Vote HFWF in USA Today poll

Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival photo
Among local chefs involved in the. Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival are co-founders Alan Wong, left, and Roy Yamaguchi, right, and between them, Mark Noguchi, Lee Anne Wong and George Mavrothalassitis. Now they're asking you to vote for the festival as best in the nation in a USA Today poll.

Sunshine. Beaches. Food and wine selections from an international roster of top chefs and sommeliers. What's not to love about the Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival?

We've always known Hawaii is epicenter of world-class culinary events and word is getting out about the festival that, since 2011, has raised $1.3 million for local culinary and agricultural programs. HFWF is in the running for a USA Today poll looking for the Best Wine Festival in the USA Today 10 Best Poll.

HFWF has a good head start, currently in 2nd place out of 20 candidates and is hoping fans will push the festival into the top spot over the next two days.

Voting is open through 5:59 a.m. Aug. 15, Hawaii time. Here's the link to vote: 10best.com/awards/travel/best-wine-festival/hawaii-food-wine-festival-honolulu.

No need to enter email or personal information. Just click on "Vote."

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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her food coverage is in print in Wednesday's Crave section. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

HFWF Watch: 'Chopstix & Cocktails' at The Modern

Nadine Kam photos
This foie gras macaron was prepared by chef Keith Pajinag from host hotel, the MODERN Honolulu.

BY NADINE KAM

The MODERN Honolulu welcomed 15 chefs and 15 winemakers and mixologists to take part in the second night of Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival on Oahu.

“Chopstix & Cocktails” took place throughout the property, with food and drink served on the Sunrise and Sunset pool decks and in the Sun Suites overlooking the Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

Dishes by the international roster of chefs were inspired by Asian cuisine and intended to be eaten with chopsticks.

The event is always a great opportunity for food fans to mix and mingle with their favorite chefs, whose passion for what they do also makes them so entertaining. I just started Periscoping and it was fun to talk to chefs Elizabeth Falkner and Bobby Chinn, even if the videos only live online for 24 hours.

In Bobby’s case, he may be happy that his rendition of the hula and mangling “Mele Kalikimaka” doesn’t live on. Coming all the way from London’s House of Ho, the half Chinese/half Egyptian chef told of his family’s roots in the islands, his grandparents living on St. Louis Heights, and of his 6-year birthday party, during which he was serenaded by none other than Don Ho (no relation to the restaurant, where he serves up a contemporary take on Vietnamese cuisine).

Here’s a look at what was on the table:

Continuing the tradition of savory/sweet desserts, New York chef/author Elizabeth Falkner practiced her food alchemy, ladling charred pineapple ice over her dessert of coconut-chia creme with smoked macadamia nuts and passionfruit-soy caramel.

When the liquid “smoke” cleared, we had a better look at what was for dessert.

One of the three original “Iron Chefs” in 1993, Kenichi Chen of Akasaka Szechwan Restaurant, more popularly known as Shisen Hanten, Japan, was there with sone Kentaro Chen. Kenichi Chen is known as Japan’s “Father of Sichuan Cuisine.”

The Chens served up island shrimp two ways, with curry and chili mango sauces.

At chef Jonathan Waxman’s station, a crew member, turns ono over on the grill.

Waxman’s ono was topped with guacamole and Romanesco sauce.

HFWF in house at Foodland Farms for Eat Local Tuesdays

Nadine Kam photos
Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival co-founder Roy Yamaguchi was among the chefs offering a preview of the fall foodie event during Foodland’s most recent “Eat Local Tuesdays” tasting.

BY NADINE KAM

In partnership with Foodland’s “Eat Local Tuesdays” tasting series, representatives from the Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival were at Foodland Farms Aina Haina on Aug. 11 to whet shoppers’ appetites for the full-range of epicurean and wine-centric events starting Aug. 29 on the Big Island, before moving on to Maui and arriving back on Oahu on Sept. 9 through 13.

Chef and HFWF co-founder Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s Restaurant), Keoni Chang (Foodland Supermarket), Mark Noguchi (Pili Group) and Colin Hazama (Royal Hawaiian Hotel) were paired with local farmers and food purveyors including MAʻO Organic Farms, Ho Farms, Hawaiian Crown, and Wow Farm, to offer up tasty bites, sips and curated wine pairings.

Just as in past years, the festival started by Yamaguchi and chef Alan Wong will welcome more than 100 internationally renowned master chefs, culinary personalities, and wine and spirit producers. Funds raised will support local beneficiaries committed to sustainability and cultural and educational programs in Hawaii.
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Visit hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com for the full schedule and ticket information.


Non-flash video

Foodland launched its “Eat Local Tuesdays” tasting series to promote local produce and products, in line with HFWF’s mission to support Hawaii’s culinary scene, farmers, food products and promote sustainability.

