Hiakai was once the country\u2019s most famous restaurant. Chef Monique Fiso talks to Kim Knight about the years since its closure and her upcoming collaboration with an equally famous wine label.<\/p>\n
Monique Fiso is synonymous with h\u0101ng\u012b cooking \u2013 but the six-star Mincher Garden is safe from her spade.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI
\n did toy with the idea for a hot minute,\u201d admits the chef who operated Wellington fine-dining M\u0101ori restaurant Hiakai for five years.\n <\/p>\n
Ultimately, she says of Mincher, \u201cit\u2019s an incredibly beautiful six-star international garden of significance. I\u2019m just happy to be cooking in the space. We want people to experience it as it is\u201d.<\/p>\n
Next month, Fiso and her partner Katie Monteith will present a literal moving feast at the Coatesville garden. The Cloudy Bay Circle event will feature dishes developed in response to six wines (including a 20-year-old magnum of Pelorus) served to guests as they wander around the 8ha property.<\/p>\n
Time magazine once named Hiakai one of the World\u2019s 100 Greatest Places. What does life look like away from that kitchen?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just enjoying a sunny day in P\u014dneke,\u201d says Fiso. \u201cKatie\u2019s out in the garden with the dog, with the music blaring . . . it\u2019s almost feeling like summer, although it was zero degrees overnight!\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair closed the bricks-and-mortar Hiakai in 2024 to evolve the business into what they now describe as \u201cAotearoa\u2019s leading kai creative\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fiso (Ng\u0101 Rauru, Ng\u0101ti Ruanui, Samoa) says two concepts drive their current m\u0101hi \u2013 kai motuhake (restoring control of food systems to iwi, hap\u016b, and communities) and the sharing of ancestral knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cKai connects us all. It\u2019s a communal language. Eating more locally, really thinking about the source of your kai . . . really looking at the back of the packet . . . it\u2019s better for the local economy and it\u2019s just better for us, not having it travel halfway across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monique Fiso and partner Katie Monteith have evolved Hiakai restaurant into a “kai creative” allowing them to take on projects like an upcoming collaboration with Cloudy Bay.<\/p>\n
Hiakai\u2019s most recent projects include the release of Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook, and literal groundwork for the book it expects to publish next year, How to put down a H\u0101ng\u012b.<\/p>\n
The Disney movie tie-in included more than 50 recipes and drew on Fiso\u2019s memories of her grandmother\u2019s cooking. Think oka, pani popo, fa\u2019alifu taro and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was really awesome was being given the opportunity to write a book about kai Pasifika for a global audience,\u201d says Fiso. \u201cA whole lot of information to do with ingredients, history, culture, presented in a way that could be an entry point to anyone who was interested in the cuisine of the Pacific whether they were in the US, here, or sitting somewhere in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
H\u0101ng\u012b \u2013 the earth oven backbone of the pop-ups Fiso worked on before opening her P\u014dneke Wellington restaurant \u2013 continues to be central to her world.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s saving the most recent specifics for next year\u2019s book, but happily shares details of the feast for around 400 people in \u014ctautahi Christchurch, laid down in h\u0101ng\u012b pits adjacent to the Town Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were lucky enough to use them for two separate events and it was so much fun and quite incredible to do it in such a public space,\u201d says Fiso.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many people walked past and asked questions on their way to school and work . . . they were just entranced by what was going on. And I think that speaks to how special M\u0101ori culture is and how much people do want to learn more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be really cool if every city did have a central hangi pit that could be used for different occasions . . . you\u2019d almost feel like it\u2019s something that we should already have?\u201d<\/p>\n
The new book will be an instructional guide to \u201cthe past, present and future of h\u0101ng\u012b\u201d, says Fiso, promising a practical \u201chow to\u201d for anyone who wants to understand and experience cooking in an earth oven.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting technique. Especially if you\u2019ve trained in a more traditional kitchen where you\u2019ve got temperature probes, a glass door that you can see through, all the different other ways of checking whether something is on its way or where you want it to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith umu and h\u0101ng\u012b it\u2019s in and now you just have to wait and know that everything you know is going to lead to it being successful – hopefully!\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s intimidating, she agrees. But also: \u201cIt\u2019s quite freeing. Because you just have to trust your skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chef Monique Fiso foraging for Hiakai restaurant back in 2019. <\/p>\n
Fiso\u2019s skills are formidable.<\/p>\n
