Monique Tumema Fiso (born October 23, 1987) is a New Zealand-Samoan chef and author known for her contribution to the revival of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and Polynesian cuisine.

Early life

Monique Fiso was born in Wellington, New Zealand and is of

and Samoan descent. Chef Monique Fiso made a name for herself in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, working in Michelin-star restaurants. With her trademark determination she decided to make a shift and came home to discover a new style of cooking, and a new side to herself. She appeared on Netflix's ''

The Final Table ''The Final Table'' is an American cooking competition and reality television series hosted by food writer and critic Andrew Knowlton, and filmed in Los Angeles, California for Netflix. The first season was released on November 20, 2018. It fe ...

''. She is the second of 5 children. Her brother is NZ Crossfit Athlete - 6 times NZ Fittest Man Luke Fiso, and her cousin Maaka Fiso is a radio host and competed on X-Factor NZ. She also comes from a long line of entrepreneurs which she credits to her strong work ethic. Her parents Siuai and Serena Fiso run a number of businesses and her uncle is well-known investor John Fiso.

Career

She attended Wellington Institute of Technology where she gained a City & Guilds Diploma in Cookery and Patisserie and graduated first in her class. While completing her culinary studies she worked under notable New Zealand Chef, Martin Bosley. She then moved to New York City to further expand her culinary knowledge and experience as a chef. During her time in New York, she worked for notable

Michelin starred The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

chefs

Brad Farmerie Brad Farmerie is a chef who served as the executive chef of Public and Saxon + Parole in New York City which were owned and operated by AvroKO Hospitality Group. Career Farmerie was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating from North ...

, Missy Robbins and Matt Lambert. In 2016, she returned to New Zealand and founded Hiakai, a pop up dining series devoted to the exploration and development of Māori cooking techniques and ingredients. In 2017, the New Zealand Innovation Council awarded Hiakai the top award for "Innovation in Māori Development" and finalist for "Start up Innovation of the Year" and "Supreme New Zealand Innovation of the Year". She has appeared on multiple New Zealand television and radio shows including Radio Live, Maori Television, and Sunday TVNZ. She released a book about Māori cuisine also called ''Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine'' in 2020 which won the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Nonfiction at the 2021

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder W ...

References

External links

Monique Fiso's Capital Kai
on

RNZ Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...

Nine to Noon, 1 August 2019.
Monique Fiso - taking kai global
on RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, 20 November 2018.
Monique Fiso talks Māori Kai
on RNZ Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, 1 July 2016 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiso, Monique 1987 births Living people New Zealand chefs Women chefs People from Wellington City New Zealand people of Samoan descent New Zealand Māori people