Puanga Matariki Hakari is a collaboration between chef Ben Bayly and his longtime friend, the inspirational Hāngi master Rewi Spraggon. Together, they invite diners to enjoy a unique New Zealand food experience, a special lunch to celebrate Matariki that will showcase their culinary expertise in spectacular fashion.
About Ahi
Ahi is the realisation of a lifelong dream and a concept straight from the heart for friends, Chef Ben Bayly and Front of House professional Chris Martin. Both have their roots in fine dining and have come together, with business partner Rebecca Nelson to create Ahi. Ben travelled the country in search of the very best that New Zealand has to offer. Ahi’s menu has been devised as a culinary representation of what it means to be home, celebrating the diversity of the New Zealanders who bring produce to our tables. Ahi translates from Te Reo Māori to mean ‘Fire’. A word that resonates not only in its relevance to cooking but also for its passionate and determined undercurrents.
Ben Bayly and Rewi Spraggon
About Rewi Spraggon and hāngi
Rewi Spraggon was inspired to create Hāngi Master as a way of brining traditional Hāngi back to main stream Aotearoa. "When Manuhiri (visitors) come to New Zealand the biggest thing missing is Māori kai. Not only for our Manuhiri, but for our own people of Aotearoa who are slowly losing their connection with the art of real Hāngi. Hāngi Master exists to remind people of the way we have cooked for centuries."
Hāngi Tuturu is a 7-hour cooking process which takes place in Spraggon's home in the wild west – Te Henga. It uses a time-honoured ancestral practise to heat rocks with manuka timber then bury the food in the earth to cook a delicious meal, which takes on the flavours of the earth and the smokiness of the timber. It's soul food at its best!
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