Ready for the Hawai'i Food and Wine Festival 2012!

August 31, 2012

If you haven't been to Hawaii lately, you might not be familiar with the food scene there now.

Spending summers on Oahu with my grandparents, I became familiar with what most people know local Hawaii food to be... loco moco, SPAM musubi, saimin and plate lunch served with two scoops rice and one mac salad. Boy have times changed...

Grand Tasting Event*

Hilton Hawaiian Village

Last year, I attended the 1st Annual Hawai'i Food and Wine Festival, hard to believe that was a year ago already... Not only was this a celebration of what the islands have to offer, in terms of the state's bounty of local seafood, produce, beef, pork and poultry, but also to bring in master chefs from all over the world to create dishes highlighting these local ingredients.

Chicken Fried Big Island Quail

with Fearing's Cornbread Pudding

and Texas Barbecue Sauce

Dean Fearing

Fearing's

Dallas

Such a beautiful setting

and wonderful food

Hilton Hawaiian Village

Hawaiian Ginger Braised Maui Cattle

Beef Cheek and Hamakua Mushrooms,

eggplant and tomato

Peter Merriman

Merriman's

Hawai'i

Can you imagine what happens when

farmers and chefs get together?*

Dean Okimoto (Nalo Farms) and Philippe Padovani (Padovani's Grill)

Streets of Asia*

Charles Phan*

The Slanted Door

San Francisco

Masaharu Morimoto*

Morimoto

Worldwide

This year, I'm a guest of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and look forward to what the co-founders/event chairs, Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi, have in store for this premier epicurean destination event in the Pacific. Looking forward to learning more about the locally grown ingredients, cooking demonstrations, unique day trips and other events that they have planned...