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JOURNAL OF INNOVATION IN POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION, VOL. 4 (2) 15
This article is published
under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0
International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
*Innovation Spotlights extremely brief
contributions that highlight an innovative
teaching practice, approach, or tool,
and provide accompanying evidence
that speaks to the effectiveness of the
innovation.
Embracing Te Ao Māori to Rebuild a Sustainable
Future for Chefs in Aotearoa New Zealand
INNOVATION SPOTLIGHT*
Adrian Woodhouse, Chloe Humphreys
Otago Polytechnic Te Kura Matatini ki Otago
Keywords
Culinary pedagogy, biculturalism,
manaakitaka, whānaukataka,
kotahitaka, vocational education
Article History
Received 11 Aug 2022
Received in revised 11 Dec 2022
Accepted 09 Sept 2022
Available online 19 Dec 2022
Abstract
The professional kitchen is a fast-paced environment often founded
on hierarchical structures and stressful working conditions. Within this
environment, tensions often run high resulting in aggressive behaviours, and
at times, bullying and violence towards junior chefs. For the last decade the
hospitality sector has been struggling to recruit and retain aspiring chefs into
the professional kitchen. Compounding the recruitment issue is the social
narrative that the hospitality industry is a poorly paid profession that works
long and unsociable hours.
Due to the global pandemic the hospitality sector has suffered signicant
upheaval resulting in signicant numbers of its workforce choosing to leave
the industry. Like other countries around the globe, the hospitality sector in
Aotearoa New Zealand is having to rethink and reset the way it operates in a
new, post-covid landscape. Central to this is the questioning of established
modes of practice and reimagining a new hospitality future.
In response to the changing landscape of hospitality, the Bachelor of Culinary
Arts programme at Te Kura Matakini ki Otago (Otago Polytechnic), Aotearoa
New Zealand developed a bicultural pedagogic framework that embraces te
ao Māori values. As a strategy to educate chefs into alternative workplace
behaviours and cultures the values of manaakitaka (care and integrity towards
self and others), whānaukataka (integrity of relationship), and kotahitaka (a
sense of collective unity and ownership) are deliberately integrated into the
programme’s pedagogy and the courses’ learning outcomes. In doing so, this
pedagogic framework upholds the worldviews, values, and mana of Aotearoa’s
takata whenua (Indigenous people), while also attempting to rebalance the
historical practices of the professional kitchen.
Introduction
The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive and irreversible impact on
the hospitality industry in Aotearoa (New Zealand), resulting in a mass exodus of
workers and bringing to light a raft of issues with workplace culture (Williamson,
Rasmussen, & Palao, 2022). Whilst devastating for businesses within the sector,
A. WOODHOUSE AND C. HUMPHREYS (2022)16
(Burrow, Smith, & Yakinthou, 2015). Chefs have commented
that to be considered a legitimate member within the
culinary ar ts community, they have had to resort to acts
of aggression towards others to afrm their professional
identities (Palmer, Cooper, & Burns, 2010). The following
quote from the Burrow, Smith, and Yakinthou (2015, p. 679)
study into the culture of professional kitchen highlights the
normalisation of aggression towards vulnerable junior staff:
“Go and f@#king beat him up’ and it would just happen
– the guy would go over and start beating another guy
up. That was normal, but everyone there was mad. The
whole mentality of that place was completely warped.”
Normalising such behaviours within the industry has been
identied as a key inuencing factor in chefs adopting
aggression and exploitation within their leadership practice
(Burrow et al., 2015). As Gill and Burrow (2018, p. 21)
comment, “Fear was a tool used to support the [culinary
arts] institution…passed on through generations of teaching
and training,” meaning, the practice of aggression is so
deeply embedded within the culture of the culinary arts,
that at times, the culinary arts would struggle to exist
without it.
The abuse and exploitation of chefs is further evident within
many restaurants’ business models. Until recently, it was an
accepted practice for salaried chefs to work over and above
their contractual hours, unpaid. Working a 10-15 hour day
and being paid for an eight hour day was not uncommon
(Cole, Stuart, Hardy, & Spencer, 2022), and until the recent
public ousting of a number of high prole chefs, wage
theft was a widespread practice in the industry (Robinson
& Brenner, 2021). Worker exploitation also continued to
be practiced through the time-old tradition of stagiaire.
