MEDIA RELEASE

Matariki Hängi Cuisine Cook-Off At Te Papa, Saturday 23 June

Te Papa and Wellington City Council are proud to present the inaugural Matariki Hängi Cuisine Cook-off on Saturday 23 June from 8.00am - 4.30pm. Four chefs from different ethic cooking traditions will add their unique flavours and style to the ingredients of a traditional Mäori hängi and compete for a stunning trophy and prizes.

Visitors can watch the hangi pit being prepared, interact with the chefs as they fill the hängi baskets and watch as judges Mayor Kerry Prendergast, chef Joe McLeod and food critic David Burton decide whose hängi is best. Visitors can then enjoy a sample of traditional hängi for free in the Te Papa Café from 3.30pm.

Chefs from Wellington restaurants Kai in the City, Mother's Sweet Kitchen, Logan Brown and The Oriental Thai will be provided with the food of a traditional hängi and will only be able to use their own condiments to give their hängi their own flavour twist.

The winner will be presented with a specially commissioned trophy, carved from wood by toi iho carver Mike Coffin of Wanganui and a set of professional chef knives generously donated by Southern Hospitality.

As well as the Cook-off, visitors can watch taonga Püoro (traditional Mäori musical instruments) being made and played on the Marae on Level 4 from 11am - 4.00pm and enjoy performances by Te Ahikaaroa Kapahaka in the Wellington Foyer at 11am and 2pm.

A full list of events and hängi ingredients follows on the next page

For further information, contact: Jane Keig, Manager Communications, 029 601 0180 SATURDAY 23 JUNE 8am-4pm: Matariki Hangi Cuisine Cook-Off. Wellington Foyer, Level 2 &outside Te Papa near waka landing area on the seaward side. Free entry.

8am - 9am See the fire being lit for the hängi outside Te Papa: on the grass near the waka landing area on the seaward side

10am-11am Watch the guest chefs assemble their hängi dishes in Wellington Foyer, Level 2

11am-11.30am Watch the hängi being laid outside Te Papa: on the grass near the waka landing area on the seaward side

2.30pm-3pm Watch the hängi being lifted outside Te Papa: on the grass near the waka landing area on the seaward side

3pm-3.30pm Watch the hängi being judged by our celebrity guest judges and the presentation of the trophy and prize. Wellington Foyer, Level 2

3.30pm-4pm Try a yummy sample of hängi in Te Papa Café

11am-4pm: Taonga Püoro (traditional Mäori instruments).The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 11am-12 noon: Fashion a Matariki fridge magnet. Inspiration Station, Level 4. Cost $2 11am-11.45am & 2pm-2.45pm: Te Ahikaaroa Kapahaka. Wellington Foyer, Level 2. Free entry.

HÄNGI INGREDIENTS (GIVEN TO EACH CHEF)

1kg potatoes 1kg kumara 1 small pumpkin 1kg carrots 1 whole chicken 1 mutton bird 1 rack of lamb 1 piece of pork loin approx. 500 gm 1 bunch of puha (subject to availability) 4 bunches of watercress 4 large white onions 1kg bread crumbs 500 gm butter 1 bunch parsley Salt and pepper

SUNDAY 24 JUNE 12 noon - 1.00pm: Toni Huata & Töku Reo band. The Marae, Level 4. Free entry. 1.30pm-3pm: Boultbee. This production of comedy, song, and drama tells the extraordinary story of an English sealer, John Boultbee, who worked among southern coast Mäori. Soundings Theatre, Level 2. Free entry.

ENDS