Nuku may now be a #FoodTok phenom, but at home in the Bay of Plenty, life hasn’t much changed. Her success started in the family kitchen, and that is where she continues to serve her content.
“I guess this all started when I was living with my grandparents. I was an early teen, around 16, and my grandmother was working late nights teaching Māori classes. It left me and my grandfather at home, and that really allowed me to explore my creativity in the kitchen because [I was] cooking us dinner, taking the load off my dad,” Nuku tells the Herald.
“My grandfather doesn’t know how to cook - he knows how to cook boil-up,” she laughs. “I guess that’s when my love [of food] really started. I could be creative and have a play with meals. My grandfather’s quite plain [in taste], but that’s where it all came from.”
Whānau is integral to Nuku’s content. She currently lives with her fiancé, their three-year-old daughter, and her parents and grandparents on a lifestyle block in the lower Kaimai Range, an arrangement she describes as a “family-oriented, multi-generational-living vibe”.
Their living situation is similar to papakāinga, Nuku explains: communal housing on ancestral Māori land or acreage that often operates according to kaupapa Māori.
“They [her daughter and siblings] love being in the kitchen with me. My younger siblings are at the age where they can recreate my recipes themselves, so quite often they’ll have my TikTok playing in the background,” she says, a smile in her voice.
“My daughter is always in the kitchen with me - not really helping, but she’s always in the kitchen.”
It’s here she films her recipes, many of which - such as boil-up and lamb tails - have been passed down from her tīpuna. Other more contemporary dishes (think cheeseburger wontons and cookie pie) are often gleaned from traditional and social media, Nuku says - from YouTube and TikTok to cooking shows and magazines.
“The more traditional recipes that I make have been passed down, but ... I take my inspiration from a lot of places,” she says.
Sharing Māori cuisine is becoming more common in online spaces, increasing its visibility among different countries and cultures.
Nuku is one of several wahine Māori casting a spotlight on kai via social media; NZ Creator of the Year nominee Nicola ‘Nix’ Adams, for example, often uploads her seafood boil-up recipe on TikTok. Raukura Huata is another who shares traditional Māori dishes online, including variations of kina, her signature creamed pāua, and toroī, a meal made with mussels and leafy vegetables such as watercress or pūhā.
For Nuku, sharing her kai on TikTok and Instagram is one way to help bring awareness to Māori culture, spreading its traditions and practices to corners of the globe that may have never even heard of Aotearoa.
When asked if cooking helps her feel more connected to her culture as a whole, Nuku notes that for her and her whānau, making kai is the norm; it is their way of life.
“I suppose it helps connect me and my family to our culture more just by learning the recipes.
“We are quite deeply rooted in our culture as is, so ... all of that is very, very normal for us. I guess I just don’t really think of it like that because it is our normal,” she muses.
But her content is helping to educate others. “I’m South African, and your fry bread is similar to what we have called vetkoek, and it’s made very similarly. I think that’s really cool,” one viewer commented on a recent video.
Others commonly ask for the definition of te reo words such as “whānau” (which she uses to refer to her viewers), to which either Nuku or her local fans usually offer a kind explanation. She also regularly uses bone-handled knives, another nod to her ancestry.
“I love sharing my culture with different parts of the world and just seeing it reach far and wide. It makes me really proud,” she says. “I think Māori culture is spreading all over the world - whether that’s through Te Matatini [Māori performing arts festival] or kapa haka initiatives, through TikTok or through social media platforms. I think we have a lot of whānau in all sorts of places.
“What I love most about it is connecting with other indigenous cultures and seeing the similarities between all of our traditional dishes,” she adds.
“For example, the Navajo people [Native American] have something very similar to fry bread, and so do the Aboriginal [people] in Australia. It’s crazy to think how similar and interconnected we are.”
Reading through the comments on her recent videos, the response is overwhelmingly positive. While social media can often be a cesspit of cyberbullying and vitriol, Nuku’s platforms feel like a safe space. Her wholesome brand of cooking, baking, and homelife resonates with viewers, many of whom seem to be seeking out comforting and familiar content in a dark and uncertain world.
“Forever my Nara Smith,” one fan commented, comparing Nuku to the American influencer, model and mother who has taken TikTok by storm with her hypnotic voice, homemade recipes and (supposedly) satirical play on the #TradWife trend.
“The response since I started TikTok has been actually really, really positive. I have worked hard to build up my community, whether that’s replying to them or replying in the comments - because at the end of the day, they’re who make my platform come to life,” Nuku says.
“It’s been an awesome journey with everyone.”
Now, Nuku is looking forward to growing her audience and pursuing business opportunities. She recently collaborated with Woolworths to show her viewers how they can use fresh produce to create simple, seasonal meals.
“I would recommend strawberries, asparagus, and salmon. I recently made an asparagus, honey, walnut and feta salad with a strawberry vinaigrette, alongside a blackened salmon - so you can really play around with the flavours. There’s so many options,” she says.
The opportunity to partner with the retail giant was “absolutely surreal,” she gushes, her excitement both palpable and earnest.
“I just feel so grateful, because Woolworths is quite a big brand. They’re probably the biggest brand that I have worked with this far, and to work with them and their fresh produce is amazing.
“It’s really a dream come true.”
Lana Andelane is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist. She was previously lifestyle editor at Newshub, where she began her career as a news producer in 2019. She enjoys writing about music, pop culture, fashion and beauty.