Roy served up curry-coated New Zealand salmon topped with crunchy bubu arare, served with WOW Farm tomatoes and shallot sambal.

Shoppers had the opportunity to sample beer with flavors such as sweet potato and banana.

Colin Hazama, who recently made the move from the Sheraton Waikiki to executive chef position at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, shows his dish, also below, a Taste of Tuscan Twin Bridge Farms starting with ahi prosciutto, with tomato sorbet, Waialua asparagus ribbons and caponata.

Pili Group’s Mark Noguchi with HFWF development manager Aya Nishihara.

The Pili Group offered up refreshing lime and Waiola coconut water-pineapple shooters with Kohana Rum and a cloud of dry ice emanating from the blender before the pour.

OnoPops Josh Lanthier-Welch served up bites of his Kona coffee and butter mochi paletas, perfect on a very hot day. 12th Ave. Grill's Kevin Hanney was also there sharing his very popular Koko Head Foods smoked ahi spread.

Keoni Chang served up lettuce wraps, below, with grilled fish, Ho Farms tomatoes, shiso relish and cucumber dill sauce.

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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.

HFWF gives back with $200,000 check presentations

Nadine Kam photos
In the front row, from left, Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts associate professor Alan Tsuchiyama, Culinary Institute of the Pacific director Conrad Nonaka, University of Hawaii Vice President of Community Colleges John Morton, and chef Roy Yamaguchi, show the $80,000 check presented by the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific.

Now that we've cleared all of winter's major holidays, the founders and directors of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival took time out to host a Mahalo Reception for festival partners and participants, and a check presentation of more than $200,000 at Kapiolani Community College's Ka Ikena restaurant on Feb. 4.

During the September 2012 festival, 4,000 visitors and residents from around the world enjoyed 50,000 portions of food served up at 15 events at six venues on Oahu featuring 61 chefs, four master sommeliers, 25 winemakers and 31 local farmers, artisan food producers and innovators. More than 200 culinary students from Kapiolani Community College, Leeward Community College, Maui College, and Kauai Community College put in 23,000 hours working side-by-side with some of the most respected names in the industry.

As promised during the fall event, funds raised from a week of HFWF events will benefit culinary education in the islands, as well as organizations working toward long-term sustainability and agricultural integrity. The 2012 beneficiaries were: Hawai'i Agricultural Foundation ($80,000), Culinary Institute of the Pacific ($80,000), Leeward Community College Culinary ($30,000), Paepae o He'eia ($10,000), and Papahana Kuaola ($10,000).

Hawaii Food & Wine Festival co-founders and co-chairs Alan Wong, left, and Roy Yamaguchi, with executive director Denise Hayashi.

With all but $1 million left to be raised for the construction of the new Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head, University of Hawaii Vice President of Community Colleges John Morton announced that the school system will put Phase I of construction of classes and labs out for bid in the next two to three week.

The great thing about the association with the culinary program is that students were tasked with coming up with pupu for the event, so guests could gauge the return on those dollars. The food was amazing, certainly equal to the best restaurants in the state and I could see and taste the improvement from just a few years ago, when a chop suey, throw everything in the pan mentality reigned. Our food may not "suck," as Scott Caan so eloquently put it, but could at times be viewed as muddled. I can see where students' direction is now more thoughtful and considered.

After speaking about HFWF, co-founder chef Roy Yamaguchi humbly introduced his co-conspirator and co-chair chef Alan Wong as, "The man who made it all happen," while Wong refused the honor, assuring that it was Roy who did all the work.

Wong reiterated the aim of the festival, which they saw as a way of putting the spotlight on Hawaii, bringing in international media to focus on farmers and "get people thinking and talking about Hawaii," and most importantly, to make the kind of sustainable decisions today so our grandchildren's children can also enjoy the pleasures we enjoy today.

Considering Hawaii's geography and relationship to the ocean and limited land, it would be crazy to ignore the specters of global warming and development. We can see the effects on fish stocks and easily predict a future in which fish is no longer edible and the consequences going up the food chain.

HFWF is continually working to ensure people keep thinking and talking about ways to preserve this culinary paradise. This year, the festival will add a stop on Maui to its calendar, timed to the tail end of Ka'anapali Fresh.

One of the problems of putting out such a beautiful display of greens is that no one wanted to disturb the arrangement.

Cheese and fruit spread.

Braised baby abalone on daikon with miso mustard sauce and micro greens. Loved it!

Spicy kim chee snapper springroll with edamame and wasabi puree, saute of Ho Farm tomato, Ewa sweet corn, sea asparagus and kochujang aioli.

Seared nori ahi on shiso noodles with Hamakua mushroom, crispy taro threads, kabayaki, hot mustard aioli and ginger scallion oil.

Someone took a humorous approach to dessert, serving up cheesecake over green tea cake, to the delight of a marzipan mouse.