Hāngi Master Rewi Spraggon and Simon Peacock, head chef at the Government House new hangi pit. Photo / Visa Wellington On a Plate
Hāngi Master Rewi Spraggon and Simon Peacock, head chef at the Government House new hangi pit. Photo / Visa Wellington On a Plate
Government House has its very own hāngi pit.
And its first official use will be the Visa Wellington On a Plate 2024 programme Hākari Fusion, which will combine traditional and modern Māori cuisine prepared on the grounds of the Wellington property for the first time in its 114-year history.
Hosted by Dame Cindy Kiro, the event on Saturday August 10 is a rare opportunity for the public to enjoy a meal at this historic residence. It will utilise the hāngi pits that have been built on the grounds, which will remain as a permanent fixture after the event.
Guests will watch as a hāngi is lifted, while enjoying drinks and canapés, before being served a delicious dinner prepared by the Hāngi Master Rewi Spraggon and the chefs at Government House.
“One hundred and fourteen years after Government House was built, we’re delighted to lay down hāngi pits on a permanent basis and give everyone the opportunity to enjoy traditional Māori kai at Government House,” she said.
Rewi Spraggon, Beth Brash and Simon Peacock, head chef at Government House. Photo / Visa Wellington On a Plate
Māori chef and Hāngi Master Rewi Spraggon, who has cooked kai around the world wants to keep the art of hāngi alive in Aotearoa.
“To be able to put the oldest dish in New Zealand on the menu here at Government House is pretty buzzy,” Spraggon says.
“In 1980 every 15-year-old Māori male around the country could do a hāngi, now how many can?
“I want to bring it to the forefront, to have it on the menus in our top restaurants, as street food, as community food, and for people just to understand the process of hāngi.
“For people to be able to come to this event and to see the process of the food being prepared first hand is really awesome because a lot of people may have tried hāngi but haven’t seen the cooking side of it.”
Hangi Master Rewi Spraggon and head chef at Government House Wellington Simon Peacock. Photo / Wellington On a Plate
Visa Wellington On a Plate manager Beth Brash says this once-in-a-lifetime free event has been years in the making and is unlike anything that’s featured in the festival before.
“I’m thrilled that this truly special event will be part of our 2024 festival programme - but more than that, it’s something that anyone will have the opportunity to attend,” she says.
“Welly on a Plate has always been about more than delicious culinary experiences, it is a platform for the people, cultures and creativity of our communities in Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Aotearoa.”
Those wishing to attend Hākari Fusion at Government House will need to enter the ballot for tickets at visawoap.com between 10am on Monday May 20 until 11.59pm on Wednesday June 12 2024.
Hākari Fusion is one of 100 events in this year’s Visa Wellington On a Plate festival, which runs from August 1 to 31. The full festival programme will be released on June 5 2024.
Joseph Los’e is an award winning journalist and joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for Urban Māori Organisation Whānau Waipareira.
