Dhe leaves of the Pohuehue, Karaka and the Rewarewa tree, from whose blossoms the honey that is also known to us is made – Joe McLeod spent four hours in the morning collecting these plants from his New Zealand home in the forest. “I didn’t find what I wanted, I found what I needed,” says the burly Māori chef with a smile and greets each of the 25 guests who have gathered at the “Homeland Cooking School” in Auckland with a hug. McLeod, always in uniform and with a beret on his head, seems to enjoy this as much as explaining the traditional recipes and cooking methods of his people, the island nation’s indigenous inhabitants.
The “Hāngi” is particularly well known, in which meat and vegetables wrapped in ferns and leaves are cooked on hot stones in the ground. It can take two to four hours for the food to be edible. The guests don’t have to wait that long today, because the principle of the “Hāngi” also works in the pot: McLeod first fills it halfway with water, then the collected ferns and leaves are used here as with the classic method.
“We call it ‘Māori insulation,'” jokes the 64-year-old as he wraps six layers of the greens around the salmon. “We use the plants because they are connected to our rivers and oceans.” The ferns give the fish back its unique papakāinga (original home) and whakapapa (origin), he explains. “In addition, the ferns only develop their individual aroma in the ‘Hāngi’.” McLeod wraps everything in a cloth and pulls it together with flax cords “to capture the good things where they belong – in the pot”. Just like his ancestors did.
“Hāngi” dish of chicken and vegetables wrapped in ferns
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Bild: Manja Wachsmuth
Since 2014, McLeod’s mission has been to revive, preserve and promote traditional Māori recipes and cooking methods. However, presentations like the ones at the Homeland Cooking School are rare. For the indigenous, who has cooked for almost 50 years in restaurants like the Ritz in Paris, as well as for high-ranking diplomats, royal families and heads of state around the world, they are just an introduction intended to show that the indigenous culture in “Aotearoa” – so the Māori name for New Zealand – is extremely vivid.
“My people are crying out to get back in touch with traditional nutrition”
McLeod’s priority is to reconnect “our ancient knowledge” with the “marae”, as the Māori call the meeting place and center of their communities. In contrast to indigenous peoples in the USA, for example, the Māori have retained a lot of their culture, especially when it comes to food; nevertheless, the Western fast-food diet and the associated sugary drinks also dominate in “Aotearoa New Zealand”. This diet is bad for his people and leads to increased obesity, diabetes and mental illness.
Since 2014, Joe McLeod has been on a mission to revive traditional Māori recipes and cooking methods.
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Bild: Manja Wachsmuth
It also alienates Māori from their origins, says McLeod: “My people are screaming to get back in touch with the traditional diet,” says the chef, who, along with his friend Peter Gordon, was recently recognized by the New Zealand Chefs Association for for his contribution to New Zealand and Māori cuisine in particular. “So many are interested – I could teach for three lifetimes.”