The Model Farmer of Flora Bella
Julie: How does your family heritage and the food you ate growing up influence the food you make now?
Vavine: My mother is Papua New Guinean and my father, Maori. I was raised in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. My ethnic heritage and upbringing has most definitely influenced the way I eat, how I think about food and what I cook now. In Papua New Guinea cattle is virtually non-existent, pigs reign supreme and are often used in trade, ceremony and for tribal practices such as bride price. My mother is of seafaring people, fisher people and we ate a lot of seafood growing up. And there ain’t nothing I don’t love about a pig.Julie: You worked for many years in the modeling industry. What was the tipping point that inspired your career change?
Vavine: I found myself wanting to suffocate models in their own yoga mats every time one even looked at me, which is really not fair.
