Counter Narratives

I am obsessed with food and the stories that come with it. I eat first and ask questions later. It’s been this way since seven, when my mum caught me stealing scorched almonds out of the fridge. After struggling to get all the ingredients for American hotdogs ready at once as a teen, I trained as a chef and worked for places like Sky City Observatory, Iguacu, and Butlers. Later, I retrained as a photographer and spent over a decade in fashion and portrait work.

Now, among other things, I write about art and culture. Food, images, and storytelling have always been my language. I feed on stories as much as dinner. Either way, I’m greedy: more recipes, more butter, more crumbs, more gossip.

This project needs your support to get started.

Counter Narratives is about turning that hunger into something bigger: a kaupapa-based photo and interview project documenting the meals, stories, and people that shape everyday life in Ōtautahi. We’ll be showing up in people’s homes with a camera and an appetite because food calls people in, and right now we need those connections more than ever, when life feels rushed, people are disconnected, and kitchen knowledge is slipping away.

As a child, it felt magical when my grandmother made boil up in a pot big enough to cook me in, and the entire whānau would somehow appear like there was a neon sign above the house flashing “pork and pūhā.” Food is the great connector. It gathers us, feeds us, and tells us who we are.

You can help by backing this project. Your support will let us start collecting stories and recipes that often go unheard outside the family. If donating isn’t possible, you can still be part of it: tell a friend, share the campaign, every share gets us closer to another kitchen table.

This only happens if we reach our target. Every dollar up to $3,000 is matched by Boosted Ōtautahi, doubling your impact. The more we raise, the more kitchens we can visit. And honestly, we need this, we need to cook more than the three fallback meals we keep recycling.