hiakai

Hiakai. Adjective. Origin~Māori.

1. Hungry
2. Having a desire, need, craving for food.

Hiakai is a pop up series devoted to the exploration and development of Māori cooking techniques and ingredients. Māori were great innovators of food and land, developing their own style of earth cookery (hāngi) and successfully adapting plants and vegetables brought with from Hawaiki to the much colder environment of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Over several centuries, these methods have been passed down, refined and still feed the hiakai people of Aotearoa today.



Māori chef, Monique Fiso is always hungry - hungry for knowledge, hungry for discovery and of course, hungry for food. Honing her skills in some of New Zealand and New York’s top kitchens - michelin starred The Musket Room, PUBLIC Restaurant, A Voce, as well as Cuisine Restaurant of the Year Winner - Martin Bosley’s to name a few. Hiakai gives her the opportunity to express her Māori heritage through kai (food).