Healthy, fresh, and colourful traditional Pacific food is being revived in the Pacific Islands Food Revolution TV cooking show, involving six Tongan cooks and hosted by celebrity New Zealand chef, Robert Oliver. The show launched last night, April 11, at Davina House, Nuku’alofa.

The event was attended by guest of honour, Hon Frederica Tuita Filipe, Robert Oliver, Australian High Commissioner HE Adrian Morrison, New Zealand High Commissioner HE Tiffany Babington, Ministry of Health CEO, Dr Siale Akauola, and other guests.

The show is similar to the popular “My Kitchen Rules”, and although entertaining, it has an important message to educate Pacific Islanders to make healthy food choices, particularly with the rise in non-communicable diseases in the Pacific.

HE Adrian Morrison said the Australia and New Zealand governments were “very happy to support this fabulous television show highlighting all that is healthy and tasty and nutritious in Pacific cooking”.

“The program brings food education to people’s homes where families can be entertained, but more importantly, it inspires to cook healthy and affordable meals.”

Chef Robert Oliver, who grew up in Fiji and Samoa, founded the show after he was cast in “My Kitchen Rules - New Zealand”, where he saw how the show got everyone cooking and talking about food.

“I thought this is a really amazing model to look at bringing into the Pacific and there had been nothing like this in the Pacific and it was particularly relevant to the health crisis. So that’s really how the show came up.”

“What I love about this is that this is a Pacific solution to a Pacific problem and this is something we can do.”

He said the television show is also aimed at inspiring young people to embrace traditional Pacific food.

Six contestants

In the show, six contestants from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and Vanuatu team up in pairs to create delicious dishes using fresh local ingredients.  The teams are “Minister's wives” Sela Latailakepa and Taufa Halateu; cooks Piuela Taufa and Hina Fe’ao; and social media ‘Tutu on the beach’ duo, Joshua Savieti and Kaufononga Pulu.

The Tongan cooks Piuela and Hina told Matangi Tonga they were happy to join the competition and to promote local Tongan food.

“We enjoyed it so much and are looking forward to seeing the series aired on TV,” said Hina.

The first episode of the TV series, which starts with Tonga, was aired last night on Digicel’s TVWAN and will be aired again tonight on TBC TVTonga at 6.30pm.

The AUD$7million initial pilot program is jointly funded by the governments of Australia and New Zealand.