Local oyster kawakawa sorbet, wild pork hāngi bao buns, and kina and crayfish mousse.

That’s just a taste of what’s on offer at the $200-a-seat Tohunga Tūmau Puanga Matariki dinner at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell on July 16.

The event is a showcase of Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest Māori food, beverage, entertainment and culinary expertise to celebrate the Māori New Year.

Chef Rewi Spraggon, also known as the Hangi Master, said five top Māori chefs will be cooking locally produced food and each course will be matched with a Northland or Māori-produced wine.

Along with Spraggon will be Grant Kitchen, head of the New Zealand Chefs Association, award-winning chef Rex Morgan from Boulcott Street Bistro, globetrotting Wellington chef Joe McLeod and the Duke of Marlborough’s head chef Tama Salive.

“The whole purpose behind it is to acknowledge our top Māori chefs around the country, we’ll also be using Māori producers so food is sourced from Māori companies, whether it be seafood or the wine list,” Spraggon said.

“It’s a celebration of Māori excellence in food.”

Each of the five courses on the degustation menu is designed and prepared by a different chef, starting with Spraggon on canapes, which includes the aforementioned kina and crayfish mousse, smoked pāua on rewena toast [Māori potato bread], local oyster kawakawa sorbet and wild pork bao buns.

Next up is a mutton bird dish with cabbage tree and other bush food foraged by McLeod, a fish course by Salive, and a beef cheek dish by Morgan.

Kitchen will finish up with a dessert, and each meal will have its own wine pairing.

Some of the kai will be cooked in a traditional hāngi, some in a conventional oven, and some on a barbecue.

“We’ve got our top chefs all coming together and helping each other out. A big part of the Tohunga Tūmau is we’ve got an ongoing communication with each other.

“We’re sharing knowledge and skills and producers and the like, for us it’s really important.”

The day kicks off with a canape reception from 5.30pm followed by the other four courses and will finish around 11.30pm.

There will also be music from jazz ensemble Musika Collective and classic hits from Kiwi legends Herbs, along with a bombing competition – “The Manu Masters” – off Russell Wharf with a $1000 prize on Saturday morning.

The Tohunga Tūmau event was held in Auckland last year and there are smaller regional events held around the country. This year, the main event was in Wellington.

Duke of Marlborough part-owner Anton Haagh said last year’s dinner at the Duke sold out fast.

“The whole night is about Māori food done in a contemporary manner.

“It works really well; you’ve got well-respected chefs putting out thought-provoking food.”

Originally from Pipiwai, in the Te Horo valley in Northland, Spraggon is a trained chef and has worked around the world including Tahiti and London.

He set up traditional hāngi pits at his property in Te Henga, Auckland, and cooks various meals including traditional hāngi tuturu, pork belly, chicken and vegetarian hāngi burgers, and hāngi pie.

“My main driver was that no one was doing traditional food here.

“My mission was to put hāngi back on the map and upskill people and give them the knowledge.”

Since the August Covid-19 lockdown, Spraggon has fed hāngi meals to more than 75,000 homeless people in and around Auckland.

He is still delivering 1000 meals a week to two organisations that distribute the food to rough sleepers.

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m cooking for poverty or royalty, it’s the same amount of aroha that goes into the cooking.”

• Tickets cost $200 from Eventfinda or from The Duke of Marlborough 09 403 7829.

The Northern Advocate also has a double pass to give away. Email your name, address and phone number to regionalcompetitions@nzme.co.nz by midday Wednesday.