Napier's Pukemokimoki Marae is the winner of the inaugural Kai In The Bay Maori and Wildfood Festival Marae Cook-Off Challenge, which is set to become a spin-off mid-winter Matariki event next year.
The challenge proved to be one of the most popular events at the festival, which organisers believe was a sell-out event, with almost 4000 people, held at Perfume Point in Ahuriri on Saturday
Organiser Robert Whaitiri said the festival exceeded expectations, especially with the Marae Cook-Off Challenge which drew a lot of interest from foreign visitors and those who had never visited a marae before.
"My phone hasn't stopped ringing from marae who want to be part of the challenge next year and so now I am looking at holding a mid-winter Matariki challenge, having heats to determine the top three marae to bring to the Kai In The Bay next year," he said.
"One of our judges at the challenge this year, Damian Peeti, who is a chef at Workforce Training, wants to sit down with our other judge, chef Jen Edwards, to designs some rules to work out how we should run the mid-winter challenge."
Maori Television's Kai Time presenter, Pete Peeti, was also inspired by the challenge as he recorded an episode for his show.
The three marae involved in the challenge, Omahu, Kohupatiki and Pukemokimoki, had to cook a three-course meal for the judges and a group of kaumatua. The dishes were judged on their flavour and presentation while the marae chefs were judged on their uniform and communication skills with their guests.
The challenge also aimed to inspire the challenge chefs to think about healthy eating options which they could take back to their marae.
"What I really wanted to do with this event is challenge the marae to think about better eating habits in terms of the proportions and quality of food we are feeding our people," Mr Whaitiri said.
"We have a lot of marae that have their own marakai [gardens], we have some of the best vegetable growing soils in the country, and we want to encourage each marae to use more of our local products."
First-time marae food eaters were heavily quizzed by judges and organisers to gauge the feedback on the dishes provided by the three marae.
"We really want to get people out of the audience who had not been on a marae or seen food being cooked in a marae before. I think people were generally impressed with the dishes the marae produced with limited resources and time available."
Each marae also produced a waiata, or song, as their dishes were delivered to their guests and diners, proving to be a popular drawcard with festival spectators.
"I really want to thank the judges and congratulate Pukemokimoki marae. Pukemokimoki will automatically be put into next year's challenge to defend their title," Mr Whaitiri said.
The He Pataka Hauora Trust, which organised the festival, planned to present Pukemokimoki with a certificate recognising its win at the inaugural challenge event.
"I encourage any of our marae who want to take part in the challenge, or are interested in the mid-winter challenge, to come forward early next year so we can begin planning," Mr Whaitiri said.
This year's festival also included a wide selection of game, hangi, Maori food and food from other cultures, all prepared with a healthy eating focus.
There were also workshops showcasing health eating and cooking alternatives.