Features

Preserving & Progressing Hawaii’s Food Culture

Preserving & Progressing Hawaii’s Food Culture

For chef Brian Hirata, preserving Hawaii’s food culture and progressing local cuisine — through sustainable practices and local ingredients — will perpetuate the culinary hertiage for Hawaii’s future. Launched in June 2019, Naau Hilo puts into practice Hirata’s philosophy by utilizing the fine-dining to showcase wild and locally sourced ingredients and facilitating an “understanding and appreciation of the food, people and cultures that make Hawaii so special.” Beginning with pop-up experiences, collaborations and private dinners, Naau Hilo continues to strive forward amidst the global pandemic that threatens the culinary industry in Hawaii and beyond.

Chef’s Knives: Explained

Chef’s Knives: Explained

“I was always told to use the proper tool for the proper job,” said chef Michael Mina, reflecting on the importance of correct knife use in the kitchen. Many chefs, including Mina, have perfected their knife skills to create the best dishes possible. “The saying was always small job, small knife, large job, large knife.” Knives are a very important chef’s tool, and the different types of knives as well as the different cuts are concepts that every chef, even those just starting at home, should understand.

Golden Age of Bordeaux

Golden Age of Bordeaux

In 2016, the festival received a call from the wife of a late wine collector. Her husband had passed away recently and she had almost 300 bottles of wine that he had collected over 35 years. She wanted to donate them to the festival to support the non-profit’s mission to fund culinary training for aspiring chefs and edible education curriculum for elementary school students, programs in line with her late husband’s goals as an educator.

A Day in Kula, Maui

A Day in Kula, Maui

Spending a day near the beautiful Haleakala mountainside or driving past acres of upcountry Maui vegetation is a wonderful and unique way to experience the Hawaiian islands. While in Kula, you can learn about Hawaiian history and land, meet people who help feed our community, and enjoy the view of the island of Maui from 3,200 feet up.

The Next Movement

The Next Movement

As the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival toasts its fifth anniversary, raise your glass to the state’s next agricultural and culinary movement.

Twenty-five years after 12 island chefs put the Aloha State on the foodie map with Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC), the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival (HFWF) has been declared “the next agricultural and culinary movement in the State of Hawaii.”