Ploughmans Ngā Tōpata Back In Style To Honour Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori

George Weston Foods Baking NZ Ltd (GWF) is extending its commitment to honouring Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with a series of social posts to support its repackaging of Ploughmans Country Grains as Ngā Tōpata for the remainder of September.

“Our re-packaging of Country Grains was so well-received last year that we’re repeating it in 2024,” says General Manager, Mark Bosomworth. “This time we’ve gone a step further and partnered with award winning chef, Kia Kanuta, to develop short recipe videos so people can enjoy a range of foods with Ngā Tōpata and, at the same time, put te reo to everyday use.”

Kia is head chef at Ada Restaurant and won the award for Outstanding Chef of the Year (Auckland) at the 2024 Lewisham Restaurant Awards. In the engaging videos he shares recipes made using local ingredients and encourages Kiwis to use te reo as a part of everyday activities like preparing and eating delicious, healthy food.

Kia, who didn’t grow up speaking te reo Māori, emphasises the importance of “giving te reo a go,” not being whakamā (embarrassed) about pronunciation and approaching the language with aroha (a kind heart).

The clips also extend viewers’ vocabulary ‘and understanding of Te Āo Māori and how it can be applied in different settings. Kia emphasises the importance of understanding “the whakapapa of the kupu” (the origin of a word).

The initiative is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to improving recognition and understanding of Te Āo Māori across its operations and promoting authentic appreciation and use of te reo Māori.

“We understand the value and importance of everyday moments of goodness,” says General Manager, Mark Bosomworth. “It’s something we strive to achieve and recognise in all that we do, all that we bake. By using te reo Māori on our bread during this time we hope to draw attention to and encourage conversations around this taonga, this treasure.

“If our packaging prompts people to look again at a familiar object and wonder why we have done this, we feel we will have made a small contribution towards understanding and protecting this important part of our national heritage.”

For the last three years the company has been on a journey to improve understanding of Te Āo Māori, through a number of initiatives driven by the bicultural team in its Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce.

“We are committed to growing our cultural understanding through collaboration,” says Mark. “This mahi involves people throughout the organisation incorporating te reo Māoriin everyday communications and using it to express and reflect our company’s values (safe, courageous, trusting, collaborative) and what they mean to our people.

“Our aim is to encourage greater understanding of Te Āo Māori and use of te reo in everyday life to help preserve and protect one of our official languages and celebrate this taonga as something unique in the culture of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

© Scoop Media