Rob Hartwell is the 2008 Acorn Scholar. As part of a year’s development activity, he has been given a sabbatical from his sous chef role with Peach Pub Company to take a four-month cooks tour.
In December 2007 my dream was made a reality when I was awarded the 2008 Acorn Scholarship. As a result, I have been able to embark on four months’ of travel which will take in Fiji, Australia, Thailand and Vietnam.
My goal is to experience flavours and food that are new to me and collect some recipes to bring back to the UK. So I’ll not only be eating but also actually cooking in all these countries. Fiji is my first stop and for this leg of the journey, I’m accompanied by my girlfriend Sophie.
Fiji
After two 12-hour flights, five hours waiting in airports and three hours on a boat, Sophie and I finally arrived at our first destination, Naviti Island, Fiji. This is a small island in the middle of the Fiji islands with a population of about 18 locals plus me and Sophie. We are staying in a “bure” which is a wood and straw hut, similar to a cabin.
There is no electricity apart from that generated by two solar panels which powers fans, lights and the fridges in the main kitchen.
From what I’d read and heard, I was not expecting the food to blow me away, but after talking with a few locals on the mainland I quickly gathered a vision of fresh, honest and totally authentic food.
On the first day we were asked if we would like fish for lunch. This sounded like a great idea, especially as the islanders call the sea their “farm”. I wanted to see what their catch would be. Having met with our friendly local on the beach, we saw another local man paddling out on a kayak, line fishing for our lunch - you really can’t get fresher than that. The Fijians export a lot of fish to Japan, the USA and Europe such as marlin, tuna and opah. That day they cooked our catch in coconut milk and then pan-fried it - a really simple dish but fresh, full of flavour and a great start to the tour.
Later on that week, we were invited to see a traditional feast called a “lovo” (pronounced lobo) being prepared and cooked. I had been expressing an interest in their food in the last few days and had become friends with more locals, who thought it would a great opportunity for me to see a completely different underground style of cooking and how they cooked traditionally.
They started by digging a round hole about four feet across and two feet deep. Then volcanic rock (hard rock) is placed at the bottom and covered with logs and dried coconut husk. A fire is then lit and kept burning for about four hours.
I say “about” because everything runs on Fiji time. After the fire is allowed to die down, the debris is scraped off to leave just the hot rocks. Next the cooks lay green coconut branches over the hot rocks to prevent the food from taking too much direct heat. Now they add the food which is all wrapped in coconut and banana leaves.
We had coconut-creamed spinach, wild garlic, onions and ground beef; barracuda, chillis and coconut milk; leg of pork (bone in and not wrapped) and roasted sweet potato.
When all the food is on, the whole lot is covered with fresh cut coconut leaves, then wet hessian sacks, then dry ones finally a thin layer of soil to stop the heat, smoke and steam escaping. The whole lot is left for about three to four hours to cook in the residual hear of the hot coals. Cooking times depend on the size of the leg of pork – it’s definitely not an exact science.
When the feast is uncovered the smell is an incredible mix of smoky meat, coconut, roasted vegetables and seasonings. We were then privileged to join the locals in this amazing meal cooked from only the local materials and food they can find on their island. The pork had adsorbed a lot of the green smoke and stayed very moist; so it tastes like an earthy, hot smoked ham. As for the coconut creamed spinach; it’s going to find a way on to the next menu I write.
I have been truly been blown away by the whole experience of being on a remote island, especially by how resourceful the locals are and how inventively and well they manage to cook. It may not have been hi-tech but it certainly was honest, fresh and brilliant.
I’m just about to go fishing for sand sharks. Next stop, I’m off to South Australia where the Mad Fish vineyard beckons.
Find out more about the Acorn Scholarship for new talent in hospitality
Comments (1)
omg most of the responses most of the people make usually are such stoner statements, now and again i wonder if they honestly go through the content material pieces and reports before posting or if maybe they basically gloss over the blog titles and publish first thing comes to mind. anyhow, it is pleasant to read through clever commentary here and there when compared to similar, dated post vomit which i usually see on the net
Posted by the blog commenter | March 27, 2010 10:31 PM
Posted on March 27, 2010 22:31