ImageSupplied by Treetops Lodge, Rotorua. Maori chef, Charles Royal is big on giving Maori food a contemporary twist and you can pick his brains if you indulge yourself in a Wild Food & Wine Retreat at Rotorua’s luxurious Treetops Lodge and Wilderness Estate – a divine retreat set in an 800-year-old virgin forest. Book Charles in advance and he’ll take you on a Maori indigenous food trail around the estate and you’ll sample kawakawa tea and damper bread with flaxseed and pikopiko pesto. Charles has created his own brand of wild herbs - Kinaki – and they’re put to good use in the Treetops kitchens. Check out http://www.maorifood.com/ for more information on Charles and the Kinaki range.
