The timeless Tui Flower

When Jason was invited by Heilala Vanilla to the Kingdom of Tonga in 2010, to record a bespoke tour of their vanilla plantation, local attractions and a variety of fantastic eating experiences -for Dish Magazine- he was also lucky enough to met the legendary Tui Flower.  

At 90 plus years young, Tui Flower has royal status in the NZ culinary scene. She pioneered food journalism, writing for the NZ Herald. In those days all photos were in black and white and took several days to process.  The male dominated bastion of newsprint did not take kindly to a woman in their midst, let alone one writing exclusively about food. 

She had to carve out her patch and staunchly defend it.  As time passed Tui became a household name through her recipes in the NZ Woman’s Weekly (the most widely read woman’s magazine in it’s time.)

Our mother’s and Grandmothers could totally rely on her “triple tested ‘ recipes and through her columns and books she entered the majority of NZ kitchens. She mentored many current food writers and columnists and to this day contributes sage advice and bright ideas to any who seek it.
 
Tui was one of gaggle of well known chefs, cooks and foodies who were hosted by the Ross family and introduced to the village of  Utunagke where their Heilala vanilla is grown. Also on that trip were guest chefs, Peter Gordon and Natasha MacAller who would do most of the cooking for the group, using Heilala’s products in the most creative ways.

A little later down the track while Jason and I were making a story for the Herald on Sunday, Jason asked Tui if we might visit her home. You enter Tui’s world through handsome wrought iron gates that open into an old world garden. The double brick villa belonged originally to her grandparents. It feels solid , dependable and unshaken by external circumstances, much I suspect, like the three Flower generations who have inhabited it.

The rooms have the patina of  long habitation, time worn surfaces and memories stored in objects and furnishings -a house  warmed by many. Tui welcomed us with morning coffee and homemade biscuits and showed us family collections, cabinets of Toby jugs, books and of course her own “kitchenelia “ gathered over a life time of travels.

After checking we were  "up to scratch," we talked about what form the story may take. Tui felt that it was important to offer some simple baking recipes. The criteria being that they were economical, didn't need special kitchen equipment and taught some basic skills for a new cook. Such skills she believes, have been lost.

Tui learnt to cook by watching her grandmother and mother but suspects that these days this probably doesn't happen. She is sharp as a tack, no nonsense  and straightforward in her manner. You can tell she trained as a school teacher, her deep toned voice adds to her authority. As well as being famous for “triple testing “ all her recipes,  she has a reputation of being quite fierce.

As a self confessed terrible baker I asked if she would teach me to make scones. My ulterior motive was to be taught by the woman who had mentored my mothers generation through her weekly magazine and press columns. " You won't be leaving the kitchen till you get it right!" was her response.” I was feeling nervous. The day for the lesson came and with butterflies in my stomach I put on my apron and Tui took me to her kitchen.The first thing you notice is the ‘Tui height “ benches that incorporate cabinetry made by her father. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place.

Between much laughter and good natured banter I managed to make a batch of scones under Tui's explicit tuition. I learned how to measure properly. I got told to put the lids back on ingredient tins after I had used them. And, I was tested on my knowledge of her vintage wooden kitchen implements. Fortunately I got 9 out of 10  for latter but I was tripped up by a Breton pancake scraper. We photographed the baking Tui had prepared earlier, propping from her vast array of china.

As the day proceeded Tui shared snippets of her career path as one of New Zealand’s first and pre-eminent food writers. She was a pioneering woman in an era of male dominated work environments from French kitchens and the American corporate culture where she worked for Unilever to and her cooking life in the world of Journalism.  While she did not automatically have received acceptance in each area she worked, she did certainly carve respect through her hard work, integrity and, I bet, a fair degree of personal toughness.

She explained that she developed this "persona "  as a self protective device. She delights in her reputation as " being a dragon " When we took our leave. We came away with bags of beautiful baking and glowing like two school boys who'd just won a prize.

Thank you Tui, for your willingness to welcome us , share your knowledge and experience and for the handwritten recipes you provided .These will be tucked inside my copy of your cookbook as a reminder of our enjoyable time spent with the Doyenne of NZ cooking.

We felt privileged to be there and on  a personal note  I think you are really more a Flower than a Dragon, but that's between you and me!
Check our original Herald Story here.
©TruffleHounds017
Words: Grant (Cook) Allen
Photos: Jason (burg) Burgess