“Tangata Moana, people of the sea”
OUR HOSTs
MISS KATALYNA GUSSY PAIKEA WESLEY HAULER
Tangata Moana: A Taste of the Pacific an evening celebrating the heart of Pasifika FOOD. From the creamy richness of Samoan Palusami, to the golden comfort of Māori fried bread and the tropical sweetness of Tongan Otai (sweet watermelon drink), the night honours ancestral flavours and island hospitality.
Blending music, laughter, and conversation, guests will experience how food, especially the humble coconut, connects oceans, generations, and communities, one shared table at a time.
MORE ABOUT OUR ARTIST
Miss Katalyna
Miss Katalyna is a proud Samoan Fa’afafine trans woman, DJ, TV host and cultural producer based in Naarm/Melbourne. She hosted and curated her first community event at just 18 as part of the Multicultural Youth Festival, held during Blacktown Youth Week in Sydney, a milestone that sparked her lifelong dedication to culture, visibility, and storytelling. A two time award winner for the multicultural queer cooking show The Bent Spoon and a 2023 Antenna Awards nominee for Best TV Personality of the Year, Miss Katalyna is also the founder of Trans Pride March Melbourne, a founding member of PacifiqueX Victoria’s first Pasifika queer organisation, and the creator of the no gender specific fashion brand AUKUSO. Through music, food, and fashion, she continues to amplify Pasifika identity and queer excellence, creating spaces where community, pride, and creativity thrive together. Miss Katalyna
Te Rarangi (Gussy Paikea)
Rooted in the strength her tuupuna - carrying the lineage of Waikato Maniapoto, Ngaati Hine and Ngaati Whaatua, Aotearoa, Te Rarangi is a performing artist who weaves ancestral knowledge with contemporary expression. Her artistry ignites kultural spaces with purpose and pride, empowering communities - Tangata Moana (Pasifika) to reconnect with identity, heritage, and self - through creative practice.
Guided by the belief that kulture is both anchor and compass, Te Rarangi uses kultural expression as a tool for inclusion, empowerment, and belonging - reminding young people that our traditions hold the answers we seek in a fast-paced, western-influenced world. Gussy Paikea
Wesley Hauler
Wes is a Māori cook and co-founder of Playte, a gastro-architect duo that uses local food as a medium for collective healing. Through exploring the intersections of art, architecture, and the politics of food, Wes fosters spaces for cultural connection and dialogue around place, identity, and nourishment. _playte
Date: ThuR, 23 Oct Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Bookings essential, only 20 sEAts available!
Price: $25
Due to the nature of the workshop, we cannot cater to dietaries at this time.
Proudly supported by: Our friends at ReWine (East Brunswick) and Fawkner Food Bowls
Merri-bek Council Flourish Arts Grant 2024-2025 & Blak Dot Gallery.