She was one of just 24 chefs from around the world selected to compete on Netflix\u2019s The Final Table. When Gordon Ramsay came here to make his television show Uncharted, Fiso took him to Rakiura Stewart Island to hunt goat and dive for p\u0101ua.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Fiso won an Ockham NZ Book Award for Hiakai: Modern M\u0101ori Cuisine, a book that expanded on the philosophy of the restaurant \u2013 the 30-seater that served a degustation-only menu featuring foraged food and experimental techniques (consider the bread course: Toasted r\u0113wana, wakame-spiked butter and t\u012bt\u012b oil).<\/p>\n
Fiso was described as \u201cthe country\u2019s most important chef\u201d and \u201ca modern day food warrior\u201d \u2013 but her first year out of the restaurant was not straightforward.<\/p>\n
\u201c2024 was a wild ride, so to speak,\u201d Fiso says. \u201cJust after closing the restaurant, I was hit by a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t want to talk much about the accident but remembers it was a beautiful evening in P\u014dneke Wellington. She remembers smiling at the person crossing the road towards her. And then she was in hospital with a concussion, fractured knee and a sprained elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had scrapes and bruises head-to-toe.\u201d<\/p>\n
She considers herself lucky.<\/p>\n
\u201cVehicle versus pedestrian accidents are way more common than you think and I\u2019m incredibly grateful to still be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiso was back in the kitchen not long after the accident, food styling for television\u2019s Hui Hoppers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a real test for me physically. I was still in recovery, but didn\u2019t want to miss the opportunity to work on a w\u0101hine-led kaupapa M\u0101ori series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cooking outside the confines of a restaurant has made room for projects like Hui Hoppers \u2013 and the upcoming Cloudy Bay Circle lunch at Mincher Garden.<\/p>\n
Mincher Garden, the privately owned property in Coatesville where Hiakai chef Monique Fiso will cook next month. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit more of an open canvas,\u201d says Fiso.<\/p>\n
The menu for the $140-$170 Cloudy Bay lunch will be wine-led (\u201ceach varietal has a ton of character which makes our job easy in a way\u201d) and uses the location\u2019s edible herbs, florals and greens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also Katie and I going \u2018what do we feel like cooking right now?\u2019 We wanted to capture the feeling of summer – luscious k\u014dura rolls on arrival, juicy tio, kawakawa cured h\u0101mana . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
The dish Fiso is most excited about is one she\u2019s dubbed \u201cLamb Bone Thugs\u201d utilising caul fat sourced from a small independent farm and old-school sausage-making techniques.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re cooking in a restaurant every night, you have somewhat of a set concept that you\u2019re working to, day in and day out. With this, you\u2019re really catering to that occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hiakai chef Monique Fiso is promising “juicy tio” on her Cloudy Bay Circle menu. <\/p>\n
Recent hospitality liquidation headlines have highlighted how increasingly hard it is to earn a living from a restaurant. Fiso\u2019s advice to other chefs looking to exit the industry?<\/p>\n
\u201cIn brief, there\u2019s a whole world out there. And there are so many different ways to be a chef and there are so many different ways to express yourself. You\u2019ve just got to follow your heart and your passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hiakai would, arguably, have been a sitter for a star in New Zealand\u2019s first Michelin Guide, only announced in June this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t aspire to that with my m\u0101hi,\u201d says Fiso. \u201cI think all things happen as they\u2019re meant to. I really believe that. <\/p>\n
\u201cThings happen for a reason and they happen when you\u2019re ready for them, and you might not recognise it at the time but then when you look back you go, \u2018yeah that was the right move\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cloudy Bay Presents: Lunch at Mincher Garden with Monique Fiso at Coatesville\u2019s Mincher Garden on November 14. <\/p>\n
More food & wine <\/p>\n
Kim Knight joined the New Zealand Herald in 2016 and is a senior journalist on its lifestyle desk, with a focus on stories about food and the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hiakai was once the country\u2019s most famous restaurant. Chef Monique Fiso talks to Kim Knight about the years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1443,27245,169,17163,1744,1887,156,89277,1444,309105,309107,309106,141,13635,15405,424,28205,2720,3025,111,139,69,6029,2539,8466,7811,1120,301,223,11744,1754,102,1530],"class_list":["post-630449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-about","tag-beyond","tag-chef","tag-closure","tag-collaboration","tag-countrys","tag-entertainment","tag-equally","tag-famous","tag-fiso","tag-hiakai","tag-hiakais","tag-kai","tag-knight","tag-label","tag-life","tag-monique","tag-mori","tag-most","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-once","tag-restaurant","tag-second","tag-since","tag-takes","tag-talks","tag-the","tag-upcoming","tag-wine","tag-with","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630449","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=630449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}