Culinary

Rooted in Hospitality

4 MIN READ

Culinary

Rooted in Hospitality

4 MIN READ

Story By:Matthew Burgess

Photos By:Lucianna McIntosh

Location:South Island, New Zealand

Chef Matthew Burgess returns home to New Zealand, diving further into his Māori heritage with the help of local growers, foragers, and fisherman, creating a shared meal that celebrates the land and the wild roots that connect New Zealanders to their home.

Matthew Burgess

Specialty

Chef

Culinary

In New Zealand, hospitality, or “manaaki” is what we do. New Zealand and Māori tradition, in essence, says that if any guest comes, the number one priority is to look after them. To us, guests are higher than chieftains; guests are treated like kings or queens. It is about us looking after whoever comes into our home and looking after each other.

And when it comes to Māori cuisine, it's not so much about specific cooking technique or even particular produce, it's about the “wairua,” or what we call the “soul” of the food. For us, that comes from connection to the land, and the heart that’s gone into preparing the meal. Foraging is an important aspect of Māori cuisine and hospitality for these reasons. And as an expression of hospitality for my readers, my guests here, I’ve shared a recipe from the final meal below.

Above:Marlborough Sounds are located on the north-eastern tip of the South Island. While much of the sounds are protected waters, there are locations where fishing and diving are permitted.

This trip came with mixed emotions for me. I live and work as a chef in London, and haven’t been back to New Zealand since 2020, when my mother passed away. She was a seriously good cook and taught me everything I know, and as an only child, she felt like the last link to the land where I’m from. Coming back this time is a beautiful experience because it feels like nothing changed, but also everything changed. And the Māori hospitality is central to feeling at home here.

What I learned from my mother is that there are four fundamentals to stick to for a dish. It must be sweet, salty, spicy, and sour. And this translates throughout many different cultures and cuisines. This is what I do at my kitchen in London, and how I put together the meal I wanted to create here. But since we’re foraging and diving, it’s important that the meal and I both be adaptable to what we do and do not come back with.

“Hospitality is part of the soul of our country.”

Above:Anna, a winemaker at Tohu, oversees the fermentations. Tohu is the first Māori-owned vineyard.

Above:One of the Tohu vineyards sits in a valley that offers hot days and cold nights — a set of growing conditions that create some of the world’s greatest wines.

FIRST TASTINGS AT TOHU WINERY

Tohu is the first Māori-owned vineyard, made up of local iwi (tribes). The winemaker there, Anna, who is absolutely brilliant and oversees the fermentations, has us taste a first fermentation of their 2024 Pinot noir, and it’s delicious. Quite sweet still, and quite balanced. I am very excited about this wine, so I am planning to use this first fermentation (with brown sugar and salt) to cure the fish that we were hoping to get. We've also found some grapes that we’ll use to serve on the side.

In addition to being Māori-owned, what’s special about Tohu is where it sits in the Montedi Valley, one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand, right on the Marlborough Sounds. The whole area sits in a valley, so the days get really hot, and the nights get really cold. These two different atmospheres bring out the best of the grapes.

Above:Jason (right) is a local Māori foraging guide who was born and raised in New Zealand and helps ensure Chef Matt has a respectful (and successful) traditional harvest.

12 Soft Cooler, Wild Vine Red, card — Above:Jason (right) is a local Māori foraging guide who was born and raised in New Zealand and helps ensure Chef Matt has a respectful (and successful) traditional harvest.

FORAGING IN THE SACRED RIWAKA VALLEY

We meet up with Jason who will be our foraging guide in the Riwaka Source. Jason is Te Ati awa (local iwi), born and raised here. He and his parents perform a karakia (prayer) to bless us on our journey and provide instruction for a respectful harvest, as there are many protocols and traditions around foraging for Māori. The Riwaka Source is the start of the river — an incredible natural spring that’s pushed through miles and miles of marble. It’s very “tapu,” or sacred, so we are very honoured to be here.

