Glenville Knap (right) on Rora, St Te Kūiti with Patrick Maikuku (left) and Maniapoto FM’s Te Aroa Pou. Photo Sigrid Christiansen
Glenville Knap is the inspiration behind two of this year’s My Kitchen Rules television show contestants.
He puts daughter Piki Knap and her cousin Michael Murray’s “bubbly” success on the show down to love of family and cooking together.
The winners of the show were Emily Heeney and Nathan Loo of Auckland.
Glenville is a descendent of Ngāti Ranginui and describes himself as an ‘honorary Maniapoto’. He and his late wife raised Piki and Michael in rural King Country.
“I feel very proud to be the dad of Piki and the uncle of Michael,” he said. “They were ambassadors for Te Kūiti and for Māori.”
He spoke with The News to talk about the family food culture, which began in a homestead where food was cooked on a coal range.
It’s not hard to see where Piki and Michael got their inspiration – Glenville specialises in desserts: from his ‘flying saucer’ giant pancakes, banana cakes, and the steamed pudding served to thousands in the wharekai at Te Kūiti Pā over the years.
“He does the best pudding in Maniapoto, up at the marae,” friend Patrick Maikuku added, with enthusiastic support from Maniapoto FM’s Te Aroa Pou.
He also enjoys making bully beef and flatbread. At first, his late wife Marlene Potahi Wikio cooked it for the family, but eventually she asked him to take over. So Piki and Michael’s cooking skills came from both parents, he said.
“Their mother would have shown them a lot, but they got a bit of an input from me as well.”
He remembers first showing Piki how to make banana cake:
“And from then on, hers were always better than mine.”
Glenville put their elimination from the show down to a mismatch.
“To me, I think it was just the food they cooked didn’t suit the environment. They ended up with one of the lower scores, but overall, I think they were the bubbliest personalities on the show.”
“It was lovely to see Piki’s personality to come out on the screen – lovely to watch.”
“I find her a loving daughter, very much,” he said.
“She always rings up to see how I’m getting on – she comes down and takes me out to dinner or lunch or whatever.”
When it comes to food he doesn’t believe in being fussy.
“Whatever’s in front of you, on your plate, you eat it.”
And to Glenville, cooking itself is a responsibility, rather than an interest.
“It’s not a passion – it’s what you do,” he said.
