taro, coconut cream and onions. Coconut is one of my favourite ingredients.
What is your favourite Samoan dish and why?
Uelese: A traditional Samoan dish called fa’alifu kalo – it’s simple but delicious! (Fa’alifu kalo is a dish of taro with coconut cream and onions).
Where do you hope to see cuisine in Aotearoa heading and the role of Pacific cultures within this?
Uelese: I love where the dining scene in Aotearoa is heading. Diners want to taste everything and their palates are becoming more and more refined, which challenges chefs to create stand-out food, every single bite. New Zealand is a melting pot of flavours and I hope that Pacific culture and cuisine can have its time in the limelight, just like it deserves.
How old were you when you realised you wanted to work with food? What led to this decision?
Uelese: At a very young age, I remember my aunties would be in the kitchen cooking and I would try the food and give them advice. It was here that I developed my love for cooking and knew I wanted to end up in the kitchen aspiring to be as good as them.
What are your earliest memories of food/cooking?
Uelese: Sunday lunches with the family where everyone would bring a plate. It was the ultimate sensory experience of dishes bursting with flavours and smells.
Tell me about the key places and people who have shaped you as a chef?
Uelese: Gareth Stewart (executive chef at Euro and The Nourish Group) has always been one of my key role models. He’s the person who gave me my big break ten years ago. I was working at another restaurant and after trialling my food he offered me a position on the spot working under him at Soul. Ever since then, he’s taken me under his wing and my career has flourished with his guidance. After two years at Soul, I moved to France and spent the next six years working as a chef in Paris and Marseille, which really honed my skills in the kitchen.
Then the pull of home became too much and I returned to Auckland to become the executive chef at Fish and now, of course, I’m the head chef at Euro, which is a goal I have had since I started my career as a teenager.
You worked in France for six years, what are the aspects of French cooking that resonated with you?
Uelese: I admire the French in that their output is so inspired by and catered for their guest. A fond memory and a real awakening in my career was at a beach in Marseilles where I ordered a caprese salad at a restaurant. I stopped halfway through, looked at my surroundings and realised in my four years of making this dish at Soul that I’ve never thought about what my diners were experiencing on the other side.
The past year has been a challenging one for restaurants, how do you think the pandemic changed our approach to cooking?
Uelese: Sustainability has always been a big focus, but the pandemic has highlighted just how important this is. We’re placing an even bigger emphasis on this in everything we do – from working with sustainable suppliers and using secondary cuts of meat to sourcing produce locally and starting a compost initiative – we understand we have a huge role to play.
Name a favourite eatery you like to visit in Aotearoa?
Uelese: Very hard to name just one, but Hello Beasty is a current favourite.
What would you say to your teenage self entering the chef industry?
Uelese: Write everything down, including recipes! I can recall so many times I’ve made something and then can’t remember what I’ve done or what ingredients I’ve used.
With a wealth of cooking experience behind you, at the end of the day what is it you love about cooking? Do you have a guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
Uelese: I love to cook food for others to enjoy. There’s nothing more rewarding than getting feedback from diners as they walk past the open kitchen at Euro – that’s what keeps me going! I’m really not that fussy, so have a long list of guilty pleasures, however I love a good burger. eurobar.co.nz
ARTIST: HŌHUA
As Euro’s autumn menu comes into place, five works from multi-media artist Hōhua will be on display throughout the restaurant. Moving from Porirua to Luatuanu’u in Sāmoa and then to Ōtautahi when he was young exposed the artist to changing environments that he represents in his work. “I learned to distinguish systems from one another, some kind of natural order to things – what the land would give, what the land might need and sometimes what it would take,” Hōhua’s travel with whānau, which allowed for a strong tie with locations, inspired the artworks which diners can enjoy.