Meet Pairama Wright: Kitchen Wizz and Authentic Personality
Pairama Wright puts his love of food at the centre of everything he does. From experimenting in the kitchen for the people he loves, to sharing fresh recipes with his audience and hunting down must-try spots to eat out, food is always the starting point.
Showing up online as his authentic self has been key to Pairama’s success. With over 15 million likes on TikTok, he weaves in fitness, mahi toi (art), and Mātauranga Māori in a way that feels warm, accessible, and real.
What kind of content do you create?
I centre everything I do around food. If I'm doing a day in the life, I'll show what I’m eating. When I eat out, I try new places – places people haven't been before, places I've seen recommended online. If I’m cooking, of course, I’m showing how it’s done.
I've been starting to implement a bit of my personal life into my content as well. Some fitness stuff, sharing my mahi toi (art), as well as some Mātauranga Māori (values) and Reo (language) content.
We love how you show up as authentically you online. How do you block out the noise, and just be you?
Authenticity online, to me, comes from quite a deep place. There was definitely a time in my life where I didn't really know who I was. I didn't know anything about my history, my ancestors, all of that stuff. I spent a good period of my life understanding that inherently.
So I think when it comes to making content on social media, you can't not show up authentically as yourself. It almost feels a bit weird. It's really easy to make content that you know is just going to perform well, but when there's a bit of self-love, there's an understanding of your identity so the second you set that camera up to start filming, it feels really easy to be you.
Ultimately, authenticity online is a matter of understanding who you are and making sure that you're confident in that person being shared with the world.
We can tell that you cook with love. Where does your passion for food come from?
My passion for food actually comes from my mum! Back in the day she would always let me cook in the kitchen – I don't know why she was trusting 12 year old me to just jump in the kitchen and start baking up food!?
My mum valued freedom in the kitchen, she was never intimidated by it. She would always just be like “yeah, you've got it!”
I think she wanted me to have that experience as a kid from an early age. Also, obviously I like food and sometimes I eat food that I don't like and I'm like, well, I'm gonna make it myself, so I know I'm going to like it!
“Authenticity online is a matter of understanding who you are and making sure that you're confident in that person being shared with the world.” - Pairama
Where do you get your recipes from? Passed down by family, or finding inspo online?
Most of my recipe inspiration comes from social media! I'll be scrolling and I'll see something and think “oh, that's cool but how can I mess with this a little bit? “
Also, when I eat out I think “oh, I don't want to pay $30 for those every single time” so I'll go home and make it for half the price. It's the equivalent of your mum saying “no, we've got McDonald's at home.”
Another place I get inspiration from is on the marae. Every Māori has an auntie or an uncle that's an amazing cook. No matter what they do, it tastes good!? I want to be that person so I try and channel them in my recipes when I'm cooking.
Many people find cooking overwhelming and don’t know where to start. What’s your best advice for beginners in the kitchen?
My best advice for beginners in the kitchen is to not take yourself too seriously. Just remember, you're only cooking for you and your whānau, you are not cooking for Gordon Ramsay. Take that pressure off yourself!
If the recipe says 50g of butter but you've only got 45, just chuck it in and it's going to be okay! You know, I think for some reason we've grown up with this understanding that like, recipes really like they make or break and it's not the case.
Don't be afraid to experiment, start exploring new ideas and new concepts. When you start doing that, you learn so much! I made some cookies yesterday, they actually had the texture of a cookie I've been trying to get and it was because I added an extra egg.
You implement Mātauranga Māori into your daily life. What does that look like for you?
One thing I love to do is implement values and concepts of Te Ao Māori into my everyday life. “Me rāhiri te mōhio koe ko wai koe, nō hea koe, e ahu mai koe, e hea” meaning if you know who you were, where you come from, who you come from – that is projected into your everyday life. I apply that concept to every single thing that I do!
So in the kitchen you've got manaakitanga – the idea of making food, feeding your whānau and making them feel at home. When you get visitors coming, feeding them. It's a way of connecting each other.
When you go on to your marae, not only do we eat as part of the formal processes, it's also a show of manaakitanga. It's the way in which we show love, we extend aroha to our whānau and the people we care about – that's one concept.
So if you look at all the other mātāpono (values) of Te Ao Māori, the idea is that if you live and breathe those, they'll come out in everything you do. Hopefully they show in my content, that is the ultimate goal for me!
Photo from @donebypai.
“Don't be afraid to experiment, start exploring new ideas and new concepts! You are not cooking for Gordon Ramsay.” - Pairama
To see more of Pairama, visit him on social media or check out his talent page.
