Food Glorious Food...

Cook Islanders know and love their food.  From traditional cooking to Pacific Rim cuisine, the Cook Islands have a wide variety of scrumptious fare for you to sample on your next vacation. The people of Aitutaki are no exception.  Proud of their gorgeous island and bountiful lagoon, the people of Aitutaki make the most of the fresh produce they can source from this natural environment.

Seafood features high on the list of popular dishes in Aitutaki, with tuna, marlin and other deep sea fish made in to delectable meals and reef fish, like Parrot fish a specialty.  The firm, white flesh of the Parrot fish is divine cooked with a tropically flavoured sauce. Complement this with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and you may just think you are in heaven!

Fresh local fruits and vegetables are popular as side dishes, deserts and used in any variety of main meals.  Try bread fruit or taro, a bland root vegetable that Cook Islanders delight in enhancing with a wide array of cooking styles.  Sample fresh papaya, pineapples, bananas and poke (a very sweet pawpaw desert).

Other traditional local food includes delicious rukau (spinach-like taro leaves with coconut milk), kumara (sweet potato), eke (octopus) and taro dishes (a root vegetable similar but nothing like potato!).  Aitutaki has several dishes unique to their island, one of which is Tupa, the local land crabs.  The local people of Aitutaki hold and feed them carefully for four months before sending them to the pot!

Traditional Umukai, cooked in an underground oven, is a renowned Cook Island style of cuisine.  This ancient form of cooking a meal is great for large groups and accompanies the sights and sounds of traditional island nights on Aitutaki. Savour the taste of an earth oven cooked slice of meat, tender and succulent and full of a unique flavour or tuck in to a big plate of local veges cooked in the traditional way.

Aitutaki boasts a varied selection of small cafes and restaurants for you to try, from resort style full service restaurants to beach side bars.  Venture out at night for dinner under the stars or grab some lunch with a Cook Island flavour. Meet some local people and sample some of the local cuisine... 

...It will be another Aitutaki adventure you'll never forget!