Chef advocates for food infrastructure

Dunedin chef Sam Gasson recently attended Eat New Zealand’s 10th anniversary hui in Auckland to cook and learn from those passionate about the country’s food story, he tells Rebecca Fox.

Providing a voice for Otago at the table at one of the biggest discussions about food systems in New Zealand is the aim of Dunedin chef Sam Gasson.

Eat New Zealand is a movement aiming to reconnect people with food which began 10 years ago after Christchurch chef Giulio Sturla brought together chefs, producers, media, academics, and food leaders to ask bold questions about the future of food in Aotearoa.

It recently held a two-day hui in Auckland to celebrate its anniversary and to launch its boldest moves yet — a campaign "Vote for Kai" calling for food to be recognised as national infrastructure, something that shapes health, resilience and community, not just an industry or charity issue.

"After ten years, Eat NZ’s message feels clearer than ever.

"If we want a food system that truly serves our people and our place, we need to vote for Kai both politically and in the choices we make every day," Gasson says.

"It’s about ensuring everyone in Aotearoa has access to good, local kai, grown on our own land, in ways that honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi," Gasson says.

He got involved after he returned to Dunedin from Australia and opened his restaurant Moiety.

"Much like everything I seem to do is because no-one else puts their hand up. I think anything about food, anything about feeding people and anything about having that better understanding of where our food comes from in a more connected society is definitely where I'm about."

Although he does admit to a "conflict in his mind" regarding Moiety which is not for everyone.

"It’s a difficult one but at least I’m aware of it."

Having attended every hui since, Gasson was "privileged" to be part of the team which catered to the anniversary fundraising dinner.

"A milestone that really highlighted how far the movement has come in connecting people to the land and to each other through kai."

For his part in the dinner, he created a snack, a potato roulade using seasonal Otago-grown leeks and potatoes and a dish that celebrated line-caught fish from Nelson with Auckland asparagus with "field-blend" kimchi and sorrel.

"Simple, honest food that spoke to place and season. So it's spring fresh, a bit of what we do at the restaurant,"

For Gasson it was a step outside his comfort zone — preparing food for about 120 people instead of the 26 his restaurant seats.

"It changes how you look at what your dish composes of and how you execute and everything else."

But it was also a rare chance for Gasson and the other chefs to collaborate.

"Events like this are so key for chefs, the collaboration and conversation in a neutral environment, creating something that brings such enjoyment to people and creates new professional connections that don't happen in the normal day-to-day of your practice."

At the hui the Aotearoa Grain & Pulse trademark was launched by Royalburn farmers Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie to provide a visible way for consumers to support New Zealand-grown staples and the farmers that produce them.

"It's something I've always been doing a lot myself in the restaurant, making sure I use South Island wheat and South Island grains in everything we do.

"And it's just better. The grains are delicious. The flour's amazing. It's a simple search that a lot of people could achieve and not financially detrimental."