In my last post, I shared my experience at the Tū Te Rā Summer Harvest Celebration. It was a cultural tour of a Māori village where we learned a lot about the Māori way of life and participated in some of their traditional activities.
The entire experience took around four hours and concluded with a performance and a multi-course dinner. In this post, I'm going to describe the feast of a dinner that we enjoyed. The theme of the dinner menu was a celebration of nature, with food sourced from the Ocean, the Sky, the Fire, and the Earth.
From the Ocean
Our meal commenced with a seafood appetizer, accompanied by bread and butter. The appetizer featured snapper, prawn, and mussel on a bed of coconut mousse. Pikopiko, a type of fern, was also incorporated into the appetizer and the butter. I had no idea fern could be so delectable.
Our waitress inquired if we wanted any drinks. Anything with manuka sounded delightful, so I ordered a cocktail with manuka honey.
From the Sky
The main course was duck, which had been brined for 24 hours and slow-cooked for 4 hours, marinated in star anise, cinnamon, and rock salt. It was served with a Watercress salad, adorned with orange slices, walnuts, and sherry vinaigrette, and sprinkled with seeds from harakeke, also known as flax.
Everything tasted amazing! However, I tried to pace myself because I knew there was still plenty more to come.
From the Fire
The second main course featured roasted pork, which reminded me of "Bisaya Adobo," a dish from my region. The pork skin was delightfully crispy, and the meat incredibly juicy. It had been dry-rubbed with paprika and basted with garlic, honey, and apple cider, then slow-cooked for 6 hours over manuka chips and coconut husks. It sounded complex, but as I savored the pork, all I could think was, "This tastes just like Adobo."
Accompanying the pork were fire-cooked vegetables: corn, eggplant, bell peppers, carrots, and mushrooms. By this point, I was starting to feel quite full, yet there was still one more course to be served before dessert.
From the Earth
The final main course featured lamb that had been slow-cooked in an Earth oven. It was accompanied by baked vegetables, elegantly served in a woven basket. I'm not typically a fan of lamb, as it's not a common dish at home, but the few slices I tried were exceptionally tender and flavorful.
Finally, Dessert
For dessert, we were treated to Pavlova with Manuka honey cream, garnished with kiwi and strawberry slices and adorned with a flower. On the side, there were three sauces: berry, chocolate, and lemon curd. It all sounded incredibly enticing, but I had very little room left in my stomach for dessert. I managed to savor a small slice of the meringue, dipping it in chocolate fudge, and that was the limit for me. I was officially full.