Stagiaire is the practice of working for free under the
guidance of an experienced chef, in much the same manner
as an unpaid internship. It has its roots in the traditional
French kitchen and was a means for young chefs to extend
their culinary reper toire. However, many chefs built their
menus and business models around this model of free
labour, meaning many junior chefs in ne dining kitchens
were working for no pay. The practice of stagiaire has
recently come into criticism, whereby it is no longer viewed
as an authentic relationship of learning, rather an exploitive
business practice (Kauffman, 2019).
It is therefore no surprise that many hospitality operators
who premised their business models on the exploitation of
it has also forced a complete rethink of common practices
and attitudes, resulting in an opportunity to reset the
way it operates and treats its people (Williamson et al.,
2022). The Bachelor of Culinary Arts programme at Te
Kura Matakini ki Otago (Otago Polytechnic), Aotearoa New
Zealand, has embraced this opportunity, using the timely
Five Year Programme Review to redevelop the programme
to help address such issues by embedding bicultural values
within the pedagogy and curriculum.
This article will examine traditional culinary workplace
culture in the context of the global pandemic, highlighting
the need to return to values that focus on the care and
wellbeing of the people within the industry. It will outline
the work done by Bachelor of Culinary Arts kaimahi (staff)
in the redevelopment of the degree, and the adoption of
a bicultural framework built on the values of manaakitaka
(care and integrity towards others and self), whanaukataka
(integrity of relationships) and kotahitaka (a sense of
collective unity and ownership). A discussion of the
implementation of these values will go on to highlight the
potential to change the trajectory of workplace culture
and industr y practices, ultimately improving the hauora
(wellbeing) of our people and working environments.
Traditional Culinary Workplace Culture
Gordon Ramsay: Hey you, yeah you…come here. Why
aren’t you wiping the f@*%king plates.
Young Chef: I don’t know chef?
Gordon Ramsay: Every time there’s food on the pass,
where should you be…on the f@*%king pass! Now stay
here, next time you’re out…ok!
(Graham, 1999)
In the comfort of our living rooms, many of us will have
watched an innocent chef physically and emotionally
succumb to the judgement of a Chef Master via shows
like Hell’s Kitchen or Boiling Point. These programmes
glamourise the fast-paced nature of professional kitchens;
but in doing so, they also expose the aggressive behaviours,
which at times, play out within these environments.
Professional kitchens have a chequered history of adopting
aggressive actions to cultivate worker productivity and
enforce quality food production. Verbal, physical, and
psychological abuse towards young chefs has traditionally
been a widespread practice within the hospitality industry;
albeit more evidently so within the ne dining sector
JOURNAL OF INNOVATION IN POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION, VOL. 4 (2) 17
hospitality workers in Aotearoa New Zealand (Williamson et
al., 2022); rather, business models which look after staff
wellbeing, pay a living wage and provide opportunities for
learning and progression are seen as vital in rebuilding
a local workforce (Williamson et al., 2022). Furthermore,
the government has made signicant changes to Aotearoa
New Zealand’s immigration and employment legislation,
forcing the hospitality sector to move away from a reliance
on a low-paid and often exploited international workforce.
Rather, employers need to place worker, community and
environmental wellbeing at the centre of their decision-
making processes (Hendry-Tennent, 2022).
A Bicultural Framework for Culinary
Education
In 2019, the government of Aotearoa New Zealand
announced the Review of Vocational Education (RoVE). The
kaupapa (intent) of the RoVE is to create a “sustainable
vocational education system that helps improve wellbeing
for all New Zealanders and supports a growing economy
that works for everyone” (Te Pūkenga, 2022). As part of the
RoVE, Aotearoa New Zealand’s polytechnics and Industry
Training Organisations are currently transitioning into the
state-led vocational education organisation, Te Pūkenga.
A key focus for Te Pūkenga is the authentic honouring of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and supporting and empowering Māori
learners through the integration of te ao Māori (the Māori
worldview) within its programmes’ pedagogic design and
curriculum structures (Te Pūkenga, 2022).
In 2022, the Bachelor of Culinary Arts (BCA) programme at
Te Kura Matatini ki Otago (Otago Polytechnic) commenced
its ve-year programme review. The Bachelor of Culinary
Arts (BCA) programme is founded on the methods and
waynding tools of design. It is an applied degree which
primarily uses project-based learning to allow culinary
arts’ tauira (learners) to acquire the skills, knowledge and
capabilities required to operate as culinary practitioners.
The programme operates in a holistic and integrated
manner, requiring that tauira engage in culinary problem-
solving activities to demonstrate their professional skills
and sense-making abilities from year one of the degree.
