I thought the word and the definition sounded beautiful, but then I also learned that it was coined in 2017 and has been accused of imposing outside culture. Namely, here is a criticism I found on Twitter and Reddit but without further attribution or detail:

Just wanted to share and see what the community thought about it.

  • @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    English
    378 months ago

    Oh, the direct direct translation is “food house” (not house of food - wharekai) which any kiwi kid should be able to translate directly; spoken as “eater of houses” so I loved hearing that.

    Hes nearly a teen so accurate AF.

    As I say, deeper meanings.