Globetrotting Wellington chef Joe McLeod is no stranger to utilising Aotearoas backyard pantry in everyday cooking.
He's worked as a chef in fine dining restaurants around the world, was the first Māori to hold the position of executive chef in New Zealand parliament, and even cooked for the Queen at the Ritz in London.
Kiwi audiences may know him from his 2013 bilingual TV series 'Joe's World on a Plate' where he combined world cusine with local New Zealand ingredients.
An expert in using traditional Māori methods for gathering and preparing food, he's dedicated his time to preserving this knowledge for future generations and has tips for us now on how to make the most of our backyards, while also saving money when it comes to the supermarket checkout.
An experimental hangi at Waiwhetu marae, held at Matariki in 2012, proved that the oven stones hold a record of the earth's magnetic field as they cool. Photo: Gillian Turner / VUW