The timing of the BCA programme review, the government
initiated hospitality reset, and the aspirations of the RoVE
would become the catalyst for a redesign of a bicultural
pedagogic framework for culinary education. The BCA
pedagogy has traditionally operated within constructivist
labour and allowed aggressive cultures to cultivate within
their workplaces have, in recent times, struggled to attract
and retain a stable workforce.
The Aotearoa New Zealand Situation
As with other professional kitchens throughout the world,
aggressive and exploitive practices operate within the
Aotearoa New Zealand hospitality industry (Gong, 2017).
Similar to other countries, there is an underlying social
distrust within Aotearoa New Zealand of the hospitality
sector’s workplace practices (Williamson, 2017). As a
result, within the last decade, many chef positions within
Aotearoa have been lled by low-paid migrant workers.
Many of these workers have come from impoverished
countries, and they have worked in the hospitality sector
as a pathway to permanent residency. While migrant labour
has provided the hospitality sector with a short-term
solution to its labour issues, the recent disruptions caused
by the global pandemic have resulted in an exodus of
migrant workers. The labour situation is fur ther complicated
due to a signicant number of domestic workers having left
the hospitality sector in search of an improved work-life
balance and security of employment.
The hospitality stafng crisis within Aotearoa New Zealand
means that many hospitality businesses have reduced their
product and service offerings, and in some cases closed
altogether. The stafng challenges are further intensied by
recent changes in government policy, which has stemmed
the ow of low-paid migrant labour into the hospitality and
tourism industries (Smith, 2021).
In response to COVID-19 and a changing tourism
landscape, the government of Aotearoa New Zealand has
strategically repositioned the country’s tourism industry
(which includes hospitality) from a high-volume, extractive
model, to a high-value, sustainable and regenerative
industry (Tourism Industr y Aotearoa, 2022). Within this
strategic pivot, there is a recognition that if Aotearoa New
Zealand is to reposition itself as a world-class tourism and
hospitality destination, it needs to be a sustainable and
regenerative industry. To that end, the government has
identied that tikaka Māori (doing things the correct way)
is critical in rebuilding a sustainable future for tourism
and hospitality (Tourism Industry Aotearoa, 2022). Within
a tikaka Māori mindset, operators will need to have staff
physical and mental wellbeing front of mind. Gone are the
days of churning and burning overworked and poorly paid
A. WOODHOUSE AND C. HUMPHREYS (2022)18
and humanistic pedagogic philosophies—philosophies
situated within the western paradigm.
Working with industry leaders, members of the Kaitohutohu
Ofce (ofce of Māori guidance) at Te Kura Matatini ki
Otago, and mana whenua (local Indigenous people), the
BCA programme development team engaged in a series
of hui (meetings) to discuss the hospitality sector’s
traditional workplace cultures and how an alternative
pedagogic framework might contribute to the rebuilding of
a sustainable future. Through various hui, the discussions
nally centred around the following statement: “How
can the BCA programme develop a culturally responsive
pedagogy which helps facilitate a sustainable future for the
chefs of Aotearoa?”
As part of the developmental discussions, manaakitaka
was identied as a critical concept which differentiated
Aotearoa’s practice of hospitality from others internationally.
Due to the multidimensional nature of te ao Māori, context
denes how manaakitaka is interpreted and practiced
(Mead, 2016). However, within the eld of hospitality,
manaakitaka is widely understood as the act of care
towards others; ironically, something which has not always
been practiced within the professional kitchen. Furthermore,
due to the holistic, integrated, and multidimensional nature
of te ao Māori, manaakitaka cannot be practiced without
the presence of a genuine relationship and a sense of
responsibility towards others. Therefore, expressing an act
of whānaukataka (meaningful relationships) and kotahitaka
(collective bonding and responsibility) need also be enacted
if one wishes to enact manakitanga towards others.
The development team explored how the concepts of
manaakitaka, whānaukataka, and kotahitaka could
become the tūāpapa (foundational) principles within the
programme’s pedagogy. As part of the process, the team
discussed the ways in which these values presented a
counter cultural perspective to the traditional cultural norms
of aggression and exploitation. The following table highlights
these differences in these cultural perspectives.
Differences in Kitchen Cultural Perspectives
Culture of Manaakitaka,
Whānaukataka, and
Kotahitaka
Culture of Aggression
and Exploitation
Manaakitaka is about
upholding the integrity of
self and others through the
provision of care.
