As a child, Henry Onesemo dreaded cooking. The time, ritual, rules â all essential to his craft now â were burdens for a free-spirited child growing up in Samoa as the middle of five boys. âIt was such a chore,â he laughs. âOn Sundays, you had to wake up at 4am to start the umu [Samoan earth oven], prepare the taro, the breadfruit, the things that need time to sit before you prepare it again.â The umu had to be timed perfectly, âbecause you canât have the smoke at a certain time, or you get fined from the churchâ.â
â
It taught him discipline, âbut I hated cookingâ, he says. âIt wasnât until I got to the States and was missing home that I was trying to recreate Samoan food using whatever was around me. Thatâs when cooking started becoming a creative outlet.ââ
â
The younger version of
@henryonesemo would probably be surprised to find where he is now at 44 â running Tala, the Parnell establishment billed as âthe worldâs only Samoan fine dining restaurantâ. Tala, Samoan for âstoryâ or âtaleâ, has won a steady stream of awards since its opening in 2023, and in March was selected by Time magazine for its annual list of the Worldâs Greatest Places â the only restaurant in all of Oceania to appear on the list. Itâs an achievement Onesemo refuses to take sole responsibility for. âItâs great for Auckland, itâs amazing for Samoan food and itâs good for the team as well. They deserve it.ââ
â
At the link in bio, Onesemo talks to
@george_fenwick about failing high school, the chance encounters that led him to Hawai'i, Florida and eventually Auckland, and the insecurities that weigh on him as a chef. â
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@abiabzrose â
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@george_fenwick â
@tala_nzl 
![As a child, Henry Onesemo dreaded cooking. The time, ritual, rules â all essential to his craft now â were burdens for a free-spirited child growing up in Samoa as the middle of five boys. âIt was such a chore,â he laughs. âOn Sundays, you had to wake up at 4am to start the umu [Samoan earth oven], prepare the taro, the breadfruit, the things that need time to sit before you prepare it again.â The umu had to be timed perfectly, âbecause you canât have the smoke at a certain time, or you get fined from the churchâ.â â It taught him discipline, âbut I hated cookingâ, he says. âIt wasnât until I got to the States and was missing home that I was trying to recreate Samoan food using whatever was around me. Thatâs when cooking started becoming a creative outlet.ââ â The younger version of @henryonesemo would probably be surprised to find where he is now at 44 â running Tala, the Parnell establishment billed as âthe worldâs only Samoan fine dining restaurantâ. Tala, Samoan for âstoryâ or âtaleâ, has won a steady stream of awards since its opening in 2023, and in March was selected by Time magazine for its annual list of the Worldâs Greatest Places â the only restaurant in all of Oceania to appear on the list. Itâs an achievement Onesemo refuses to take sole responsibility for. âItâs great for Auckland, itâs amazing for Samoan food and itâs good for the team as well. They deserve it.ââ â At the link in bio, Onesemo talks to @george_fenwick about failing high school, the chance encounters that led him to Hawai'i, Florida and eventually Auckland, and the insecurities that weigh on him as a chef. â â @abiabzroseâ @george_fenwickâ @tala_nzl](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6727286719544957165269_0_d2587816cd63495ca2e2c359417c779a.jpg?o=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&h=893f29da9f9f59f086a1d28a1a877487)
