Half-Day Vanuatu Hunters and Gatherers Food Tour Including Cooking Class from Port Vila

This Vanuatu cooking class starts off with the friendliest of welcomes at a local seafood restaurant, where you’ll meet your playful guides. From there, you’ll set out to a local garden, a quaint little house in the rainforest that sits inside a much larger surrounding community. You’ll meet the local chief and his family, and they’ll guide you through the different crops in their own personal garden, where you’ll start your culinary adventure.
Vanuatu still holds onto traditional hunter/gatherer customs for men and women, and you’re going to learn about this tradition. You’ll gather delicious, fresh, organic vegetables from the garden, while also getting an education on local produce and tips for making your own garden back home more bountiful.
Before departing the area, you’ll visit the chief's house to try a varied selection of local cuisine, or kaekae as they call it, created straight from the land and cooked just for you. Taking your basket of fresh produce, you’ll then take a short ride back to where the real cooking will begin.Before you start, you’ll have time for a quick dip in the ocean and you’ll take a break to sample some locally made beer and the famous Tanna coffee – but then it’s back to hunting and gathering as you’ll be separated to carry out traditional roles to create a scrumptious lunch. The hunters will be shown the art of filleting a fish, while gatherers will follow the local women and start preparing the food, using traditional cooking techniques, from campfires to underground ovens that use hot stones for fresh bread.You’ll indulge all your senses in this authentic island-meets-modern-day feast. Smell the aromas and taste the earthy flavors while being spoiled with an array of tropical delights, including fresh sashimi, char-grilled beef, lemon & herb fish pocket, bamboo-smoked prawns, marinated roasted chicken, island favorite simboro accompanied with green pawpaw and grapefruit salad.
But of course, the biggest secret to good food is love. And since we’re on island time, you should let your hair down as you eat, drink, laugh, and just take it all in. The food is simple but unique to the island, with entirely fresh, locally grown produce and protein straight from the land and ocean, all infused with spices and herbs. You’ll finish our meal by preparing delicious desserts and tasting kava – the gatherers will scratch coconuts using only traditional tools while hunters will learn the process of making kava, the local drink derived from the root of a kava plant. After indulging on a variety of locally inspired desserts and Vanuatu's very own beer and coffee, you’ll have the opportunity to taste that famous kava and relax. Throughout it all, you will be able to see firsthand the traditional lifestyle of the local people, hear amazing forbidden tales of local culture, and be a part of something so special and unforgettable that you’ll be begging to return and do it all again.