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Ko te nohotahi me tōna kuia e mahi kai i ngā toenga kāinga tētehi āhuatanga kua tino noho ki te whatumanawa o Dalea Shaw-Pokaia.
Ko te Maorinesian te ingoa kua tapa iho ki tana āhuatanga mahi kai. Ko te whakatuitui i te ahurea Māori me te ahurea o Poronēhia te waka hari kai mōna.
Kai te poke kai tonu ia ki te pune-rākau me te kaha o ngā ringaringa, engari me he mīhini poke paraoa e wātea ana, āna ka nui te pirangatia. " Nā ōku kaumātua ahau i whakatupu. He tino māori tō mātou ao.
He kuia pukumahi tō mātou wahine mō te huri whenua, me te tito waiata, he mōhio ki te whakapapa, he mātanga ki te māra, he rangatira ki te tunu kai, he wahine mahi i ōna ake pūeru koina i whiwhi pūeru ai māua ko taku taina. Nā tōna aroha nui ki te kai māori nōku e itiiti ai i tāhuri ai ahau ki te huarahi.
Whoi anō ka noho ahau e iti ana he mātaki noa i a ia e mahi kai ana he pēke paraoa he huka anake, e hoa ka waiwai te waha. Mō te mahi tiamu me te whakauka kai. Kāore he wahine i tua atu i a ia.
"Nōku e itiiti ai kua mōhio ahau ki te tunu kai kāore e take ana ki ngā pukapuka me te ine me te meiha, kai te mahunga katoa te mōhiotanga ki te takato kai – kare kau taku pukapuka tunu kai.
Kua waia kē ahau ki te rongo kai, ara te whāwhā, te timo kai ko aua tūāhuatanga katoa, ā, tae noa ki naianei ko taku rākau pune me te oko āku tino taonga". He poutaka kai a Dalea kai a ia te mātauranga a tōna kuia i a Maude Mori Pihama (Bishop).
Haere mai tēnei kuia me Te Puea he whakarite ake ngā māra kai i Te Orchards kai Te Ngae. He Ngāti Māhanga/ Ngāti Māhuta (Nō Waikato) he Ngāti Whakaue anō hoki. I whānau ai i Rotorua i whai wāhi ai ia ki te kāreti o te whare karakia, Temple View engari kua kati tāua wāhi.
"He kura moromona taua whare karakia. Ko te taha ki te kai nō Amerika me o rātou tikanga ake ki te kai, nō reira te tūāpapa o te whare kai.
Kia nui te whare kai, kia rau noa ngā tēpū, e rite nei tōna āhua ki te tau e iwa tekau – he wā whakamiharo ki ahau tauā taima. Kai te mahara ahau ki te kai, me te mea hoki he mātanga katoa ngā ringa wera.
Kai te kaha tonu ngā herenga o tona whānau ki te Kāhui Ariki kai te tuhituhi hoki a Dalea i ngā hītoria o te whānau me tō rātou hononga ki tēnei kāhui.
"E wha tekau mā waru noa te pakeke o Dalea kātahi nei ka whakaaengia tana tono ki te whakapūare whare kai ki te tiriti o Te Arawa."
"E pūehu kau ana te huarahi e hoa mā nōku te waimarie nā te mea kua pirorehe taku tiwhikete tuku kai i te kāīnga".
Ko ngā kirimana mahi he mea waha kōrero kau. Ka pupū ake tana moemoeā nāna e timo kai kīnaki āniana nā wai rā ka whakapiri atu ki a Ronni, koia te mātanga mahi kīnaki nei.
Tāti ai tēnei waka tokorua nō te wā ā rāua tamariki e noho tahi ana i te kura o Te Rangihakahaka.
"He pūkenga a Ronni ki te rongoā, koia kai a ia mō te mahi kīnaki".
Ae, ko Maorinesian te taitara o tana whakaaro kai, nō te taiao Māori nō te taiao Kuki Airani hoki ngā whakaaro.
Whoi anō he paku rerekētanga. Ko tana paraoa pārai me tana paraoa takakau anei te kura huna, ko te mōhiotanga ka tunahatia.
Mō te pae tawhiti ka nui tana hiahia ki te manaaki i te hunga rangatahi ki te whakatupu kai Māori kia kite ai rātou ngā hua katoa e rangatira ai te tangata.
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Watching her nanny put together a meal from scratch, sometimes with just a bag of flour and sugar, flavouring it with love and rongoa made a lasting impression on Dalea Shaw-Pokaia.
Dalea describes her food as Maorinesian, a blend of her Maori and Pacific heritage, still produced the old-fashioned way with a wooden spoon and hands, although she wouldn't mind a flash, top-of-the-line stand mixer.
"I was brought up by my koro and kuia in a very Te Ao Māori environment. My kuia was a very productive and busy lady, an expert in whenua māori, waiata composer, whakapapa, gardener, baker and cook.
"She was a self-taught clothes designer made her own clothes for myself and my sisters.
"I was inspired by her love for māori kai & food used to watch her as a little child in the kitchen make everything from scratch and sometimes just a plain old bag of flour and sugar she was an expert in preserving fruits/jams/chutneys.
"I learnt at a very early age how to make kai without a recipe book and not measuring ingredients so most of the recipes that I know and the food I prepare is stored in my head.
"I don't have a recipe book.
"I have learnt over the years the importance of touch/texture/looks when it comes to baking and cooking and food preparation, and to this day I still use a wooden spoon and bowl."
Dalea is a caterer, and is putting to use the lessons learned at the apron of her kuia, Maude Mori Pihama (Bishop).
Her kuia came to Rotorua with Te Puea and helped set up the maara kai at Te Puea Orchards at Te Ngae Junction.
Her connections are Ngāti Māhanga/Ngāti Māhuta (Waikato/Tainui) and Ngati Whakaue. She was born and raised in Rotorua but spent a couple of years at the now-closed Church College, Temple View.
"That kura was a part of the Mormon Church, and was based around the American way of eating lunch, which is how the kitchen was based.
"Big wharekai with the tables all set, a typical 90s layout which was awesome in that era I thought.
Haha I remember the kai well, as the cooks were amazing.
Her Tainui whānau have always been close to the Kahui Ariki and Dalea is working on family memoirs. Dalea, 48, gained one of her dearest wishes this week when she secured cafe premises on Arawa Street.
"Now I can do things properly just in time too."
Her catering contracts are mainly by word of mouth. Her start came when she tasted a caramelised onion chutney which had horopito flavouring.
The mother of two began collaborating with the creator of the chutney Ronni Hale when their children were at Te Rangihakahaka.
"Ronni makes the most amazing rongoa using ingredients from the taiao. The relishes are also beautiful." Dalea describes her kai as Maorinesian, reflecting her Maori and Cook Island heritage.
"Just a couple of things are different."
She is proud of her paraoa parai and paraoa takakau, but she's not about to share her secrets.
For the future Dalea wants to mentor rangatahi into business and how to start one up utilizing their ideas and and talents, to produce healthy food and to realise the benefits they can get from it.
'We really have something special going on here,' the academy co-founder says.