Food

Fijian Lovo Holiday Party

Aileen Torres-Bennett
  • The party gets started.
  • Our gardener shows off the saqa (trevally) before scaling and removing gills.
  • Unearthing the saqa, palusami and root crops.
  • Preparing the kava.
  • Kava time.
  • The saqa in braided coconut palm frond.
  • Ready to eat.

We hosted a Christmas party on Friday with a traditional Fijian lovo. The weather held up, and we had a good time gathering outside, seated on mats, as is customary in Fijian get-togethers.

We had a saqa (Fijian term for trevally) delivered in the morning for the lovo. It was beautiful. Our gardener scaled it and braided a coconut palm frond around it before cooking it in the lovo (this technique seals in the moisture and lets in the smoke). The saqa was the star of the show.

Someone brought miti, a Fijian sauce of coconut cream and moli, to the party, and it was a perfect complement to the fish, chicken and root crops from the lovo.

“This is a real Fijian meal,” declared one of our guests.

Published by Aileen Torres-Bennett

Aileen Torres-Bennett is a writer with a master of science degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City. She has written for AP, Reuters and Travel + Leisure. Aileen is also an artist. All content on her site was created by Aileen Torres-Bennett, unless otherwise specified. References to material on the site should credit Aileen Torres-Bennett and link to the site.