Toikupu, Toiora Celebrates Ngāti Awa Stories Through Poetry, Kai and Art

A poetry-inspired dining experience celebrating Ngāti Awa stories through kai, art and performance is returning to Mataatua Wharenui, with creator Rangipare Ngaropo hoping to show that world-class creative experiences can be created right here at home.

A unique dining experience combining poetry, kai and contemporary Māori art will return to Whakatāne this month, bringing together local stories and creative talent for two nights at Mataatua Wharenui.

Toikupu, Toiora will be held on October 30 and 31, following a sold-out debut that saw tickets snapped up within about two weeks despite minimal promotion.

Created and curated by Ngāti Awa poet and creative writer Rangipare Ngaropo, the experience centres on six original poems from her bilingual collection Raised by the Renaissance, with each poem inspiring a course in a six-course degustation menu.

The menu will be created by Kārena and Kasey Bird, winners of MasterChef New Zealand in 2014, who will work alongside Ngāti Awa ringawera to translate the poetry and local narratives into kai.

For Ngaropo, the idea grew from a desire to bring experiences often associated with larger cities to her own community.

“As a person from a small-town community, we don’t have many opportunities to have fine dining experiences within our own town,” she said.

“They’re usually things we have to travel for or go to Tauranga or Wellington and stuff.”

Having grown up in Whakatāne before leaving for university and living in larger centres, Ngaropo wanted to create an experience that celebrated local talent and showcased the region.

“Mataatua Wharenui, where it’s hosted, is such a beautiful venue and deserves to be showcased in itself.”

The experience centres on six original poems, with each poem inspiring a course in a six-course degustation menu. IMAGE // Supplied

At the heart of Toikupu, Toiora is a collaboration between two creative disciplines not often brought together: poetry and fine dining.

Ngaropo said she selected six poems that reflected Whakatāne’s natural environment and identity, including its ocean, awa and surrounding landscapes.

“I selected specifically poems that I had written that were dedicated to our beautiful ocean, our beautiful awa in the town, just the majestic scenicness of Whakatāne,” she said.

The collaboration with the Bird sisters began with a conversation, after Kasey Bird was a parent at the kōhanga attended by Ngaropo’s son.

“I am a poet and creative writer and Kasey and Kārena are chefs, and you’re right, it’s like those aren’t art forms you typically see go together,” she said.

While the chefs had previously interpreted other art forms through food, translating poetry into a dining experience presented a new creative challenge.

Ngaropo said the collaboration was a natural fit, with the sisters also keen to support smaller communities and help bring new experiences to the region.

The result offers guests a different way to connect with Whakatāne’s stories, history and identity.

“It’s about tasting Whakatāne on a plate as well,” she said.

Ngaropo said the experience was also an opportunity for people unfamiliar with local Māori history to learn about the region through creativity, kai and visual storytelling.

“Even for non-Māori, if you’ve wanted to learn more about the history of the area in a creative and positive way, I would encourage people to come and experience it like that, on a plate, through art, visuals.”

She said the event was open to everyone, with the aim of bringing people together through a shared appreciation of food and creativity.

Ngaropo wants everyone to see that ambitious creative projects can be developed and celebrated in their own rohe. IMAGE // Supplied

The second instalment will expand on the original concept, taking the poems beyond the dining table and into other art forms.

Alongside the six courses, a jeweller specialising in beaded earrings will create six bespoke pairs inspired by the poems. A pounamu carver will also interpret the poems through six one-of-a-kind pieces, while a painter will contribute to the wider artistic experience.

The additions will allow guests to engage with the poetry in different ways, creating an exhibition-style experience alongside the fine dining.

For Ngaropo, the kaupapa is about more than an evening of fine food.

Feedback from the inaugural event showed guests left feeling creatively inspired and with a greater understanding of the region’s history.

“I think for people who come, the feedback we’ve had largely is they leave feeling creatively inspired, informed in a way that’s about the history of the area, in a way that’s kind and innovative,” she said.

She hopes the experience will encourage guests to explore their own ideas, create opportunities in their communities and feel confident expressing themselves.

“Hopefully inspired to do their own things, launch their own things, create the spaces, create community, and just express themselves,” she said.

“It’s about self-expression, but in a really creative way.”

Toikupu, Toiora will be held on October 30 and 31, following a sold-out debut that sold out within about two weeks. IMAGE // Supplied

Encouraging people to pursue their creative ambitions without feeling they need to leave home is a key motivation behind Toikupu, Toiora.

Ngaropo wants rangatahi to see that ambitious creative projects can be developed and celebrated in their own rohe.

“The big driver for me is to show not just adults, but younger rangatahi that you don’t have to leave your small town to create beautiful things and experiences and succeed,” she said.

The event is being delivered in partnership with Ngā Āhuatanga o Te Kai, an independent Kaupapa Māori research institute jointly established by Te Puna Ora o Mataatua and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

The partnership reflects a broader understanding of kai as more than food, recognising its place within Māori knowledge, values, relationships and collective identity.

Ngaropo describes Toikupu, Toiora as the world’s first iwi-inspired six-course degustation experience.

She hopes the event will attract both local audiences and visitors from outside the region, bringing people together while celebrating Māori creative expression.

Reaching a wider audience has been an important part of the kaupapa, with organisers keen to ensure the experience extends beyond the communities they already belong to.

“The reason we reached out to mainstream media is we didn’t want to rely purely on the communities we belong to, the Māori communities,” Ngaropo said.

“We wanted it to be open to all people within Whakatāne to just come and have a good time together, really.”

About 200 guests will be able to attend across the two nights, with 100 places available each evening.

Toikupu, Toiora will be held at Mataatua Wharenui on October 30 and 31, 2026.

For Ngaropo, the kaupapa is an opportunity to celebrate Ngāti Awa stories and creativity in a contemporary setting, on the community’s own terms.