Last umu

No music. No voiceover. Just umu, because it’s food I keep dreaming about. For the record, my favorite foods from umu are breadfruit and fai’ai i’a, not elegi. For better resolution, watch it on YouTube — link in bio. Short description: If anything changed the way I see food, it was life in Samoa. As someone born and raised in the Czech Republic, I was quite spoiled and picky when it came to food. That started to change when I began travelling, but my perspective on food completely transformed on this little island. I was lucky enough to live in small villages, where we were able to live off the land. And since beginning I loved exploring new flavours and ingredients I have never seen or heard of in my life before and experimenting with wild foods. To Samoans, I will always be just another palagi doing things their way, and I’m okay with that. I never wanted to become Samoan. But I am so incredibly grateful for the three years I spent there. First of all, Samoa changed me, and I became a better person because of the people I met and lived with. Secondly, it gave me the chance to fully explore one of my biggest passions: cooking. Back in Samoa, I ate healthier than at any other time in my life. Everything was as fresh as it could possibly be. More importantly, I had to learn to cook from scratch because many ingredients that are basic back home simply weren’t available. That forced me to experiment and find new ways to recreate familiar flavours using local ingredients. I started making all kinds of fusions, and it was fun. Most of the time, it even tasted good. And then there is the *umu*. A cooking method from ancient times that is still preserved until today. Just fire, stones heated until they glow red, food placed on top, then everything covered with leaves. Simple, slow, and beautiful. I always said I would make one back home. So far I never did. My last umu was in February 2026. I hope I’ll return to Samoa one day. And if I don’t, Samoa will always have a place in my stomach (heart). Filmed in umu kuka in Tiapapata art centre in February 2026 with help of my wife Denisa. Featured cooks: Adam Vilkus (palagi boy) Cilevu Letuuga (best Samoan chef) Faith Jade (best helper and banana peeler) You can also hear voices of our friend Ben Ten and Emily Percival