Te Kaupapa
Our purpose
E Kai Māori is reconnecting the culinary cultural heritage of Aotearoa to tangata whenua across the motu — one wānanga, one rohe, one whakapapa at a time.
Our vision
To reconnect our culinary cultural heritage to marae across the country.
Our mission
To research, record and reconnect Mātauranga Kai Māori in as many tribal regions as possible.
The kaupapa in practice
What began in 2006 as one man's solo mission — Chef Joe (Hamuera Orupe McLeod) carrying his mātauranga from marae to marae — became E Kai Māori in 2023, a partnership between Epuro Hands International and the Tangata Whenua Network.
Our wānanga combine traditional practices with practical, everyday use in a modern kitchen: foraging, sorting and naming rongoā, connecting rongoā to kai through whakapapa, tikanga and kawa, and cooking and sharing a hākari together. Each wānanga gives a marae the chance to reconnect with pre-European Māori food culture on its own terms — specific to its rohe, and its own kai Māori heritage.
Ngā kai a te Māori, mō ngā tāngata, mō te ao hou. Foods of the Māori, for all peoples, of the new world.
What we stand for
Mātauranga shared freely
We share what we know openly — made possible by our sponsors, volunteers and koha.
Specific to the rohe
Every rongoā and every practice belongs to the whakapapa of its own place. Nothing is one-size-fits-all.
Reciprocity
What's gifted to us — koha kai, stories, skills — shapes what we bring to the next marae.
Kaupapa before catering
We're not a catering service. Where we cook for an event, it's because its kaupapa aligns with ours.
Ngā rā e heke mai
Where we're heading
The reconnection journey keeps growing — beyond the wānanga, toward supporting kai producers, marae and communities more widely in reclaiming their culinary heritage. The destination hasn't changed: mātauranga kai Māori, alive and in use, on marae across Aotearoa.