'I never thought I'd be cooking hangi-style lamb on the steps of the Met'
Thousands of New Yorkers got a taste of New Zealand kai last month at the grand reopening of the Oceania Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, courtesy of New Zealand chef Anthony Hoy Fong.
Expats and art lovers flocked to the Met where New Zealand, now New York-based, chef Anthony Hoy Fong, served up hangi-style New Zealand lamb.
His food stall was part of a large pop-up showcasing culinary traditions from across the Pacific.
The taste of Aotearoa was a hit in the Big Apple, Hoy Fong told RNZ’s Culture 101.
Anthony Hoy Fong's hangi-style slowed cooked lamb was a big hit at the re-opening of the Metropolitan Museum Oceania Galleries in New York.
supplied
Related stories:
- 'I was one of the last anonymous critics in the world'
- Yes chef: Tony Astle serves up 50 years of spicy stories
- The Hutt Valley man whose hāngī hankering became a business
“I seasoned it up with horopito and kawakawa, these spices I got shipped over from New Zealand, and then we served it with a kawakawa mint salsa and some Māori fry bread.
“Everything was made from scratch, it was about 600 pounds of boneless New Zealand grass-fed lamb, and I replicated the hangi style, wrapping it in muslin and dry rubbing it with these spices from New Zealand, slow cooking it in the oven with a bit of smoke, and then served it up on this Māori fry bread and a little bit of that kawakawa salsa for that brightness, almost like a mint sauce kind of thing.”
The seasonings to recreate the traditional smoky earthiness of the hangi came via his mother in New Zealand, he says.
“There’s a company [Urban Food] it has a product called Beast Mode, and it's this hangi dry rub. I think they're only a small company, not a lot of people know about them, but they have this blend of spices, and it's got all the authentic Māori spices in there.
“I got them to send it to mum's house, and then mum shipped it over to me in New York, and then made it through customs somehow in time, and I was delighted when I opened the packet, and all these spices, and what's crazy is when I opened the envelope, honestly the smell just came out, because it's such a pungent, strong smell of the spices, so I'm surprised it didn't get flagged when it was getting shipped over.”
Hoy Fong had no clue how many he’d be feeding, he says.
“They were saying it could be 10,000 people, they were saying it could be 2,000 people, it was definitely 10,000 plus people.”
He had a premium spot right at the entrance to the Met, he says.
“The New Zealand Embassy was involved, Consul General, Trade and Enterprise, and so we had a really great spot, and to be honest, right from when we opened, we had a line around the block.”
It was a proud moment, he says.
“I've been here for 18 years now, I never thought I'd be cooking hangi-style lamb on the steps of the Met, for 10,000 people, that was pretty awesome.”
Anthony Hoy Fong's hangi-style slowed cooked lamb at the re-opening of the Metropolitan Museum Oceania Galleries in New York.
Supplied
Hoy Fong was raised in Auckland and worked with his parents at their Fruit World store in Silverdale. It's here he cut his teeth in business but after selling the store and feeling burnt out, he packed his bags for New York in hopes to become a chef.
“I wasn't worried about what my next career move would be, I was like I just want to live in New York City, I want to be a chef, I want to live that crazy life, I want to learn about food, I want to cook food, and so that's what I did.”
He credits a Kiwi can-do attitude with the success he’s forged over there.
“When I cook for Obama, cook for Oprah, and all that, it was very cool, because we used to read about them in the news, and watch Oprah on TV, and stuff like that, but when you come into it, you're still just a young kid from New Zealand, and, you know, just get the job done, put your head down, there's a little bit of the Kiwi culture, and it's definitely a lot of the Chinese culture, where you're pretty humble about what you do, and you don't get ahead of yourself.”
Hoy Fong has carved out a hugely successful career, cooking for US presidents, Oprah Winfrey and has worked with NBA legend Shaquille O'Neill to design school lunches for kids in Miami.
Not getting too ahead of himself has kept him grounded in the competitive US food scene, he says.
“It doesn't matter if you've had 10 really successful projects, whether it's TV shows or restaurants or, school programmes, whatever it is, it doesn't matter if you've had 10 really good ones, you're only as good as the last one you did.”
“So, I think with that mindset, it definitely keeps you humble, keeps your feet on the ground and also keeps you motivated and keeps making you want to do better and better each time you do your next project.”
