Fiji: The best of palm and reef

Taking a class at the Flavours of Fiji cooking school is a refreshing way to learn about the local culture. Photo / Supplied

Go local when it comes to food, Nicholas Jones discovers at a cooking school in Fiji.

A quickly learned lesson in the resorts of Fiji is to avoid Western food in favour of a local dish.

Ready access to great fresh seafood and the country's ethnic mix of locals makes for food far better than a burger and chips.

A cooking class is a good option for anyone interested in learning how to make some of the best local meals.

Flavours of Fiji is a professional operation a short five-minute walk from the mega hotels of Denarau Island and an easy drive from Nadi.

The three-hour course is split into a Fijian cooking lesson, taken by instructor Ethee, and a Fijian Indian lesson taken by Arti.

As someone who likes eating but whose idea of innovation is adding a layer of bread to a mince pasta bake, I am slightly nervous about being able to keep up. But the set-up and helpfulness of instructors means it never feels difficult.

All the equipment is set out below each cooking station with a basket of all ingredients, most already in portion sizes.

There's more than enough time to be entertained by Ethee's motor-mouthed pronouncements on everything from the lazy Fijian youth of today to the fact women in her extended family don't know how to cook taro leaf properly.

As good as the food is, this proved the highlight for me - the humour and warmth a good change after what can feel a slightly sterile time in the bigger resorts.

Dishes include ika vakalolo (fish in coconut cream), vudi vakasoso (plantain in coconut cream), dhal soup, murghi and aalu curry, roti and coconut burfi (Indian fudge).

While we wait for our taro leaf, also called spinach, to boil for my favourite Fijian dish, rourou, Ethee proudly tells how she haunts the market women when visiting her home village. If the stall holders sell her spinach or cassava that remains too hard after cooking she won't hesitate to return and tell them off, Ethee explains.

"I say, 'Did I give you bad money? No? Then why did you give me bad food?'."

Among the good-natured sass is interesting information on how food is prepared and why, including the traditional lovo method, which is like our hangi.

Arti, who takes the Fijian Indian lesson, is more reserved but equally knowledgeable about her dishes and also fills the gaps between instructions by explaining what daily life is like for her and other families.

The three hours flash past and before we know it we are eating the last of our seven courses.

Flavours of Fiji is a cooking course that comes recommended, not only for the food but the considerable charm of its local instructors.

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Further information: The Flavours of Fiji cooking school is on Denarau Island.

The writer travelled courtesy of Tourism Fiji.