Imagine, months of work foraging, procuring valuable ingredients, and planning going down the drain in one night because of a cancelled ferry across Cook Strait. Well this is the story of how 5 chefs came together to overcome arguably one of the most stressful yet fulfilling culinary journeys ever documented on StoryBites.

Young Maori chefs Joshua Hunter and Mitchell Tierney have turned the capital's well known inner city eatery, Havana Bar and cafe into a wharekai as part of Wellington on a Plate. Josh, who is Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and Mitchell who is Ngāti Awa and Te Arawa are on a mission to show that there is more to traditional Māori cooking than hāngi. In collaboration with Maty Johns, executive chef at Base Hospitality Group, they've brought a custom built barbeque to Havana's courtyard and while Josh cooks up delicacies with a twist like fresh tītī (mutton bird) , Kentucky fried kōura (crayfish) tacos and beautifully cooked urenika (purple potatoes), Mitchell tells the story of the kai and its whakapapa. With the invaluable support of Finbar McCarthy from Gatherings Restaurant and of course Eom Jae Hoon the Head Chef of Havana Bar, they managed to pull off one of the most incredible events at Welly On A Plate to date.

Videographer and Editor: Jonathan Brown   / rgb.nef  
Executive Producer: Justin Yau

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