Tala chef Henry Onesemo was awarded one Michelin star at the Michelin Guide 2026 awards. Photo \/ Alyse Wright <\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations, uso [brother]. Samoa for Samoa,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are extraordinary, uso. I don\u2019t know you, but fa\u2019afetai lava [thank you] for putting Tala restaurant cuisine for Pasifika up there. So proud of what you have achieved for Samoa and all Pasifika. Cheehoo!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Michelin Guide was created in the 1900s in France and is considered the creme de la creme of culinary achievement.<\/p>\n
Any restaurant that receives one, two or the rare three Michelin stars is considered top-class. There are only 161 three Michelin-starred restaurants in the world.<\/p>\n
Tala restaurant has been dubbed a culinary experience that takes customers on a journey. Photo \/ Babiche Martens<\/p>\n
At Tuesday night\u2019s event, Onesemo wore a traditional Samoan necklace – the red pandanus ula fala – before whipping out a Samoan flag.<\/p>\n
He thanked God for the recognition and special acknowledgement of Samoan cuisine, before becoming visibly emotional at being told that Tala was the first restaurant in the world to get a Michelin star for its contemporary Samoan food.<\/p>\n
Onesemo told the Herald he was thrilled to represent his culture and to know that Samoan cuisine was now officially regarded as one of \u201cthe best\u201d in the world – something he already knew, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for the culture and happy for us. As Samoans, we know that our food is good. And it\u2019s so good to see that it belongs on that global elite level now.\u201d<\/p>\n
A dessert known as Copra is available at the Tala restaurant in Auckland. Photo \/ Jerome Warburton<\/p>\n
Born in American Samoa and raised in Samoa, Onesemo hails from the village of Malaemalu in Falealili. He spent his schooling years in and around Apia before moving to Hawaii.<\/p>\n
He eventually made his way back to Samoa, where he trained as a chef, and later found himself in Auckland, where he worked at Merediths – a restaurant owned by another well-known Samoan chef, Michael Meredith<\/a>.<\/p>\n Onesemo paid tribute to many other talented Samoan and Pacific chefs working in New Zealand and around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cI always say I\u2019m not the most talented Samoan chef. I\u2019m probably just the first one to have [gone] this direction. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many Samoan chefs who are way more talented than me. They\u2019re not doing Samoan food – and if they did, I\u2019d have very, very tough competition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re all coming up together\u2019<\/p>\n He encouraged young people to look at the culinary world for inspiration for a future career.<\/p>\n Speaking of his own life, he said he did not do very well in school – but found a love and passion for food and service in the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream is that one day, I can go down the street and there\u2019s a Samoan restaurant, then a Tongan restaurant, Fijian, Cook Island and Niuean restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all coming up together and we\u2019re all at the Michelin awards together – and that would be the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe day that we have all of us coming up together like that? I think it\u2019s a lot closer than we think.\u201d<\/p>\nAuckland-based chef Henry Onesemo is helping to put Samoan cuisine on the map. Photo \/ File<\/p>\n