20 GOURMET TRAVELLER
ThesharingcontinuesatPrincessCruises,asnewmenusbyMelbourne-LAchefCurtisStoneroll
outathisonboardSharerestaurants,andStone-crafteddishesappearfleetwideinmaindining
rooms. Princess is preparing for the arrival of five ships in Australia and New Zealand this summer.Fiji rediscovers its roots
Howfreshideasandnewinvestmentaretransforming
the Pacific destination – and its hotel buffets.WhenLanceSeetoarrivedtoworkin
Fijia decadeago,thecultureshockwas
huge.“Butina goodway,”herecalls.
“Itwasa turningpointinmylife.”
Familiarproducetasteddifferent–
“untaintedandunadulterated”– andthe
marketswerefulloffoodhe’dneverseen
before.Verylittleofit appearedonhotel
menus,soSeetowenttravellingacross
thearchipelago.“I discoveredfantastic
ingredientsandcookingtechniques
thousandsofyearsold.It wasa discovery
notjustoffoodbutanintactculture.”
A decadelaterhe’sa dualFijian-
Australiancitizen,executivechefat
MalamalaBeachClub,thenation’sfirst
islandclub,andpresidentofthenew
CulinaryFederationofFiji.Theultimate
goal,hesays,is totransformthePacific
nationintoa fooddestination.
Tourismis booming,particularlyamong
Australians,as a raftofhigh-endproperties
andventuresaddnewdimensionsto
Fiji’sreputationforfunfamilyholidays.
To meet demand, Qantas recently resumedflightstoNadiafteralmost 20 years.
Travellersareheadingtonewresorts
suchas private-islandKokomo,wellness-
focusedSixSensesFiji,andMarriott
ResortMomiBay.Thesuper-exclusive
Laucalahasundergonea $3.3-million
refurbishment,andluxuryresortssuchas
NanukuandVomoareaddingvillasfor
extendedfamiliesandadults-onlyretreats.
Newventuresareincreasinglyfocused
onfood,amongthemfoodsafarisrun
byNanukuandsuperfoodadventures
at GaiatreeSanctuary,a spiceplantation
witha daycluband“nectarlab”.
AtMalamalaBeachClub,Seetoworks
withcoconut,wildseafood,Fijian-Indian
spicesandseasonalproducecommonly
seeninmarketsbutrarelyusedinresorts.
Hisversionofkokoda,thepopularFijian
ceviche,is steepedinsmokedcoconut
milkextractedwithhotrocks,anage-old
techniquehediscoveredononeofthe
remoteLauislands.“We’reaimingto
embraceoldknowledgeandelevateit ina
way that will blow travellers away,” he says.Nanuku.Clockwisefrom
topleft:Laucala;chef
LanceSeetoofMalamala
Beach Club; Six Senses Fiji.