Auckland mates Charlie Farrelly-Gruar and John 'Seymore' Harrison share a passion for delicious kai and deep kōrero.
As the Eggplant Boys, their delicious recipes and fun cooking videos are winning people over on Instagram.
John Harrison, aka Seymore and Charlie Farrelly-Gruar Photo: The Eggplant Boys
Charlie, who previously worked as a tattoo artist, tells Kathryn Ryan he learnt how to cook from his mum.
"She had this amazing ability to put love into all her meals and create magic with what seemed like minimal effort."
When Charlie's mother died in 2019, he wanted to use cooking as a way to stay connected with her memory and what she believed in.
"She was a psychiatrist so she had a love for helping people with their mental battles … and we kind of use food in the same way - to throw people together and facilitate conversations and openness, vulnerability and all that."
Around the same time, Seymore, who'd been DJing for years, knew he needed a career change.
He thought about what he loved doing - and cooking was it.
"It's so simple and it made me feel so much more again. I wanted to share that with my friends that follow me on Instagram … and then linked up with charlie and we became the eggplant boys through the help of a mutual friend."
It's a powerful thing to realise that you can figure out your passion and change direction later in life, Charlie says.
"There's usually transferable skills you learn growing up just by being a human being in the world that you can use to put into your passions once you figure out what they are. And there's no real timeframe for when that happens to you.
"I was running a tattoo shop and that was awesome … I still love the space but it kind of made me realise what I wanted to put my energy into and what was going to give me fulfilment at the end of the day when I got home.
"There's nothing better than creating a meal for loved ones or even strangers and seeing joy in their faces with new flavours and ingredient combinations… it's an amazing thing to be able to provide people."
Once the ball was rolling, and Charlie and Seymore became the Eggplant Boys, they had to think about what their voice was going to be.
Part of "being the change they wanted to see in the world" is using te reo Māori as they cook and chat, Charlie says.
In a new six-part series, he and Seymore invite a guest into their kitchen to chat about their own relationship with food.
First up is comedian Joe Daymond who holds lasagne close to his heart. The Eggplant Boys create their own "crazy" version.
When you're in the kitchen it's crazy how easily chat can transition into deep conversation, adds Seymore.
Cooking skills and speaking from the heart can be part of positive masculinity, he says.
"It's good to be masculine but what's positive and what's the best way to show that? Definitely having conversations with loved ones is one of those ways."
The Eggplant Boys are also about showing people that can be fun and easy to get creative with meal-making, Charlie says.
"We want to show people that they can be creative in the kitchen easily and remove people's fear of cooking for themselves.
"I know a lot of people in our generation are kind of whakamā [embarrassed] about going into the kitchen to start with just because they don't want to fail.
"Our approach is there's not really a fail point if you are just being creative. If you're just playing around you can't really fail."
Next up, the Eggplant Boys hope to do some pop-up restaurants at events to reach their audience in person.
"That's our biggest love is showing people new things and experiences and hopefully inspiring them to not only cook for themselves but to look at life like we are looking at life.
"You can have different backgrounds and speak completely different languages but you're tasting the same thing. You can be like 'yeah, this is good, you know? It breaks down barriers, it breaks ice and from there conversation just flows."
Three delicious recipes Eggplant Boys have recently shared on Instagram:
Recipe: Eggplant Parmigiana, Roast Chicken & Yams
Here's a meal straight from Charlie's mum, he stays connected with her memory through food. Fly high Mama Suze 🕊 we miss you every day ❤️
Recipe: Coconut and Carrot Soup
Easy to make plant-based, and super easy to play around with 😊
Recipe: Nacho Beef
Slow-cooked spiced brisket, cheese, nachos, gravy, pickled onions, whatever else you want on top! An easy, delicious showstopper. 🔥🔥
