A top restaurant in Central Otago has removed edible pounamu from its menu following setbacks caused by the dish’s inclusion on MasterChef New Zealand.
Amisfield, Cuisine magazine’s 2021/22 Restaurant of the Year, was criticized for its dessert green stone, made from a frozen kawakawa and pinot gris mix, and its kūmara rope.
The dish was on episode 13, which aired on June 26, where the reality show’s top eight contestants cooked at Amisfield, where MasterChef judge Vaughan Mabee is executive chef.
Discovery
This dish made in the form of an edible pounamu, which appeared in a recent episode of MasterChef New Zealand, has now been removed from the menu.
On the show, Mabee said the dish “just really represents where we are”, but not all viewers saw it that way.
Amisfield’s food and beverage manager Tony Stewart said he was aware there was “social media grumbling” about the pounamu causing the offense, but he received only one formal complaint.
“Just watched MasterChef [Three], ”Read the complaint email. “The kai looks incredible, but seeing the ‘pounamu’ desert was incredibly disturbing.
“I’m sure you know it’s considered treasure / taonga for Māori, to see it replicated as food, EAT and then eventually turn into shit, right ?! Literally we turn precious taonga into s ….
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“Was there any consultation with Māori before this dish was created?”
Stewart said reading the email made him feel “a little sick.”
“I felt a little disappointed that I had not followed and investigated our use of Māori up to this point,” he said.
Supply
Amisfield’s head chef Vaughan Mabee (left), a judge on MasterChef New Zealand, and food and beverage director Tony Stewart (right).
The pounamu was on the menu for about four years and elicited no complaints, Stewart said.
The court was developed with the utmost respect, he said, but without consultation. Mabee “just looked at it as a sign of power and mana and a very nice way to end a meal”.
However, when he received the email, Stewart immediately took steps to remove the item from the menu and sought consultation with local iwi Ngāi Tahu.
Ngāi Tahu confirmed it was approached by Amisfield and a meeting was scheduled with Kāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua Kāhui, the group representing the iwi in the Central Otago region.
“We are pleased that Amisfield Restaurant acknowledged that this was the wrong approach when it came to designing this dish and that it should have been in direct contact with mana whenua,” said spokesperson Paulette Tamati-Elliffe.
“While we appreciate the restaurant trying to do the right thing, it is inappropriate and a violation of tikaka [tikanga] to create and commercialize edible pounamu due to the importance of the taoka [taonga]. ”
Stewart said the offense was born out of “complete naivety” on Amisfield’s part.
“Most people will not want to benefit from a culture, especially not a culture that is so immersed,” he said.
“We only use New Zealand ingredients, we are very proud of the direction of our food and the creativity it brings, but it should go hand in hand with a better understanding of cultural significance.”
A Warner Bros. spokesman Discovery, which makes MasterChef, said a cultural adviser worked with the MasterChef New Zealand team.
Supply
Mabee with MasterChef co-judges Michael P Dearth and Nadia Lim. Discovery said there was a cultural advisor on the production.
“It is always our intention to have respect for all cultures, and we are sorry that the inclusion of the edible pounamu dessert on Masterchef New Zealand has offended,” they said.
“We understood that the inspiration behind the dessert was to honor Māori tikanga and although we believe that Amisfield’s intention was genuine, we have since learned that cultural approval was not sought in a formal way.”
Stewart said he was very sorry and that it was his responsibility to “move forward and kind of fix the wrong thing”.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” he added. “I have always wished I had a better understanding of Māori culture. I postponed learning about it, and I’m pretty excited about it. ”
He said he knows of three other restaurants that use pounamu “within their wording and their creativity” on menus.
After Stewart responded to the viewer who complained, said the dish was removed and apologized, the viewer responded.
They apologized for the tone of their original message, saying it was “very unarticulated”.
“Thank you for addressing my issues and taking the time to implement steps that Māori Tikanga recognizes, it really means a lot, not just to me, but to all Māori,” they wrote.