Marae pushes back against fast food culture with fish head offerings

Friday, 16 November 2018

A South Auckland marae is on a mission to change their suburb's attitude towards fast food - one fish head at a time.

Papatūānuku Kokiri Marae in Mangere East distributes about one tonne of fish heads every month to their community. 

Normally discarded by fishermen, the delicacy is gratefully accepted by up to 60 families.

'We're the only suburb with four McDonalds so we're saturated with the fast food culture,' Lionel Hotene (Ngāti Awa) of Papatūānuku Marae said.

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'There's no alternative for our people so Papatūānuku wants to be the place where we can reconnect our people with what real food looks like.'

And reconnecting, they are. Since 2016, they've delivered about 18 tonnes of fish heads but hope to ramp that up to one tonne a week over summer.

The head was the 'best part' according to Hotene, but the marae always welcomed those who couldn't fillet very well and left a little bit of meat on the frames too.

Eating the eyes was the ultimate treat.

​'With the gills and everything around the head, the meat is really tender. But more importantly, it's about our role as kaitiaki,' Hotene said.

'It's about total utilisation of the fish … respecting it by eating it all.'

The fish collection process begins at Outboard Boating Club in Tamaki where three LegaSea employees fillet fish from incoming vessels for $2.50 a pop.

The fishermen get the fillet, the filleters get the heads and the money is put aside to cover the cost of running the operation.

By the time Hotene gets back to the marae with the bounty, he's welcomed by a group of people eagerly waiting for the fish heads.

Real food feeds the soul, he says.

'Food insecurity is real. Within our whanau there's a lot of mental illness, poverty and homelessness.

'When people are hungry, especially around here, there's a lot of crime. But I think food brings us together.'

Hineamaru Ropati (Ngāti Hine) is a regular volunteer at the marae and has been enjoying the fish heads ever since the initiative began.

The need was great in her community, but fish heads were donated to people of all backgrounds, she said.

'When this came about, we thought Lionel was pulling our leg. Fish heads are like ultimate gold.

'Well, we've eaten our hats, plus all of those fish heads!'

Ropati's favourite way to prepare the tasty treats was to boil them with seasoning, onions and potatoes.

Children opted for more obscure parts of the fish, normally off the back of Ropati's yarns about oceanic adventures.

'We always tell the children the fish have been swimming in Hawaii and all that [memory] is in their brains … So then they fight for the brains,' Ropati said.

'Our children love sucking on the eyeballs so all the five-year-olds take a dive for the fish eyes.'

Regardless of which part of the fish was most coveted, the ethos of the program remained simple - to get people to slow down and eat good food together around a table.

'We've been battling against alcohol outlets [opening in our community] and we've lost sight that Carls Jrs and McDonalds are being built. Every fast food outlet is based out here in Mangare.

'The rules of this marae are if you've got kai on the table, don't put your name on it, because that's not going to mean anything,' she laughed. 

Fish heads vs fast food

Fish heads with ginger and celery 

4-6 fish heads (free)

Half a celery ($2.50)

One onion ($0.50)

Half of a raw ginger sliced ($0.80)

One litre and a half of water

Pinch of salt 

Pinch of black peppercorns - grinded

Method

Place fish heads in a medium sized pot

Add water and salt 

Let simmer for 2 minutes

Then add celery and ginger

Then let boil for 6 minutes, then simmer again for 5 minutes or until cooked.

Nutritional value:

Fish heads (453g): 485 calories, 84g of protein, 16g of fat, 0g of carbs and 0mg of sodium.

​Celery (100g): 16 calories, 0.7g of protein, 0.2g of fat, 3g of carbs and 80mg of sodium.

Onion (100g): 40 calories, 1.1g of protein, 0.1g of fat, 9.3g of carbs and 4mg of sodium.

Ginger (24g): 19 calories, 0.4g of protein, 0.2g of fat, 4.3g of carbs and 3.1mg of sodium.

Total calories: 560

Total cost: $3.80

​McDonalds large Big Mac combo

Burger bun 

Beef pattie 

Lettuce 

Sauce 

Cheese slice 

Pickle 

Onion

Seasoning

Nutritional value:

Big Mac burger (219g): 536 calories, 26g of protein, 29g of fat, 39.1g of carbs and 733mg of sodium.

Large fries (154g): 405 calories, 6.4g of protein, 21.3g of fat, 45g of carbs and 291mg of sodium.

Large soft drink: 216 calories, 0g of protein, 0g of fat, 53g of carbs and 388mg of sodium.

Total calories: 1157

Total cost: $13.00