Iain McKenzie reviews Eat Pacific: The Pacific Island Food Revolution cookbook edited by Robert Oliver for NZ Booklovers:
‘The book of the TV series that plays in the Pacific, this vibrant cookbook showcases the best of Pacific food across the various nations. Organised by country that includes Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, The Kingdom of Tonga, The Cook Islands and New Caledonia, the food in this colourful book has 139 delicious recipes from the Pacific for everyone to enjoy.
The genesis for this book was looking at the rates of obesity and diabetes in Pacific Nations and deciding that good food was the key to good health. The Food Revolution was born, with the answer lying in local cuisine and getting back to traditional diets.
In addition to delicious recipes such as Krystelle and Pios’s Sweet Potato Salad, Robert Oliver’s Masala Fish with Green Mango Cashew Kuchela, Dora Rossi’s Tropical Fruit Parfait with Coconut Yogurt, Alphonse Koce’s Kingfish with a Crust of Greens, and Basil and Nene’s Pacific Pawpaw Salad, Eat Pacific also examines issues around climate change. The evidence is clear that growing and eating locally is much better for the planet (and waistlines) than importing processed foods.
While Eat Pacific touches on some serious themes, the book bursts with happiness and a wonderful selection of multicultural dishes. I’d say this is a must-have for anyone interested in good food and how wonderful it is from our part of the world—the glorious South Pacific!’
See the review here.
