Expo 2020 Dubai’s New Zealand Pavilion restaurant reveals what makes their menu unique

DUBAI: Young apprentice chefs at Expo 2020 Dubai’s New Zealand Pavilion restaurant, Tiaki, say if it were not for their mothers’ secret recipes for Kiwi culinary icons, the menu might not be as popular as it is. The restaurant aims to showcase the best of New Zealand’s produce and dishes.

Among the young chefs in the kitchen are Michael Lopesi, Laura-Jane Muller and Esther Olatunbosun. They are relishing the opportunity to have an ‘overseas experience’, as the Kiwis call it, but also to have unique career opportunities, learn new skills, and work closely with colleagues from all over the world. Of course, tasting their way through Expo 2020 Dubai’s lengthy list of eateries on their days off has also been the sort of experience any young chef might dream of.

Olatunbosun (24) said: “It’s definitely an experience like no other, and that’s one of the reasons why I actually love it. Not many people have the opportunity to say that I was part of Expo 2020 Dubai. It’s been an incredible experience so far.”

Each of the young chefs will take new experiences away from their time at Expo. For Olatunbosun, the in-depth exposure to exciting ways of using indigenous ingredients such as horopito and kawakawa has been particularly enlightening. Like the other chefs, she has also enjoyed dining around the site – with highlights including the artisan doughnuts at Bread Ahead Bakery & School and fried rice presented inside a fresh pineapple at the Thailand Pavilion.

Olatunbosun is running the pastry section at Tiaki. Her favourites include the Anzac biscuit ice cream sandwich, as well as the Pavlova. But it was Laura-Jane Muller (22) who volunteered her mother’s tried and tested family recipe for this Kiwi staple, reputedly inspired by the fluffy, white tutu of famed ballerina Anna Pavlova. Pavlova is so iconic in Oceania that Australians and New Zealanders like to ‘fight’ a friendly culture war over who invented it: “The Pavlova is a classic New Zealand dessert, no matter what anybody else tells you”, Olatunbosun insists.

Muller said: “I’m proud that I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. And being the first time out of New Zealand has been a big step for me.” Muller, who is in charge of the cold entrée section, grew up on her family’s dairy farm in the Waikite Valley. She has also enjoyed bringing her heritage to the menu through cheese dishes such as the cold starter of whipped Kāpiti Kikorangi blue cheese with roasted beets, caramelised walnuts, blackberries and Comvita Mānuka honey dressing. The chance to work alongside celebrity chef Sid Sahrawat during the Taste of New Zealand Festival, and to learn more about Indian spices from Sahrawat, has been another highlight for Muller.

Lopesi, who has already worked away from home in Australia, comes to Tiaki with the experience of working under one of Auckland’s finest chefs, Ben Bayley. Nevertheless, Lopesi said, he has still learnt plenty during his time at Expo 2020 Dubai. Heading up a small team at the hot section in Tiaki, Lopesi is responsible for breaking down and portioning the vast quantities of lamb and salmon the restaurant uses – a minimum of 80-100 kg a month. The speed at which he can now confidently perform this task is just one of the skills he is proud to have learned since working at Tiaki.

Lopesi has also taken charge of making the Pavilion’s cheese scones, a New Zealand morning tea favourite. Not only are Lopesi’s scones so popular they have been mentioned on local radio in Dubai, they are also based on his mother’s own recipe. Explaining how important it is for chefs to respect the authentic spirit of a traditional dish, while having the freedom to be creative, Lopesi said his version has “a lot” of aged cheddar and smoked cheddar – occasionally available with Lopesi’s invention of Mānuka honey-smoked butter.

Source: Expo 2020 Website