Finale of 'Farm to Chef' season marks new beginning for Hazama

Nadine Kam photos
Chef Colin Hazama, center, and chef Darren Demaya, far left, presented the finale of the “From Farm to Chef” dinner series at the Sheraton Waikiki’s Edge of Waikiki July 31.

BY NADINE KAM

Colin Hazama chose the finale of the Sheraton Waikiki’s “Flavors of Hawaii: From Farm to Chef” dinner series to make the announcement of a new beginning as he makes the leap from senior executive sous chef at the Sheraton Waikiki Resort to executive chef at sister property the Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort.

It was a bittersweet evening for the chef who started the ambitious dinner series last year, and he had a choked up moment as he thanked his crew for all the support they have shown him during his tenure at the Sheraton.

Not to worry, this won’t be the end of the events that aim to showcase the farmers that make it possible to sustain a culinary scene that is as inviting to sophisticated travelers as it is to us. Hazama has always been an advocate for local farming and other sustainable practices, and is envisioning a Fanta-sea table for the Royal Hawaiian, highlighting aquaponic farming and aquaculture, tentatively beginning 2016.

Ever so humble, as soon as I got there, Hazama goes, “Sorry, you probably wanted to be at Joy of Sake tonight.”

Uh, let’s see. Hazama’s food, table side at the beautiful oceanfront vs. long lines and standing and eating from disposable plates? There was no place else I wanted to be.

The setting.

 A display by the Wailea Agricultural Group featured fruit and spices grown on the Big Island, including cloves, mace, nutmeg, bay leaves, limequats and calamondins, a Mandarin orange and kumquat hybrid.

I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of finger limes around town, easy to serve and accent food and drinks as a sort of fruit caviar.

In the meantime, the finale dinner brought back farmers and their produce highlighted through the course of the series including Ho Farms, Nalo Farms, Twin Bridge Farms, Naked Cow Diary, Shinsato Farms and Wailea Agricultural Group. Chateau St. Michelle and Stags leap provided the wine pairings.

Wailea Ag presented a display table stocked with some of its Big Island produce, including hearts of palm, and an array of citrus fruits and whole spices: nutmeg, cloves, mace and bay leaves. A look at their web site shows cinnamon is coming soon. I was particularly taken by the finger lime, which I’d never seen except for those sensationalistic ads connected to weird Facebook stories that people share. Of course now that I’m looking for one I can’t find it, but the ads usually read, “Eat this and never diet again,” or something along those lines. Clicking on it just sends you to some infomercial.

But the finger lime is a relatively new Hawaii experiment, imported from Australia. As the name implies, it is about the length of a finger or gherkin, in a smooth casing that opens to reveal juicy, citrusy pearls that explode like caviar or ikura on your tongue, which is why it’s often referred to as lime caviar or citrus pop rocks.

I can always count on finding something new at Hazama’s table, and for now I’ll say thank you and see you across the lawn. Congratulations!

Guests started with a small bite of sweet Lanai amaebi dressed with Nalo Farms yuzu, Ho Farms chili, Twin Bridge basil oil, Wailea Ag finger lime 3-caviar relish and Naked Cow Dairy yogurt. Paired with Chateau St. Michelle Riesling, Cold Creek, Columbia Valley 2004, California.

 Next up was tender Shinsato Farms head cheese tonkatsu with Nalo Farms baby spicy greens, pickled persimmon mustard, Ho Farms smoked tomato marmalade and yuzukosho chimichurri. I could eat buckets of that sauce. This dish was paired with Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris, Oregon 2011.

The Taste of Ho Farms salad featured a centerpiece of golden Kahuku and currant tomato gelee, butternut squash, gherkins, purple long beans, pearl onions, and deep-fried okra. Served with Penner Ash Viognier, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2012.

Deconstructed Hawaiian cioppino featured nutmeg- and clove-smoked Hawaiian abalone, Wailea Ag hearts of palm and roasted ulu, Kona Cold mussels and lobster, and Ho Farms tomato-chardonnay coulis. Paired with Joel Gott Pinot Noir, Willamette Valle, Oregon, 2012.

Slow-cooked Molokai venison was served with, below, Waialua tomato fennel compote, Twin Bridge charred red cabbage kraut, melted cabbage butter, drunken sour cherry gastrique and “The Works” twice-baked potato. Accompanied by Stags Leap Wine Cellars Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2012.

The baked potato was based on one of chef Colin’s favorite childhood treats.   

Dessert of Berries Wild marinated berries, Nalo Farms lemon verbena, champagne gelée, and Naked Cow Dairy fromage blanc panna cotta was accompanied by Cookies & Milk, spiced toasted Naked Cow Dairy coconut butter shortbread, raspberry-pomegranate jam, mac nut brittle and smoked Hawaiian sea salt caramel leche.


