Hiakai

Name: Hiakai
Address: Wellington, NZ
Telephone: +6449387360
Price range: Not applicable

HIAKAI HIAKAI began in 2016 by Chef Monique Fiso as a pop up series devoted to the exploration and development of Māori cooking techniques and ingredients.

Māori were great innovators of kai (food) and whenua (land). Developing their own style of earth cookery (hāngi) and successfully cultivating plants and vegetables brought with them from Hawaiki (ancient homeland) to the much colder environment of Aotearoa. Over several centuries, these methods have been passed down, refined and still feed the tāngata (people) of Aotearoa today. Since its launch,

HIAKAI has established itself as a leading innovator in the New Zealand food scene. In 2019, Katie Monteith joined the team as General Manager and Co-owner. Katie's leadership and creativity has been pivotal to HIAKAI's evolution. Together, Monique and Katie have made history in 2022 as the first wāhine (female) led restaurant to receive not only three hats at the Cuisine Good Food Awards but also Chef of the Year, as well as a host of international accolades. The sophisticated boundary-pushing menus created by the HIAKAI team are challenging the status quo of Māori food in New Zealand, while playing a leading role in keeping Kai Māori and Polynesian food culture alive.

18/08/2026

Kareao, also known as supplejack, is an endemic vine found throughout Aotearoa. It crawls along the ngahere floor in search of a tree to wrap itself around. From there, it climbs the trunk in search of sunlight beyond the canopy.

According to pūrākau, kareao grew from the tail of Tunaroa - a monstrous eel god who was killed by Māui. Following his demise, Tunaroa was cut into three. One part was tossed into the awa which became freshwater tuna. The next was hurled into the moana and became saltwater tuna. Lastly, the tip of Tunaroa's tail was thrown into the ngahere and took root as the kareao vine.

We love to forage for the young shoots which are incredibly juicy and tender. Their appearance and flavour has earned them the nickname bush asparagus. You can eat them cooked or raw. Sautéed, battered and lacto fermented are some of the ways we have used them in the past. Lately we’ve been refining a sweet relish recipe showcasing kareao as the hero - it’s frickin ace!

Have you tried kareao? If anyone’s got any interesting culinary uses for kareao drop them in the comments below ⬇️👇🏽

16/08/2026

Tī kōuka, also known as Cabbage tree, is so prevalent in Aotearoa, that it is often taken for granted. The truth is, tī kōuka is a taonga that symbolises resilience and connection. It was an important source of kai and rongoā for Māori, and the exceptionally strong leaves are still used in weaving today. Fun fact, the trunk is incredibly fire resistant, so much so that it was hollowed out and used as a chimney by early Pākehā.

Pictured is the rito or korito, the plant's edible young shoot. The white tips can be eaten cooked or raw and have a similar flavour and texture to artichoke and hearts of palm. We love to pickle these then thinly slice them as a garnish for salads or kaimoana. The pickling process also helps extend their shelf life while retaining their colour and crunch.

In addition to the shoots, the stems and taproots were also harvested for food. These were steamed for up to two days in a hāngī before being pounded into a meal-like paste called kāuru. This technique brought out the natural sugars within the plant and made for an ideal substitution for kūmara in times of scarcity, or in places where it was too cold to grow kūmara.

06/07/2026

Our latest pānui is out now with an exclusive recipe just for our subscribers 😎

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hiakai.co.nz/contact

Address

Wellington

Telephone

+6449387360

Website

http://www.hiakai.co.nz/

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