There are two ingredients I am hoping to get with Jason’s help: horopito, which is like a chilli plant, very spicy and bitter, similar to black pepper, and kawakawa which is a fruity leaf, very citrusy and absolutely delicious with fish. Jason teaches that the leaves with all the holes from bugs eating it are actually the leaves that we want – which is counter to what I’d look for as a chef, as I’d like the perfect leaf. So that’s really interesting for me to learn.

There is a Māori proverb that says, whatever you take from the land, you must return. So Jason instructs us to pick some extra herbs and leave them for the native birds and animals. And thanks to Jason’s guidance, we did find horopito and kawa kawa, so the meal is coming together nicely.

Above:Etoile is a professional diver and fisherman in the area. With her partner Dave, they help guide Chef Matt to what he has in mind for his menu while honoring traditional protocols.

Above:Crayfish, kina (sea urchin), and green-lipped mussels are packed for the return trip to the beach where Chef Matt will prepare them for the meal.

DIVING IN MARLBOROUGH SOUNDS

Dave and Etoile are our spearfishing and diving guides in the Marlborough Sounds. They are professional divers and fishermen, and similar to foraging, they ensure we have a respectful harvest and follow traditional protocols in the water. We are diving for kina, or sea urchin, green-lipped mussels, crayfish (which is rock lobster), and we’ll be spearfishing for snapper and a fish called blue warehou.

One of the elements of respect and tradition in fishing and diving is that we say a prayer and when we catch or spear the fish, we have to prepare the fish — scaling and gutting — in the water. Which is giving back to the water all the innards so the other animals can live on it. But as a chef, I’ve never gutted a fish in the water, and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done while trying to stay afloat! Dave and Etoile were masters at this however, it was amazing to see.

Above:Chef Matt ties the cured filets using Harakeke (flax) to be hung near the fire where they’ll take on a slight smokiness while drying out before being placed on the fire to finish the cooking process.

Above:Chef Matt pours a hot mixture of melted, salted butter and squeezed fresh lemon juice over the crayfish tails as they are charring over live fire, elevating the flavour.

OUR FORAGED FEAST

Preparing the meal for the crew and our partners is finally my opportunity to be the host rather than the guest, and reinforce the hospitality and specialness of New Zealand. Our setting on the beach has plenty of natural materials for me to work with, so I get to work building a trellis to smoke the fish, using wire I brought, as well as found leaves and shells.

The fish has been marinating in the first fermentation wine with brown sugar for four hours. I also make a Peruvian-style ceviche with the lobster tails, fennel flowers, tiger's milk (which is lime juice and coconut milk), and put the horopito and kawakawa to use in that dish as well. Flatbreads are served with kina (sea urchin) or a lemon butter I made with local manuka honey and the in-season lemons, while paua (abalone) fritters fry in the cast iron.

It’s really special to enjoy this meal with everyone, all of us looking after each other and instilling wairua in the foraging and building of this shared meal.

We are abundant in food, but we also are abundant in love, and we're abundant in hospitality. And that connects every part of the journey of how we treat any guest that comes into New Zealand from any creed or color or background. You're all part of us. We are all one spirit. We are all one soul. And if we can show you a small part of that from being here, then we've done our job. And that makes me happy.

PAUA FRITTERS

No paua (abalone) available? You could use the same recipe with a thick flaked fish like tuna, catfish, or dare I say it, lobster.

INGREDIENTS

3 Paua (abalone) removed from shell, cleaned and chopped into small pieces.

1 Onion blended

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp Salt

1 Egg

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp Olive oil

Place paua and onion into a food blender and blend into fine small pieces. Remove paua mix from blender and spoon into a large bowl. With a wooden spoon stir through the curry powder, egg, salt, and flour. The mixture should be wet enough to form small patties. Divide the mix into 4 small flat round fritters. Heat the olive oil in a 12" cast iron skillet; cook the fritters on medium-low heat for 4-6 minutes on each side. Once ready they should be nicely caramelized on the outside and hot throughout. Serve with half of lemon, squeezing the juice all over.

Matt Burgess is a proud New Zealand Māori. With over 30 years experience in the culinary world, Matt Burgess, often known at @matblak on Instagram, began his next move in 2022 with a step into his own food consultancy business, Kaiwhenua.