FOOD WHĀNAU

ANGELA CLIFFORD applauds groups of likeminded ‘food families’ working together across New Zealand.

I LIKE THE MĀORI WORD whānau. More than family, a whānau can be multi-layered, flexible and dynamic, occupying more than the physical dimension. In my version it can be a tribe of people, not necessarily related to each other, but who have some sense of trust and care for each other, and perhaps a commonality of cause.

In NZ there are food families, such as the group of establishments who recently held a series of events called ‘Root to Petal’. From Orphans Kitchen in the north, Bistronomy in Hawke’s Bay, Hillside Kitchen in Wellington, Arbour in Marlborough, Gatherings in Christchurch and The Sherwood in Queenstown they reimagined vegetables, putting them centre stage for a period of time. I loved watching the connections and energy across the country, with Alex Davies and Tom Hishon even swapping restaurants for a week.

But a food family doesn’t have to be national; instead it can be a regional collection of food-loving souls. One of my favourite examples of this is in the Taranaki. The woman making ‘the mother of all efforts’ for her area is Helen Flitcroft (pictured above). She’s the local food legend for our website (www.eatnewzealand.nz) and she and the folk at New Plymouth restaurant, Meat and Liquor, are having us over for dinner in July. Giulio Sturla and Jonny Marinovich will be cooking and Helen’s bringing us together with her whānau, a group of amazing producers, activists, business owners and chefs. Her business is called Cook Learn Love, (which surely ticks all of life’s goals).

Come and join us if you’re in the ’Naki and you love food; Thursday 5th July at Meat and Liquor for a meal, Friday morning 6th July for a bit of a hui or kōrero about food in that part of the world.

Both the imaginings and the feasting will be delicious. There will be no family hold back in this beautiful part of the country.

Contact angela@eatnewzealand.nz for more details. Cuisine is proud to partner with Eat New Zealand, a collective of chefs, producers, event operators, food media and tourism operators focussed on the promotion of, and discussion around, New Zealand food. If you want to join the conversation, visit eatnewzealand.nz or search Eat New Zealand on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

MANIFESTO: CULTURE, KNOWLEDGE, BIODIVERSITY, BALANCE, RESPECT, INNOVATION, AWARENESS, FELLOWSHIP, FUTURE, PRIDE, INTERCONNECTION