Nature's Communal Oven

Welcome to the First Fiji Friday

When we returned from our fabulous Fiji vacation, back in September, I had quite a few posts about the food there I wanted to share. With the creation of Fiji Friday, a new weekly feature on aspects of the way both Fijians and visiting tourists eat, I plan to share a little look at this beautiful island way of life.




Savusavu is a busy but tiny little town on Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu. Geothermal hot springs a few minutes walk from the main hub, provide the opportunity for villagers to steam and cook their food using the constant supply of free, natural, boiling hot water. When we visited, we were lucky enough to meet a local lady who had just arrived to retrieve her cakes from the bubbling spring. The cooking pots are tightly wrapped in plastic bags and cloths to stop the stinky, sulpherous water seeping in. The pictured cake, a sponge flavoured with coconut, had taken 2 and a half hours to steam-bake. Then villagers cook a lot of their cassava root and rice at this location too.



PS. Happy Birthday, today to our lovely friend Katja: She who actually reads my blog, loves Hollywood chewing gum, is always a warm hostess, and who just has to eat fresh crab and drink champagne every December the 2nd. We'll be joining her later. Please save some crab for me!

Food | Fiji | Savusavu | Cooking

Nature's Communal Oven