The Pacific Island Food Revolution has unveiled a new cookbook coinciding with its global television series at EDEN restaurant in Samabula on Wednesday evening. Titled “Eat Pacific,” the cookbook is authored by renowned chef and TV host Robert Oliver, who oversees the Pacific Island Food Revolution show.
The foreword is penned by Her Royal Highness Princess Salote Mafile’u Pilolevu Tuita, The Princess Royal of Tonga. In her message, she emphasizes the significance of safeguarding the region’s agricultural and marine resources, noting, “We are admired around the globe for our pristine region and the bountiful harvests that our forebears cherished and sustained.”
The 400-plus page cookbook is brimming with colorful recipes from Fiji and other Pacific islands, and it draws inspiration from the television series, which is currently in its third season. During his address, Mr. Oliver underscored the value of Pacific island cuisine and its role in motivating the creation of the cookbook.
He remarked, “The whole point of all this is that Pacific food has enormous potential. Think of Thailand and places like that where the food runs everything; it runs the economy, it runs the identity of the nation, and it goes from the five-star restaurants to the street foods. That is the opportunity I see in the Pacific.”
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Lenora Qereqeretabua commended Mr. Oliver’s endeavors. “The cookbook is a continuation of the popular TV series; when it first hit our screens, my heart swelled with pride that our food was showcased by our own people on international television,” she expressed.
She pointed out that the cooking challenges within the series were rooted in pressing regional issues, particularly the rise of non-communicable diseases linked to the shift from traditional foods to processed alternatives. Ms. Qereqeretabua warned that it was only a matter of time before Pacific communities suffered the consequences of the influx of processed foods.
Copies of the “Eat Pacific” cookbook can now be found at Baka Bookstore located on McGregor Road in Suva, and it will soon be available at the University of the South Pacific Bookshop.