Karena & Kasey’s Kitchen Diplomacy

Karena and Kasey Bird, winners of MasterChef, challenged themselves to a global culinary adventure in the first season of Karena and Kasey's Kitchen Diplomacy. These self-taught Maori chefs left their comfort zone to explore 10 exotic destinations, including Asia, Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas, and promote their culture through their unique cuisine.

In each episode, Karena and Kasey venture to a new location, where they face the challenge of adapting their cooking style to local tastes and customs. They also gained insights into indigenous cultures and cuisines from around the world, leaving their own distinctive New Zealand Māori footprint in each place they visited. Their humour, talent, and bold attitude won them the "Best Lifestyle Programme" award at the New Zealand Television Awards.

Season One destinations: Indonesia, India, America, China, Japan, Italy, Chile, New Caledonia, Korea, Vietnam.

‍

Series Two:

After the success of their first season, Karena and Kasey embarked on another global culinary journey in the second season of Karena and Kasey's Kitchen Diplomacy. Armed with the lessons they learned in season one, the sisters travelled to 10 more destinations, including Thailand, the USA, Argentina, Fiji, Hawaii, Ireland, Malaysia, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan, to connect with local cultures through food.

In each episode, Karena and Kasey showcased their culinary skills by adapting their cooking to local customs using fresh, rare ingredients. They also revealed more of their personalities and their special relationship as sisters, making the show not only entertaining but also insightful. Their exceptional cooking even impressed Michelin-star chefs, making the series an award-winning offering.