Cook Islands Cuisine

Cook Islands cuisine is fresh, wholesome Polynesian island food, drawn from the sea, the land and the coconut palm. Its signature dish is ika mata, fresh raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice and dressed in rich coconut cream with onion and tomato, the islands' delicious answer to ceviche. The traditional feast is the umukai, food slow-cooked in an underground oven of hot stones, from suckling pig to taro. Rukau, the young taro leaves cooked in coconut cream, root crops like taro and kumara, fresh reef fish and seafood, and an abundance of tropical fruit round out a simple, fresh and generous cuisine, best enjoyed at an island night.

What you actually see

• Ika mata - the fresh raw fish in coconut cream and lime.
• The umukai feast - the food cooked in the earth oven.
• Rukau - the taro leaves in coconut cream.
• The taro and fresh fish - the root crops and reef seafood.

When to go

Year-round; the Punanga Nui Market in Avarua is the place for fresh produce, ika mata and island snacks, especially on a Saturday, while the island nights at resorts pair a traditional umukai feast with drumming and dance, the definitive way to enjoy Cook Islands food and culture together.

Honest expectations

Cook Islands food is simple, fresh island cooking centred on the coconut-and-lime ika mata, the umukai feast and fresh seafood rather than a varied or refined cuisine, so its appeal is freshness and the communal feast experience rather than culinary complexity, and everyday eating can lean on imports. The fresh ika mata and an umukai feast at an island night, though, are genuinely delicious and a lovely taste of Polynesian island life and hospitality.

Nearby

The Punanga Nui market and the island nights of Rarotonga are the places.