Kai Pasifika comes to Aotearoa

Kai Pasifika is coming to New Zealand next month and will introduce unique ingredients from Pacific Island producers to NZ chefs, food lovers, importers, distributors and media.

The event is a celebration of Blue Pacific cuisine and a fusion of Pacific flavours.

A selection of 20 invited chefs, five from the Pacific and 15 from NZ, will create dishes from a range of imported Pacific ingredients.

From New Caledonian blue prawns, to honey from Niue and rum from Vanuatu, it is set to be an eventful week filled with delicious kai.

Kai Pasifika is a partnership between the Pacific Trade Invest NZ and renowned Kiwi chef, Peter Gordon’s restaurant Homeland in Westhaven, Auckland.

With offices in Australia, China and Europe, PTINZ’s mission is to encourage and promote exports from the Pacific.

PTINZ’s marketing and communications manager, Alex Stone, is confident Pacific produce will soon be in high demand all over New Zealand.

“From our perspective, our audience are people who import speciality foods for restaurants, fancy delis and speciality food shops.

“We want to tell them that you can import these ingredients and you can sell them to your clientele around New Zealand.”

PTI is an agency of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat. Kai Pasifika will have products from 18 different producers, across seven of these countries that make up the18 members of the PIF.

In a media release by PTINZ, Gordon said he was his excited to see the growth of Pacific produce in New Zealand.

“Our primary goal at Homeland has always been to showcase products from Aotearoa and the Pacific," he said.

“We can’t wait to work with more Pasifika producers with exciting products like cacao, coffee, taro, tropical fruit and so much more.”

PTINZ’s trade commissioner Glynis Miller says the culinary event will hold strong significance for Pacific nations.

“We want to promote the Pacific's unique products, tell the stories of its producers, and find new buyers and markets in New Zealand and further afield.

“It all aligns with the Pacific Islands Forum's strategy of presenting itself not as widely scattered islands, but as the 'Blue Continent' - a vast area brimful of valuable resources.”

The two-day event will start on October, 3.

On the first day, the 20 chefs will be left in their elements to cook up a storm using the Pacific ingredients provided.

The second day will include a media personalities event in the morning, followed by a trade event for importers in the evening.