FIJI’S culinary ambassador Chef Lance Seeto says the second FTE Victoria Wines Food and Wine Festival held on Tuesday night has become the premiere food and wine event in Fiji. With chefs represented from most of the country’s top resorts, the event showcased the next stage of evolution in modern Fijian cuisine.

“After its enormous success last year, the FTE Food and Wine Festival has become one of the key culinary events on our calendar. It has attracted Fiji’s top chefs who showcased their latest creations. Fiji’s food has evolved dramatically over the past year and on this one night, it’s was a cook off under the stars!” said Seeto.

The celebrity chef designed three canapes representing his signature restaurants on Mana Island Resort; war (tribal inspired), kura (Asian spa cuisine) and nasu (teppanyaki fusion).

War — smoked kumala and quinoa slider with pickled onion and palusami inside a coconut bun.

Kura — Savoury lobster and ginger ice cream salad with sea grapes and pickled lime.

Nasu — Miso-seared rice ball (onigiri) filled with Pacific corned beef and finished with furikake of blended seaweeds, sesame seeds and fermented coconut.

“Fiji is undergoing a remarkable cultural awakening and renaissance, bridging the traditional with the modern. We see it in fashion, investment, tourism and food.

“With a world that seems to have lost its way, Fiji has become a beacon of humanity. It is why I decided to call Fiji my home and eventually become a … citizen.”