Page 29 - Fiji Traveller 2023 Issue 5

VAVAVI'S SOUL FOOD

By Kite Pareti

It is a bright Saturday morning, and I am heading out of Nadi to
learn how to make some delicious local food.
Lovo is a traditional cooking method, practised for centuries in
Fiji and across the Pacific, where a range of food is thoroughly
cooked underground.
On arrival at The Lookout, a bar and grill venue located on a
hilltop in Vuda with breathtaking views of Nadi Bay, I was greeted
by a lovely couple, Anna and Samu, and Samu’s two younger
siblings. Anna and Samu are the founders of Vavavi, which
means 'baking'. It is a newly established family venture that aims
to deliver an unforgettable Fijian lovo-making experience for
curious adventurers.
Joining us for the day was the beautiful Vaalele family, who
were visiting Fiji for the first time from Brisbane, Australia.
The Vavavi team warmly welcomed us with refreshing green
coconut juice, a great energy booster when you are out and
about under the hot sun.
Then the fun began. Anna and Samu showed us how to
prepare the foundation of the earth oven by placing rocks and
wood in the pit they had dug. It takes about 90 minutes for it to be
hot and ready, said Samu.
While the pit was warming up, we moved to a nearby table. It
was decked out with jars of freshly squeezed coconut milk, as
well as cutting boards and cutlery, so we could prepare the meat
and veggies that had been sourced earlier from a nearby market
and their generous neighbour’s backyard.
“We are going to prepare a number of dishes today —
palusami, chicken, fish, and some root crops,” Anna explained.
“Some steak?” Denis Vaalele asked jokingly. “No steak today,”
Anna chuckled, “but you can have corned beef in palusami.”
Palusami, made from taro leaves and coconut milk, is a must-
have when making lovo. Using big taro leaves, “you can add
different ingredients such as tuna or corned beef, coriander,
tomatoes, onions, garlic and of course, salt and some coconut
milk. We’re basically making a little Fijian pizza,” said Anna.
After wrapping our palusami, we were given a wooden stool to which were first time experiences for Denis, who is of Samoan
sit on, a knife, and a basin to learn how to prepare some of Fiji’s ancestry, but is yet to visit Samoa.
staple foods — cassava, taro, coconuts and falawa. “I grew up in Sydney and Brisbane all my life,” he said. Denis
“In Fiji, we have different types of cassava. We have the Delei, works for an organisation called Strive, where 90% of youth
the Piqi, the yellow one, the one that grows up to six months, workers are Pacific Islanders and they help troubled kids. He
three months,” Samu explained. explained while taking a break from scraping coconuts: “Most
“When we returned from school as kids, we would have to peel kids there are Aboriginal, a couple of Kiwis but I haven’t seen an
our cassava before we go and play. We have to peel it, wash it, Islander kid yet. They struggle with good role models.”
cook it, and wait for it to cook. We put it on the fire and played for Asked if he’ll teach the kids how to make Fijian lovo, he said
a little bit. Sometimes, when we return home after playing, it will cheerfully: “Yeah. We have cultural days. Our Aboriginal kids
be burnt… deep frying there in the pot,” Samu said. have a culture similar to this too. They cook underground using
“What happens if it’s burnt?” Denis asked. rocks.”
Samu laughed: “You’ll have to go into the forest to look for His wife, Shania-Rei Vaalele, a Maori woman from Rotorua,
cassava or get it from your neighbour.” shared how she grew up having hangi, a food-making tradition
We peeled our root crops and scraped a few coconuts, all of similar to lovo. “We do it for 3-4 hours. The food is different though

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