default-output-block.skip-main
Regional | Auckland

Hangi infused with foreign flavours

According to organisers, Gourmet Hāngi has enjoyed great success in its first year at the Taste of Auckland food festival.  Six popular chefs were tasked with re-inventing the hāngi by introducing new flavours to the traditional cooking method.

It’s still made the traditional way, through a fired up pit, but this time the food has been infused with some foreign flavours.

"I just want to apply some of my philosophies in the kitchen and some of the flavours or technique we do in a European style" says Ben Bayly, the Grove Restaurant’s head chief.

Hangi Master Rewi Spraggon and his team are in charge of keeping the hangi burning throughout the four day event.

“We have the task of making 13 sets of hangi from Thursday through to Sunday. So we’ll be assisting some very experienced chiefs with their cooking” says gourmet hangi expert, Rewi Spraggon.

Six chiefs are involved in the project and included amongst them is Ben Bayly, who shares his talents of marinating duck.

“Today we’re doing some duck with horopito and some pork belly with bull cap” says an excited Ben Bayly.

One of the other chiefs is Tuatahi Fern. He’s dishing up a Māori and Asian inspired pork.

“Mine's a little bit different I've done a Chinese inspired pork belly, so charsill pork which is a typical Kantanese pork belly, chinese pork” says Tuatahi Fern, whose also added a kawakawa and horopito fried bread to compliment his meal.

Mr Spraggon hopes that the Gourmet Hangi corner will continue to be a prominent feature at future Taste of Auckland events.