Treetops Cuisine - Māori Indigenous Food Trail

"Haere mai taua te hikoi i te ngahere" – “come walk with me in the forest”.

Treetops Lodge the experience for guests – The Treetops Lodge & Estate Māori Indigenous Food Trail.

Award-winning Treetops Lodge & Wilderness Experience, located in the heart of New Zealand’s world famous therapeutic thermal region and trout fishing capital, Rotorua, is an elite lodge offering a uniquely New Zealand experience. Surrounded by 2,500 acres of secluded native forestry, and nestled amidst magnificent, native, 800 year old forests and valleys, the lodge is a testament to the preservation of the indigenous flora and fauna.

In keeping with Treetop’s eco-friendly ethos, a key focus of the fine cuisine that is prepared for guests is on locally-grown produce including sourcing and utilising native herbs and ingredients found on the property that were traditionally used by Māori. Chef, Bruce Thomason, comments, “Native herbs are not commonly used on menus in New Zealand so utilising them in our cuisine provides a new culinary experience, in particular for guests from overseas. I use Karengo (sea vegetable) in a variety of seafood dishes as a seasoning or garnish, infused in broths or deep fried for salsas, and Kawakawa Rub, which is derived from the leaves of the indigenous Kawakawa tree, to season meat dishes such as venison”.

The forest food trail is aimed at educating guests on native Māori cuisine and the indigenous herbs and plants used, and will be headed up by leading local experts, Bruce Thomason and Eru Tutaki. Bruce who has created the tour exclusively for Treetops, has more than 20 years experience with Māori food including ingredients such as Horopito, Kawakawa and Piko Piko. Horopito has a chili pepper bite and is dried and used as a rub and seasoning, as is Kawakawa, which is used medicinally as a herbal tea and has traditional applications for stomach pains, blood cleansing, tooth ache and as a general tonic. Piko Piko, which is New Zealand’s native fern, is harvested and used for its edible shoots. The tour will start with the background to Māori cuisine and how this has translated through to the modern day. During the tour, guests will sample a series of foods made with native herbs sourced on the property whilst learning about their medicinal and nutritional properties.

The Treetops Lodge & Estate Māori Indigenous Food Trail costs from $185 + GST per hour.

For more information on the Māori Indigenous Food Trail please get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you.

Back to the top