Stacey Morrison: ‘Bringing kai into our homes is a Matariki tradition’

What’s the first thing you think of when you think about Māori food?

For Stacey Morrison, it’s hangi – but it has to be done right. “No one likes soggy hangi,” says the Māori actress and Kiwi icon.

Morrison’s hangi parcels are a key feature of My Food Bag’s new Matariki menu, although she’s quick to say her recipe has been jazzed up.

“I reckon I offered about 60% of it, and then it was upgraded, it got My Food Bagged,” Morrison says.

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“They brought in this incredible spice, they brought in a watercress bearnaise sauce – I mean, what even is that?”

Morrison acknowledges that celebrating Matariki may feel “a bit scary”, especially for Kiwis who want to make sure they’re “doing the right thing”.

“Even just bringing kai into our homes is a Matariki tradition, eating together, feasting together, that’s perfect,” she says.

“During Matariki, we think about what we have gone through since last Matariki, we consider who we have lost, we bring out the grief.

“One of the great things about eating together, sharing kai, is that it brings our levels of tapu down. It’s your time to set forth what you want to do in the next year. This time of the year is for all of us.”

Matariki, which will be marked with a public holiday on Friday, July 14, is the start of the Māori New Year, with the name used to describe the star cluster also known as Pleiades.

Before sunrise during New Zealand’s winter, the cluster is visible as a faint sparkle of tiny dots when you look towards the northeast horizon. In Māori tradition, the appearance of the cluster marks the end of one year and the beginning of the other.

Dr Rangi Mātāmua, who won the prime minister’s science communicator award for raising awareness about Matariki, says it’s a spiritual time to remember those who have passed during the year and release their spirits.

“It is [also] cultural, in terms of the practices we go through to acknowledge the year, and it’s social,” Mātāmua said in an interview last year.

“It’s a gathering point for all people to come together and celebrate what has happened in the year gone and let it go. To celebrate who we are presently and to wish for the promise of a new season and a new year.”

When Matariki was first floated as a public holiday, Mātāmua and the Matariki Advisory Board were asked to recommend how the holiday should be celebrated, and what kind of commercialisation (think: a Matariki Briscoes sale) was appropriate.

“It is our belief that the principles and values associated with Matariki should guide all Matariki activities, including those that have a commercial element,” the board wrote.

“It is important to reflect on the true meaning and intent of Matariki to honour the significant cultural event that it is.”

Those cultural considerations were front of mind for My Food Bag as it designed its new menu, observing values such as kaihaukai​ (feasting) whakamaumaharatanga​ (rememberance) tohatoha​ (sharing) noho tahi​ (coming together) and whakanui​ (celebrations).

It’s not so much about whether each product could be considered a Māori food, but whether the food invites diners to embrace these significant Matariki values, says My Food Bag chef and recipe developer Amber Thoresen​.

“It’s about sharing kai, reflecting on the year, and looking forward to the year ahead.”

Morrison helped My Food Bag with “simple things” like the visuals of each dish, and the wording of blurbs, making sure their work observed Matariki’s values.

“This is ancient, this is unique to us, it’s about getting together, enjoying who we are with, enjoying our kai,” says Morrison.

“Although my heart could hurt about how long we haven’t been embracing this knowledge, I feel proud that we are the generations that are bringing it back.”

Morrison says one of the themes this year is Matariki Kāinga Hokia​ – Matariki calls you home.

Also woven through My Food Bag’s Matariki menu is the deep connection to the earth, or mana taiao​ (environmental awareness) whether it be from the root vegetables served in the meals, or the wild game meat that makes up the main dishes.

Usually the hero of Matariki dishes, there’s a kumara-shaped hole on this year’s menu, due to the flooding and damaging weather conditions experienced by most of the country during Cyclone Gabrielle, wiping out 90% of the country’s supply.

Morrison’s says she’s encouraging Kiwis to get behind Matariki in whatever way they feel comfortable, even if it’s just making an effort to pronounce the word correctly.

“Please don’t be scared – if you stick with all short sounds, you’ll get it.”