TV cooking show duo from Tonga recognized
Nuku'alofa, TONGA — Team Tonga, Tuiohu Mafi and ‘Amelia Asi were recognized this week for placing second in the regional Pacific Island Food Revolution (PIFR) cooking show competition.
New Zealand High Commissioner HE Tiffany Babington and Australian High Commissioner HE Adrian Morrison presented the duo with certificates at the New Zealand High Commission office in Nuku’alofa.
Entering the second season of the cooking competition against participants from Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu, Tuiohu said their approach was to keep their recipes simple and only use ingredients that are found in Tonga.
“The ingredients we used are found across ‘Eua, Ha’apai, Vava’u, Tongatapu, and the Niuas.”
One of our recipes was a pele cake, he said. Pele is a local spinach-like vegetable found in most Pacific countries.
'Amelia said she really enjoyed the experience and reaching the finals of the show.
Tuiohu Mafi is a catering instructor at the Tonga Maritime Poly Technical Institute, while ‘Amelia Asi is a staff member of the International Dateline Tanoa Hotel Food & Beverage team.
Recipes from the first season of the cooking show can be found on the Pacific Island Food Revolution website.