Monique Fiso
Born
Monique Tumema Fiso

(1987-10-23) 23 October 1987 (age 36)
Wellington, New Zealand
Alma materWellington Institute of Technology
OccupationChef

Monique Tumema Fiso (born 23 October 1987) is a New Zealand chef and author known for her contribution to the revival of Māori and Polynesian cuisine.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Early life

Fiso was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and is of Māori and Samoan descent.[8][1] Fiso made a name for herself in New York, working in Michelin-star restaurants. With her trademark determination she decided to make a shift and came home to discover a new style of cooking, and a new side to herself. She appeared on Netflix's The Final Table.

Fiso is the second of five children. Her brother is the New Zealand crossfit athlete and six-time New Zealand fittest man, Luke Fiso, and her cousin Maaka Fiso is a radio host and competed on X-Factor New Zealand. She also comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, which she credits for her strong work ethic. Her parents Siuai and Serena Fiso run a number of businesses and her uncle is investor John Fiso.

Career

Fiso attended Wellington Institute of Technology where she gained a City & Guilds Diploma in Cookery and Patisserie and graduated first in her class. While completing her culinary studies she worked under New Zealand chef Martin Bosley. She then moved to New York City to further expand her culinary knowledge and experience as a chef. During her time in New York, she worked for Michelin starred chefs Brad Farmerie, Missy Robbins and Matt Lambert.[9][10][11]

In 2016, Fiso returned to New Zealand and founded Hiakai,[12][4] a pop up dining series devoted to the exploration and development of Māori cooking techniques and ingredients. In 2017, the New Zealand Innovation Council awarded Hiakai the top award for "Innovation in Māori Development"[12][13][14] and finalist for "Start up Innovation of the Year"[15] and "Supreme New Zealand Innovation of the Year". She has appeared on New Zealand television and radio shows including Radio Live,[16] Maori Television,[17] and Sunday TVNZ.[18]

Fiso released a book about Māori cuisine also called Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine in 2020[19] which won the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Nonfiction at the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kings and Queens of kai: Leading the Māori food revolution". TNZ Media. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Meet the pioneers giving new life to traditional Maori food techniques". Stuff. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  3. ^ Mishan, Ligaya (6 August 2018). "The Chefs Redefining Polynesian Cuisine". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b "How Monique Fiso is raising the bar on Maori cuisine - thisNZlife". thisnzlife.co.nz. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Review: An ode to the New Zealand-style soul food at Hiakai". Stuff. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. ^ Neubauer, Doris. "Maori-Küche: Vor dem Kochen in die Wildnis". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  7. ^ Gold, Jonathan (8 June 2018). "Jonathan Gold's top dishes from 31 days of great chefs around L.A.? Potatoes cooked in earth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Making Connections - Pacific Business Trust". Pacific Business Trust. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Lay of the land". Dish. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  10. ^ Noted. "How chef Monique Fiso is making Māori cuisine a fine-dining treat". Noted. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  11. ^ Magazine, Viva (21 February 2017). "Monique Fiso's Big Plans For Maori Cuisine - Viva". www.viva.co.nz. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b "New Zealand Innovation Awards: Innovation in Māori Development, Hiakai". Idealog. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  13. ^ Administrator. "NZ Innovation Awards - Winners 2017". www.innovators.org.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Innovation in Maori Development". KPMG. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  15. ^ Administrator. "NZ Innovation Awards - Finalists 2017". www.innovators.org.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Monique Fiso: the chef creating Michelin-style Māori kai". Radio New Zealand. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Monique's Recipes". Māori Television. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Top Chef Monique". www.tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  19. ^ Downes, Siobhan (2 September 2020). "Monique Fiso on creating a cookbook that is more than a cookbook". Stuff.
  20. ^ "Beautrais wins 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Award for fiction". Books+Publishing. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.

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