After travelling the world with his culinary skills, Alex Dickie followed his heart (and stomach) to Tui Ora and is now serving up a wānanga about kai to help whānau improve their hauora.
He works with tangata whaiora enrolled with the Oranga Hinengaro service to support their recovery journey through kai and Te Whare Tapa Whā as part of his role as a Kāwhakaīhuwaka Consumer Advocate.
“The Life of Kai wānanga helps teach practical cooking and food preparation skills to help whānau get a better understanding of nutrition and wellbeing and increase their confidence in preparing kai,” he says.
But the session is much more than just a cooking class – the kaupapa uses food as a pathway to wellbeing, connection, and recovery by following the model of Mason Duries’ Te Whare Tapa Whā.
“Through practical cooking sessions, shared meals and conversations, participants learn valuable life skills while exploring the relationship between kai and taha hinengaro, taha tinana, taha whānau, taha wairua and taha whenua,” says Alex.
Speaking about the origin of the course, Alex says, “The seeds were sown at WITT when I started working with Te Whare Tapa Whā, the Kopu Maanaki team and Tuari Reweti who has been a real mentor to me.”
From there, he started his role at Tui Ora and with the help of his tuakana Nicola Clarke, Life of Kai was born.
“I’m lucky to have an amazing passionate Tuakana and team of Mel and Linda-Lee in the consumer advocate space. Without their support and trust this would not have come to fruition. It all came together with Nic Clarke’s passion for Te Whare Tapa Whā and whānau wellbeing.”
Launched in October 2025 during Mental Health Awareness Week, Life of Kai is now onto its fourth cohort.
Each group wānanga runs over five weeks and continues to grow and change based on feedback about what participants find helpful.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far,” says Alex, “Participants often tell us they have gained confidence, learned practical skills they can use at home, improved their understanding of healthy eating and appreciated the supportive environment.”
When asked about one of his favourite moments so far, Alex says he can’t pick just one but says watching whānau gain overall confidence is up there.
“Seeing someone gain confidence and prepare a meal they never thought they could make and feeling proud of themselves is always special,” he smiles.