CUISINE guru Lance Seeto yesterday launched the concept of his new restaurant, War, at the Fijian Tourism Expo, marking the beginning of a mammoth ten eateries slated for Mana Island Resort. Now nearing the end of construction, War will be a signature restaurant at the popular family retreat, where Mr Seeto has relocated as its new executive chef after more than five years at Castaway Island Resort.
“Coming up in the next few months, there will be 10 restaurants and this will be the first time any island resort has invested so heavily in a food product — and that’s what attracted me there,” he said.
“The signature restaurant, War, is a play on Fiji’s old tribal wars and it also stands for wild and raw.”
He said the cuisine would be an incorporation of ideas noted from his extensive travels to Lau and other local destinations travelled to for his television show Taste of Paradise.
“We’re not wasting any of that knowledge. We’re bringing it back and creating high-end, international food based on the way that Fijians used to cook and eat.
“There’s no gas and electricity, and exactly what you’d see in the outer islands and kitchen bure. It’ll be an authentic place where we’ll cook on fire, use sea water, smoking and all the old ways of cooking in a small kitchen.”
An interesting feature of War, he said, would be its minimal use of technology and focus on a traditional gluten-free, dairy-free, white meat-only diet.
“This won’t limit cooking preparations. We’ve tested it already and it’s just a matter of placing it in a way that would wow our international tourists.”
