Experience Māori culture

Traditional Māori Kai (Food)

“PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR GEYSER CAFFE WILL BE CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT FROM THURSDAY 22ND AUGUST 2024, RE-OPEN DATE PLANNED FOR FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST.  WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIANCE.”

Māori believe the earth is the giver of all life – from the soil, rivers and sea comes food, and that food is again cooked by nature; either beneath the earth (hangi) or with geothermal energy.

Here at Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village, food is a unique and quintessential part of what we offer our guests, just as it was when our ancestors welcomed visitors to the valley all those years ago.

In Māori culture, the act of Manaakitanga, which loosely translates to hospitality, encompasses an expectation that a host provides kai and rest for visitors. It’s common for hosts to treat guests with delicious food, often local delicacies, in an effort to ensure the guest remembers the experience with fondness and gratitude.

Geyser Cafe

Located in our admissions building Nga Mareikura, our Geyser Cafe has something for everyone, only at Whakarewarewa – Living Maori Village. Our Geyser Café can be accessed by all visitors to Whakarewarewa without purchasing a ticket into the village. We have a selection of cabinet foods infused with Maori herbs & spices, homemade sweet treats, beautiful barista’s serving delicious INCA coffee and so much more.

Our Kai (Food) – Experiencing traditional Māori kai at Whakarewarewa

The ultimate Whakarewarewa experience is discovering our culture, heritage and history through a guided tour, watching a live cultural performance, walking one of our beautiful nature trails then taking time to relax and tuck into our unique and delicious kai!

Our food options include:

• Sweetcorn on the cob, cooked in Parekohuru, our largest mineral pool. Mother Nature takes care of this cooking process: Eight minutes cooking time in our bubbling pool, produces the tastiest corn you’ll ever eat, packed full of natural goodness, and only available on our Village Guided Tour.
• Our Geothermal Hangi Meal is our ultimate feast. Cooked courtesy of our geothermal steam vents and hot springs, this meal comprises of chicken, beef, potato, kumara, bread stuffing, carrots, cabbage topped with gravy, with our delicious corn on the cob on the side. Dessert is our famous steam pudding, served with fruit salad, custard and cream. Tea, coffee and water are all complimentary.
• Our famous Hangi Pie: This consists of all of the ingredients in the geothermal hangi meal above, served wrapped within a golden puff pastry served with a side salad and corn on the cob. Dessert is our famous steam pudding, served with fruit salad, custard and cream. Tea, coffee and water are all complimentary.

Experiencing our food for many is a once in a lifetime experience. To book, simply click book now and select your desired food package. Our food packages are popular, so we recommend booking these in advance to avoid disappointment.

Cooking with geothermal energy – our Geothermal Hangi Meals

Living amongst the geothermal wonders of the Whakarewarewa Valley means our village residents have used this energy to cook with for hundreds of years.

Māori traditional cooking uses a cooking technique called ‘hangi’, which loosely translates to ‘earth oven’. In traditional hangi cooking methods a hole is dug in the ground, and hot stones are placed at the bottom of the hole. The food is then placed on top – usually meat and root vegetables – before being covered with a cloth and a mound of earth, trapping the heat within the hole.

Here at Whakarewarewa Village we have a unique twist on traditional methods used for hangi. We don’t need to rely on hot stones: We can utilize Mother Nature’s hot steam from our geothermal steam boxes, as well as our mineral pools to cook our kai.

Our mineral pool, Parekohuru, is the largest hot spring in our village, and today is used for cooking leaf and root vegetables, seafood and of course our corn on the cob.

For cooking in our mineral pools, the food is placed in a muslin cloth, or a flax basket. This is then lowered into the pool for a certain amount of time. There’s nothing like savouring corn on the cob that has been cooked within a natural hot pool!

Sample food cooked in this hot spring when you purchase our delicious Geothermal Hangi Meal available in our café. For this popular dish, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Choose either Meat or Vegetarian

Available daily at 12.00pm, 12.30pm, 1.00pm and 1.30pm.

Our famous hangi pie

Māori also cook using a cooking technique called the ‘hangi’, which loosely translates to ‘earth oven’. In traditional hangi cooking a hole is dug in the ground, and hot stones are placed at the bottom of the hole. The food is then placed on top – usually meat and root vegetables – before being covered with a cloth and a mound of earth, trapping the heat within the hole. Here in our Village we have a unique twist on traditional methods used for hangi. We don’t need to rely on hot stones: We utilize Mother Nature’s hot steam from our geothermal steam boxes to cook our kai.

Here at Whakarewarewa, we also offer our ‘famous’ hangi pie. This consists of meat and vegetables, cooked using the hangi method above, then served wrapped within a pastry casing. The result is a delicious crispy, hearty flavour – truly one of a kind!

Choose from Beef, Chicken or Vegetarian

Hangi Pies ONLY are available daily from 10.00am to 2.00pm

Upgrade your hangi pie to a meal!

Upgrade your Hangi Pie to a Hangi Pie Meal which includes a side salad & corn cob that has been cooked in Parekohuru – our largest hot cooking pool and a delicious Hangi Pie topped with rich homemade gravy.

Choose from Beef, Chicken or Vegetarian

Hangi Pie Meals, available daily at 12.00pm, 12.30pm, 1.00pm and 1.30pm.