When former chef turned Seafood New Zealand Inshore Policy Manager Tamar Wells was featured in the December magazine – showcasing her recipe for trevally ceviche – she got a message from former commercial fisherman (now Quota and Supply Systems/Harvest Planner for Moana New Zealand) Zak Olsen joking, “We should do a collab.”

Always eager to get our quality, sustainable seafood into the spotlight, the communications team jumped on the idea. By mid-March, Tamar and Zak were in front of several cameras filming six different recipes – twice over. It was a marathon effort.

There were a few nerves to work through, but it didn’t take long for this duo to get into a very entertaining rhythm. Worth mentioning is although this was Tamar’s first time in front of the camera, it wasn’t Zak’s, who had previously cooked up a storm on season two of TVNZ's Cooks on Fire.

Together, Tamar and Zak have created six simple and tasty recipes featuring some of New Zealand’s lesser-known fish species, including kahawai, monkfish, leatherjacket and more. Their goal was to showcase these often-overlooked fish as an easy and delicious way to feed a crowd. A big thanks to Moana New Zealand for supplying the fish.

Over the coming year, we’ll be sharing their recipes in Seafood New Zealand magazine and on our social channels.Each recipe is accompanied by an entertaining video – expect both censored and uncensored versions!