Aggressive and exploitative
kitchen cultures promote
individualism and are
intended to protect self-
interest.
Whānaukataka is about
building respectful and
meaningful relationships
and recreating spaces to
share experiences and
perspectives.
Relationships are
transactional and within
these relationships there
are winners and losers.
Kotahitaka is premised
upon collective purpose
and responsibility and
embraces the diversity
of the individual as a
collective strength.
Individuals perform a
function within a structure.
If individuals do not
perform, they are replaced
by another functional
individual.
Table 1. Differences in Kitchen Cultural Perspectives
Beyond the pedagogy of the classroom, it was deemed
that the adoption of these values within kaiako (lecturer)
teaching practice allowed them to explicitly role model
the professional behaviours expected of a contemporary
chef. In this way, kaiako were not just teaching tauira the
technical knowledge required to practice as a chef; rather,
they would support technical knowledge with learning
activities to facilitate tauira understandings of how to
positively interact with others and the environment they
operate within.
Bicultural Framework in Action
The following are examples of the framework’s values
and how they are implemented into the pedagogy and
curriculum design of the programme.
JOURNAL OF INNOVATION IN POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION, VOL. 4 (2) 19
Bicultural Values Pedagogic Strategies
Manaakitaka is about upholding the
integrity of self and others through
the provision of care.
Tauira and Kaiako get to know each other’s cultural perspectives and personal
aspirations early within the programme. Tauira then bring these cultures and
aspirations into their project work.
Understanding the application of manaakitaka within different culinary contexts is
developed through project work, which requires tauira to design dishes, systems,
and experiences which meet the needs of others. This involves tauira understanding
the mana of the place, the people, knowledge, and kai within those contexts.
Reective exercises and assignments allow tauira to interpret and dene how
manaakitaka is embedded and enacted within their culinary practice and their wider
community of practice.
Tauira and kaiako wellbeing is central to the planning and design of curriculum,
through the integration of self-care and effective learning strategies, and the
programme’s holistic assessment philosophy.
Whānaukataka is about building
respectful and meaningful
relationships and recreating
spaces to share experiences and
perspectives.
Culturally safe spaces are created within the programme structure where tauira
share openly with others their perspectives and learnings without fear of judgement
or ridicule.
Relationships of trust are nurtured so that tauira feel safe seeking feedback and
asking for help.
Projects are designed so that tauira are introduced to community partners and are
exposed to the importance of relationship building (networking) within the culinary
community.
Projects are managed in a way that ensures tauira can deliver realistic outcomes
that continue to build positive relationships with the culinary community.
Reective exercises and assignments allow tauira to dene how whanuakataka is
embedded and enacted within their culinary practice.
Kotahitaka is premised upon
collective purpose and
responsibility and embraces the
diversity of the individual as a
collective strength.
A community of practice is established at the beginning of the degree, through
shared learning spaces (both face to face and online) within which ako is highly
valued.
Tauira regularly collaborate with the wider BCA community, working within teams
across cohor ts and receiving/giving feedback to achieve collective outcomes.
All tauira project work culminates in a collaborative event with community partners.
While tauira may complete individual work, it is required to be modied and
adapted so that it supports the kaupapa of the collective.
Tauira are acknowledged for their overall contribution to the collective team, as
opposed to being rewarded for individual actions.
Table 2. Bicultural Framework in Action
A. WOODHOUSE AND C. HUMPHREYS (2022)20
and personal interactions. As culinary educators, it is our
inherent belief that through embedding these bicultural
values within our pedagogic practice, we have the ability to
change the mauri (life force) and hauora within our working
environments.
Māori often express the following whakatauki (proverb)
when faced with making decisions in life, Kia whakatōmuri
te haere whakamua ‘I walk backwards into the future with
my eyes xed on my past’. This whakatauki acknowledges
that for Māori, many of the questions we have about our
future can be answered by connecting with our past.
In the case of the future of culinary arts, we believe
that reconnection with how we have always viewed our
relationships with people and place within Aotearoa
provides us with an answer for our future.
Conict of Interest
There are no known conicts of interest in this article.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the Kaitohutohu Ofce
at Te Kura Matakini ki Otago (Otago Polytechnic) for their
support in the development of this bicultural pedagogic
framework. Of note was the contribution of Ron Bull who
helped clarify a number of the concepts presented within
this work.
Funding
No funding was provided in this project.
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