'Kai Connects People' - Putting Māori Cuisine On The Map Using Tiktok

Thursday, 10 October 2024, 7:19 pm
Article: RNZ

Layla Bailey-McDowell, Māori News Journalist

A wahine Māori is putting a spotlight on traditional Māori kai and hopes to inspire the next generation to "give it a crack".

In an era where kai serves as a powerful medium for cultural expression, Māori creators are joining forces to elevate traditional kai and ensure its place on the global stage.

Through TikTok's #MadeWithLove campaign, passionate advocates from Aotearoa and Australia's 'FoodTok' community are not only sharing recipes, they are preserving and celebrating cultural dishes that hold deep significance for their whānau.

Raukura Huata (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa) stands as the only creator from Aotearoa involved in the #MadeWithLove launch.

"I'm really glad that if you're telling a kai story about Aotearoa, that Māori are right at the centre point of that," Huata said.

Generating hundreds and thousands of views per video, Huata has a growing community of more than 70,000 followers on TikTok.

"The majority of those that follow me are 18-34, and 85 percent are Māori," she said.

"I'm really pleased that the kai I'm sharing resonates especially with young wāhine Māori."

An engagement strategist by trade, Huata's connection to food went far beyond content creation.

"I'm already out there eating this kai... I'm already cooking this kai, and so the only difference now is that a camera's on," Huata said.

"But it warms my heart to know that it's an insight for our younger wāhine... on how to have healthy relationships with each other and kai."

Huata and her connection to kai

At the heart of #MadeWithLove is the mission to shine a light on cherished heirloom recipes and the stories behind them. Huata's contribution included her signature creamed pāua recipe, which was tied to her whakapapa.

• Check out Raukura's pāua recipe here.

"I am a descendant of Uepare and she was a big diver in Ngāti Porou,

"I'm also a descendant of Kahungunu and there's a great love story of my ancestor and ancestress getting together and pāua is the hero kai that forges that relationship."

Huata's whānau traditions have always revolved around kai, and she drew inspiration from her hapū across Kahungunu and Te Tairāwhiti.

"Salt is in my blood. A lot of the culinary stories I share are based on kai that I know and eat."

Huata's childhood was spent in orchards with her siblings and cousins, climbing ladders to pick and prune a variety of fruits.

"I probably didn't inherit the green thumb, but it's given me a keen eye for good produce."

Huata said she had been surrounded by strong wāhine her whole life, and attributed her appetite for "stunning kai" to her mum and kuia.

"Kātahi ngā wāhine rangatira ko rāua.

"I'm very staunch at sticking to who I am because koinā ngā akoranga kua ūhia mai ki runga i au. Nā ngā māreikura kei tōku ao i pērā rawa ahau."

Huata said her connection to kai went beyond food - it was a way to reconnect with herself, people, and her Māoritanga.

"Kai connects people, and I think actually further than that, kai connects people to people. It connects people to our place and people to our whakapapa."

Huata said for anyone wanting to connect to Te Ao Māori, one of the best ways was through kai.

Whether you were going back to your marae or just sharing kai with friends, kai was a non-confrontational entry point into Te Ao Māori, Huata said.

FoodTok whānau

Through her TikTok content, Huata has received positive feedback from people trying Māori cuisine for the first time.

"The number of people who now have the courage to give some of our kai tīpuna a go...that brings me joy," she said.

"I've had people come up to me and say, 'I tried the tōroi recipe' or 'I gave kina a go. I never thought that would be the kai for me, but I gave it a go' and that's the thing that brings me so much joy, our people reclaiming our kai rangatira."

• Try Raukura's tōroi recipe here.

Huata hoped more people will embrace kai Māori, whether it was buying a punnet of kina or trying pāua.

"It's an opportunity to connect with the culture through kai, and if there's an opportunity, share it with your mates," she said.

Huata also saw potential for Māori cuisine to play a role in boosting New Zealand's tourism economy.

"I think it's time for the New Zealand restaurant landscape to embrace Māori cuisine."

#MadeWithLove

Huata's involvement in #MadeWithLove brought her joy as it offered a platform to showcase Māori cuisine firstly to her own people, and then the world.

She was hopeful that her videos could be used as a resource or as inspiration.

"It brings me a lot of joy to know that... me aroha tātou ki a tātou."

Huata said Aotearoa was "seeing the fruits of language revitalisation" and wanted the country to give "some attention to our kai".

Huata said it would amazing for #MadeWithLove to go viral.

"If it does go global, then the one that I'm dying to learn more about is from the Inuit people (indigenous people of the Arctic).

"I'm so excited to learn about the different kai from different iwi from around the world."

TikTok is encouraging Kiwis to contribute their own recipes using the #MadeWithLove hashtag, which will become part of a 'digital cookbook'.

© Scoop Media

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