Fiji: Flavours of the Pacific

There's no TV or internet in guest rooms at Castaway Island - a gutsy move for an exclusive resort. Photo / Supplied

Fiji's first foodie ambassador and celebrity chef leads a new wave of South Pacific cuisine, writes Maureen Dettre.

In stark contrast to the antagonistic atmosphere in many commercial kitchens, Castaway Island's executive chef Lance Seeto says he now has "a kitchen full of chefs who sing".

Seeto, an Australian-Chinese chef from Melbourne, thought it would be fun to spend a year working in Fiji. Five years later, he's a celebrity chef known for transforming the region's cuisine and winning culinary accolades for the tiny South Pacific nation.

Revered as Fiji's first foodie ambassador, he's recently returned from Washington DC and Los Angeles where he cooked for diplomats, United Nations big-wigs and the media.

Fiji has always been known as a great place for a relaxing holiday but what's on the menu has usually been pretty ordinary. And that's what Seeto has been changing at the coalface with natural, regional foods cooked imaginatively in a fusion of Fijian, Indian and Chinese styles.

"Those three cultures don't exist together anywhere else," Seeto said.

"I want to put the flavours and technique of Fiji on a plate. I isolate the elements, the flavours and the techniques of Fijian cuisine."

And while he's been busy enhancing the menu at the sublime resort of Castaway Island, Fiji's people and culture have turned his life upside down.

Seeto says he has finally impressed his Chinese parents, who were ashamed their son was a "mere cook" instead of a banker or doctor - or the IT professional he tried to become.

He admits it's his media profile that won over his mum. When she saw an article on him in Qantas' magazine, she asked every passenger on the plane to hand over their copy.

Seeto is the star of Fiji's top-rating cooking series, Taste Of Paradise: The Foods Of Life, which screens in 13 South Pacific countries.

That gig stemmed from his weekly column in the Fiji Times, and later this year he will release his memoir cookbook Coconut Bliss.

Lance Seeto fuses Indian, Chinese and Fijian flavours.

His innovative fusion of South Pacific, Indian and Chinese cooking comes with a large dollop of wisdom about life. Living in the pristine tropical island of Castaway has transformed him.

The postcard-perfect beauty of the private, 70ha tropical island in the heart of the stunning Mamanuca group of islands would be enough to seduce any visitor, but it's the people and the produce that have inspired him.

"For me it's turned out to be a whole new career and lifestyle," he said.

"Fiji has a culture that lives and sees the world completely differently to us. Fijians don't judge or label.

"They couldn't care less about your hair, clothes or makeup. They are looking at your heart: Do you have a good heart?"

That's the philosophy Castaway offers its guests, right in the middle of paradise. There's no TV or internet in guest rooms, a gutsy move for an exclusive resort.

"The whole idea is disconnection and not everyone is comfortable with that. But our clients come here so they are not worrying about their problems at home. It's about reconnecting with your kids; kids are forced to engage and communicate."

There's no doubt the extraordinary friendliness and happiness of the Fijians makes you stop, think and slip into "Fiji time".

Seeto believes the traditional lifestyle and Fijians' ownership of their land is responsible for their contentment. Many Fijians still grow their own food and hunt for meat and fish.

"They don't have mortgage stress, they grow their own food, they don't really need much cash. They don't yearn and dream of material possessions."

Castaway's guests are the beneficiaries of Seeto's creative fusion cuisine. Castaway's beachfront restaurant, 1808, was recently named best restaurant at the AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards. The restaurant is named after the year the first Chinese arrived in Fiji onboard the American brig Eliza after being shipwrecked off Nairai Island.

The local fresh produce is also a critical element for Seeto. The fishermen deliver their catch to him fresh from the sea and he generally buys the lot, up to 700kg a week. He sources most meat from Tasmania and lamb from New Zealand. He prides himself on tweaking traditional recipes.

The Outrigger Resort.

The Indian influence in Fiji is huge and many curry recipes (such as his mango and lime duck curry) are more intense thanks to the organic spice farms dotted throughout Fiji's rainforests.

The "Chinese with a twist" is apparent in his seawater pork sung choi bao, which he describes as pork belly infused for three days in a brine of natural sea water and spices.

Seeto came up with the concept of using the pristine sea water to provide a natural seasoning for traditional Fijian cooking. The dish also incorporates Indian ginger kuchla and local guava jam, all ensconced in a lettuce cup.

The Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian influences are also clear in his green bamboo steamed fish in scorched coconut milk with charred sugarcane blossom, served in the sugarcane shell.

Fiji's gain is likely to be Australia's loss as Seeto and his fusion-style cuisine are staying in paradise.

"It's hard to imagine going back. I have a kitchen full of chefs who sing."

CHECKLIST

Getting there: Air New Zealand and Fiji Airways have daily departures from Auckland to Nadi.

Accommodation: Castaway Island has different bure (wood and straw hut) options: Island bure ($735 a night), ocean bure ($815) and beach bure ($935).

Further information: Meal plans are from $100 per day for adults and $50 for kids. Rates include use of snorkelling gear, kayaks, glass-bottom boats, standup paddleboards, tennis court and Wi-Fi.

The writer travelled as guest of Outrigger Resorts Fiji.