———
Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Beef tasting just an intro to Wong's aims

Nadine Kam photos
In advance of his next Farmer Series Dinner March 14, Alan Wong hosted a preview of some of the dishes on the menu, and when I requested to go into the kitchen, he was in the process of preparing glazed carrots and turnips.

Alan Wong started a media preview of his next Farmer Series Dinner, taking place March 14, 2012, with the presentation of two equal size beef patties, posing the question, "Which do you like better?"

The beef had been cooked sans salt, pepper or other enhancements for the side-by-side tasting.

Taste comes down to personal preferences, physiology and often, familiarity, so there is no right or wrong answer, but he must have been glad that most of the room preferred the patty on the right, which turned out to be Maui Cattle Co. beef that will be the centerpiece of his Farmer Series dinner, which will also start with side-by-side tastings, followed by appetizers, sous chef Shaun Gaines' "Shrimp and Grits," opakapaka, a tasting of Maui Cattle Co. beef and Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi "Creameux" for dessert, the latter two dishes pictured below.

The other tasting option at the March 7 preview was generic supermarket beef that tasted like fast-food beef. The Maui beef was much sweeter, with better texture, and more interesting grassy, herbal character. The cattle is raised on a vegetarian diet of grasses, and according to Wong, pineapple and molasses, and no antibiotics, growth stimulants or other chemicals.

Wong's simple question of which beef patty one prefers raises all kinds of sustainable and economic issues.

Beyond raising awareness of the flavor profile of different beef, Wong talked about some of his pet projects, such as Aina in Schools, which addresses childhood health issues, nutrition education, agricultural literacy and garden-based learning.

"Things are disappearing in Hawaii," he said. Where once island farms satisfied 70 percent of our dairy needs, that number is down to 30 percent. Bees are disappearing as well.

Maui Cattle Co. beef will be presented four ways at the dinner. In front, braised shortribs with pomme purée of Twin Bridge Farms Patina Potatoes, with red wine glaze made from Wong's merlot. Moving clockwise, there will also be London broil with glazed Maui onions and port wine sauce, ribeye with roasted Ho Farms tomato cluster, and New York strip with glazed turnips from Otsuji Farms and arugula tapenade. The latter was my favorite.

Oceans are also being depleted and he's pushing to encourage people to do aquaponics "to supplement what get from the ocean."

"It's much more than 'which hamburger you like?' he said. "It's getting down to schools, helping kids learn to eat more healthy."

In turn, the children get to taste and appreciate differences between fresh and processed foods, learn to choose healthful foods over sugary snacks, and with the increased food literacy are helping to drive their parents' decisions in the supermarket.

Proceeds from the Farmers Series dinner will benefit Taste of the Nation, the fundraising arm of the national organization Share Our Strength, whose campaign, "No Kid Hungry" aims to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. To date, one out of every four children in the country does not know where his/her next meal will come from, and studies have shown that undernourished children are unable to focus in school and grow up to suffer emotional and health problems.

Among the local beneficiaries are 'Aina in the Schools, a program of the Kokua Foundation, and Hawaii Foodbank.

Polly Kauahi, director of Hawaii Foodbank, Inc., was there to talk about the Food 4 Keiki Backpack Program which launched in 2008 at Kaiulani Elementary School. The program aims to fight childhood hunger, starting by distributing bags packed with nutritious foods once a month to students from low-income families. Since then, the program is delivering the meals every Friday.

The cost of the Farmers Series dinner is $80 per person/$110 with wine. For reservations, call 949-2526.

Also coming up, Wong and 15 local chefs will partner with local farmers in Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation Hawaii, taking place April 29, 2012, at Bishop Museum, from 6 to 9 p.m., with a VIP hour from 5 p.m. Visit www.alanwongs.com for more details about these and other events.

Carrots need space in the pan to achieve an even, glossy sheen.

Chef de Partie Sonny Acosta Jr., will be the featured chef during Alan Wong's Next Generation Dinner taking place March 28, 2012. Among the highlights of this dinner will be his "Poulet au Vinaigre," which he prepared at the 2012 Bocuse d'Or USA Commis Competition at The Culinary Institute of America on Jan. 28. The chefs were invited to reinterpret Paul Bocuse's classic recipe in their style.

Drawing on his Filipino heritage, and growing up with the food of Thelma's in Waipahu, Acosta presented adobo style chicken three ways, including lumpia with ground chicken. It was delicious, could that be because I grew up in Waipahu, too?

After all the meat selections, pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka's dessert was a light, refreshing delight. Her Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi "Creameux" comprised lilikoi curd, foam guava granite and foam coconut granite aerated in a canister to create a soft sponge effect, topped with white candied ginger meringue. That square toward far left comprises mango lassi, muddled mango, mango gelee and fresh mango. Amazing! The meal ended with amazake, a traditional unfiltered sake reinterpreted with Hanaoka Farms lilikoi juice, presented by wine director Mark Shishido.

Wong with new sous chef Shaun Gaines.