{"id":545044,"date":"2026-07-26T17:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/545044\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T17:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:14:11","slug":"how-maori-food-tells-new-zealands-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/545044\/","title":{"rendered":"How M\u0101ori food tells New Zealand\u2019s story"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Zealand\u2019s M\u0101ori people often say that food is a feeling<\/a>, a memory. It talks to your stomach.<\/p>\n

Everything in M\u0101ori culture is tied to Papat\u016b\u0101nuku, Mother Earth, especially its food. Located at the bottom of the world, it\u2019s hard to imagine a place more closely connected to nature, where New Zealand\u2019s M\u0101ori communities have long lived in symbiosis with the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u0101ori food (kai) concepts acknowledge an interconnectedness with living cycles, which renew and sustain us,\u201d says Michael Venner, director of Kora Tours NZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pristine farms<\/a>, forests, ocean <\/a>and rivers serve as the country\u2019s pantry, where M\u0101ori food is regional, and ingredients are harvested based on seasonality and availability.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy understanding nature\u2019s cycles and natural rhythms. M\u0101ori understood the connection between moon, sun, tides and seasons, the way all animals behave,\u201d says Venner. \u201cFor example, if you know the correct moon cycle to go fishing on, lay your nets on the right tide, at the right place, you will have a higher success rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

A common everyday dish is a hearty stew or a \u201cboil up,\u201d made of pork bones, puha (an indigenous herb) and seafood like mussels, oysters and crayfish, alongside r\u0113wena bread, a sourdough made with a fermented potato starter or a fried bread.<\/p>\n

But H\u0101ng\u012b is arguably the most famous M\u0101ori cooking technique. Veneer describes it as, \u201cA hot stone oven which cooks food layered inside baskets, covered by a wet cloth. Once partially buried for a few hours, it has roasted and steamed the food, infused notes of forest herbs, earth scents, smoked tea tree, Manuka honey and banana leaf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veneer says if you get the chance to go to a traditional h\u0101ng\u012b, do it. These special gatherings are often linked to special community events, like funerals, weddings and ritual occasions.<\/p>\n

At Rosewood\u2019s<\/a> three hotels located throughout New Zealand, the chefs honor this ethically sourced ethos, working with local purveyors and farmers to source indigenous ingredients like beach spinach, fern fronds and abalone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During dinner, each guest is given a traditional koha, meaning gift or offering, between the starter and main course. \u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for our chefs to share a thoughtful expression of place, often drawing inspiration from Northland\u2019s rich coastal environment and M\u0101ori culinary traditions,\u201d says JT Mulry, Culinary Director at Rosewood Kauri Cliffs.<\/p>\n

At Rosewood Kauri Cliffs<\/a>, they periodically serve a M\u0101ori-inspired, multi-course meal. \u201cThis dining experience celebrates the traditions, ingredients, and stories of Aotearoa. Traditional techniques, such as h\u0101ng\u012b, are paired with native ingredients and locally harvested produce, creating food that is both simple and deeply expressive of place. At its heart, it\u2019s about sharing stories, culture and hospitality through food,\u201d says Mulry.<\/p>\n

When European colonizers came to New Zealand in the 1800s, it changed the indigenous food. \u201cSettlers arrived with national foods, preparation and cooking methods,\u201d says Venner. \u201cAs more people came, food influence evolved and mixed; rural and urban food traditions, tastes and trends merged into the modern era.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Auckland, the H\u0101ng\u012b Master<\/a>, Rewi Spraggon, honors his ancestors with his traditional h\u0101ng\u012b catered cooking. The stones he uses have been passed down through the generations to create staples like a H\u0101ng\u012b Tuturu, a plate of pork, chicken, potato, kumara (New Zealand sweet potatoes), pumpkin, cabbage, stuffing and watercress salad. At his Queenstown food truck, more modern, European-influenced offerings include a chicken H\u0101ng\u012b burger, served with a potato spread, grated apple and watercress salad on a sweet potato bun.<\/p>\n

Today, New Zealanders are proud of their food culture. \u201cAs New Zealand\u2019s demographics changed, new traditions emerged. Since the 1980s, when people returned from overseas, they added to the menus and our palates changed with them,\u201d says Venner. Now, it\u2019s known for incredible lamb<\/a>, cheese, wine<\/a> and fruit inspired by the natural, high-quality, hard-working traditions of generations of M\u0101ori.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/p>\n

from this writer<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s M\u0101ori people often say that food is a feeling, a memory. It talks to your stomach.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-545044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}