Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Samoan chef Henry Lafi Onesemo has taken out New Zealand’s top chef title, with judges praising the way he brings his culture and traditions to the fine-dining table.

The TALA chef is being recognized for bringing Samoan culture, tradition, and hospitality to fine dining, helping reshape how Pacific food is seen.

Onesemo was named New Zealand’s Chef of the Year at the 2026 Cuisine Good Food Awards in Auckland on Monday night, adding another major honor to an already remarkable run for his Parnell restaurant, TALA.

The 23-seat restaurant, which Onesemo runs with his wife Debby, has also retained its coveted Three Hat ranking for a second year and places it among just six restaurants in the country to receive the top Cuisine rating this year.

But for Onesemo, the recognition is about more than awards.

Samoan chef Henry Onesemo has been named New Zealand’s Chef of the Year after another standout year for his Parnell restaurant, TALA. [Photo/Supplied]

Cuisine judges highlighted how his Samoan upbringing, childhood memories, village traditions, local ingredients, and ancestral cooking methods shape the experience at TALA.

They also recognized his leadership in the hospitality industry, his mentoring of young chefs and his work promoting Pacific culture through food.

Onesemo, who is from Malaemalu in Falealili, has made it his mission to show Samoan food can belong on the world's biggest fine-dining stages without losing its identity.

He says retaining Three Hats is a credit to the small team behind TALA.

“To achieve 3 Hats again this year is huge, and testament to our small but amazing, dedicated team in the kitchen and front of house who always go the extra mile to make sure every guest at TALA experiences the best of fa’asamoa while they are with us,” he says.

The Chef of the Year award comes after a series of international milestones for Onesemo.

In March, TALA was named among TIME magazine's World’s Greatest Places for 2026.

Then in June, it became the first Samoan restaurant to receive a Michelin star when the Michelin Guide launched in Aotearoa.
At TALA, diners of Samoan culture and hospitality, with dishes drawing on contemporary techniques are used to tell those stories.

An umu is also prepared during service, bringing a distinctly Samoan tradition into a modern fine-dining setting.

Onesemo has said the goal is not to change food to fit fine dining but to challenge what fine dining can be.

Following the Michelin win, he told William Terite on Pacific Mornings: “Maybe Samoan food is changing what fine dining is instead of fine dining trying to change Samoan food.” 

The latest award builds on TALA’s earlier success. It was named New Restaurant of the Year and received Two Hats at the 2024 Cuisine Good Food Awards, before moving up to Three Hats in 2025.

Last year, Onesemo also became the first Samoan chef recognized at The Best Chef Awards, receiving the One Knife — Excellent distinction in Milan.

Now, less than three years after TALA opened, Onesemo says the latest honor brings him back to the reason he and Debby started the restaurant.

“This was the goal for us in opening TALA – to show that Samoa’s food could sit alongside the best in the world,” Onesemo says.

For Onesemo, that ambition is no longer just a goal. His Samoan food, culture and hospitality are now recognized among the best in Aotearoa and on the world stage.