Food has always been at the heart of Temuera Morrison’s life – from the hāngī his uncles taught him to lay in Rotorua as a boy, to the walnut salad that influenced his decision to become an actor, as well as the boil-ups he still cooks for his whānau every Saturday he’s home.
It’s no surprise then that Tem now fronts his own TV food show, Earth Oven, travelling the world to meet cultures still using the ancient technique of cooking underground.
“It’s probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” says the 64-year-old Kiwi star.
“I’ve always admired people who do food shows.”
Preparing Kai with love
From his Maketū beach house on the Bay of Plenty coast, Tem looks out to Motiti Island, where he collected kaimoana for the Aotearoa episode of Earth Oven.
“This show was very warm, very rich,” he says.
“Food just tastes better when everyone comes together and prepares it with love.”
A global journey back to his roots
Visiting Jordan, Mexico, Hawai’i, Chile, and Australia, the series took Tem back to his roots and memories of growing up in a wha¯nau filled with singing, laughter and kai.
“Wherever I went, I formed relationships with other indigenous people that reminded me of my own connections to our Māori way of life and the love we have within our family,” he says.
Being away from whānau while criss-crossing the globe wasn’t easy for the dad of three – especially missing his six-year-old daughter Waipunaarangi.
“She’s also starting to miss her pāpā a lot, but she understands why I’ve gone,” he shares.
Family travels and Star Wars fame
Meanwhile, Tem’s son James, 34, sometimes travels with him when he’s working. When Woman’s Day spoke to Tem, he’d just flown home from two days in Amsterdam for a fan convention – his Star Wars character, bounty hunter Boba Fett, remains in high demand.
“The Book of Boba Fett series really extended my use-by date,” Tem laughs.
“It just keeps on giving.”
That means finding work hasn’t been a problem for the Chief Of War star, who is about to feature in another movie with Jason Momoa called The Wrecking Crew – filmed here and in Hawai’i. He also has other roles in the pipeline next year. But for now, he’s busy promoting Earth Oven.
Learning from family and culture
Before setting off on his international culinary quests, he sought advice from sisters Kārena and Kasey Bird – MasterChef NZ winners in 2014, who, like Tem, descend from Te Arawa.
“They told me to be open, to listen and to absorb the culture, which I did,” he says.
In Mexico, he visited the Mayan people of the Yucatán Peninsula, who cook in an earth oven called the píib, forging a close bond with píib master Roque Cajun.
“He’s a very humble, hard-working man,” Tem says.
“We only worked together for a couple of days, but the relationships you form while cooking for everyone is very special.”
Getting hands-on in the earth oven
Tem insisted on being hands-on during filming, helping to dig the oven pits and prepare the food.
“I tried to do as much as I could and just have them guide me.”
Every episode culminated with family and friends coming together to eat the meals cooked underground – a ritual that always moved Tem.
He shares, “Every time, I’d get emotional – just the fact we were dealing with food so much like we have at home. I was blown away that people took time out of their day to prepare food with me.”
Honouring culture through language
At every meal, he thanked those people in te reo Māori.
“My culture loves making speeches – I just felt I should stand and say a few words in my own language, thanking them,” Tem says.
“I can explain my passion and emotion so much better in Māori.”
Learning and growing
Tem admits he’s still a student of te reo, with guidance from his cousin, Te Karere broadcaster Scotty Morrison. He was proud to work with an all-wāhine Māori crew from Hi Mama Productions.
“We all learnt a lot about ourselves by observing and working with other cultures,” Tem muses.
“It certainly made me appreciate the things we did as a family back home. The love and the dynamics we had when we came together to sing, to laugh and to eat.”
Growing up in the Morrison Whānau
Tem says he was “blessed” to grow up as part of the large, famous Morrison family of entertainers – the late great Sir Howard Morrison was his uncle – who often came together for a hāngī or roast. His mum Hana was also from a big whānau in the farming settlement of Hangatiki, near the famous Waitomo Caves.
“We’d be there in school holidays, milking cows in winter, and eating fresh cream with homemade jam and Māori bread,” Tem recalls.
“Then haymaking in summer when all the farmers’ wives would feed us – Mrs Johnson made the best apple pie and lemonade. “We’d have a hāngī at the marae. Our uncles would hand us the shovel and say, ‘Boy, do this, do that’, and you’d get the hang of making a hāngī. There was always a lot on the line because you were never quite sure if it was cooked or not.”
Family traditions passed down
His late father Laurie – a civil engineer and cabaret singer – helped introduce hāngī and concert experiences to Rotorua. Today, Tem enjoys cooking when he’s home.
“It’s pretty simple – a roast or my specialty, the boil-up,” he says.
“We have steam boxes in Rotorua, which make the food a little sweeter. On Saturday, I go to the markets and buy watercress, then I’ll shoot off to the butcher to get some meat, often corned beef. I’ll put that in the steam box with a bit of water for an hour or so, then add a few veges for 10 to 20 minutes. That’s enough because it’s so hot. Then watercress on top and let it all simmer together for another hour.”
In Jordan, where Bedouin cook in a zarb dug into the sand, Tem was captivated by the spice markets.
A world of spices
“Usually, the only spices I see are salt and pepper,” he tells.
“But the array of spices was incredible.”
While in Chile, where he went horse riding and cooked in a curanto earth oven with the Mapuche people, Tem discovered the origins of the potato.
“I met a kuia who was trying to keep her 112 varieties of potato in the garden she worked in alone,” he says.
Food that inspired a career in acting
A former TV journalist, Tem then launches into a story of how food convinced him to become an actor – in 1984, he had a small role in the Kiwi feature film Other Halves.
“We had catered lunches on set and it was the first time I’d seen walnuts in a salad,” he recalls.
“We didn’t eat many salads in Rotorua – more mince on toast and curried sausages. I couldn’t believe they gave you something to eat, something to wear, and I just had to stand in front of
a camera and look cool. So I decided to become an actor right then, after lunch.”
Four decades later, he’s still singing – or at least acting – for his supper.
Earth Oven premieres Wednesday on Sky Open.
