Hawaii Food & Wine Festival

It’s known as the premier epicurean destination event in the Pacific, an annual festival co-founded by Chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong.

The Hawaii Food and Wine Festival started with an event on Maui last weekend and has been going on all week long, with wine tastings, cooking demos, and field trips.

They’re some of the biggest names in food world.

19 celebrity chefs from Hawaii, the mainland, and around the globe are here in Hawaii to create gastronomic delights showcasing local ingredients.

“Lobsters from the Big Island, tomatoes from here, all my herbs are from the island,” Chef Chris Cosentino Said.

“The true essence of what we do is to cook with what we have, and that’s what cooking is about,” says Chef Mark “Gooch” Noguchi.

“Mr. Kenney cooked this amazing sandwich with nori and poi. It was just amazing, and tasted like a desert and savory, just delicious,” attendee Sherrie Straus Fogel said.

At $200 a ticket, folks could eat to their hearts content, sampling not only food but also wine.

Onion Fun in the Sun

Drawing in the crowds as usual will be the 23rd annual Maui Onion Festival Saturday at Whalers Village Fine Shops & Restaurant at Kaanapali Resort.

With continuous entertainment on two stages, it’s always a draw because it’s fun for the whole family.

Highlights include the Maui Onion Eating Contests for keiki and adults, live music, cooking contests, chef demos with free food samples, other food booths, a beer garden and vendors.

Admission and parking are free and the fun activities will run all day long from 9:45 a.m. until after dark.

“Whalers Village signature event since 1990, Maui Onion Festival will be even more dynamic than ever, summoning the creativity of Hawaii’s greatest chefs, and drawing a crowd for free culinary samples and a fun-packed day,” says organizer Lisa Donlon, who is also the mall’s marketing manager.

“Here’s a chance to learn about Maui’s top upcountry agricultural crop through the dazzling interpretations of our island chefs and the great restaurants of Kaanapali. The highlights are many, including prime retail offers, music, and entertainment – which will provide a perfect balance for all that good food.”

Do stroll around the expansive mall with outdoor walkways and check out the Beach Front Lawn area as well as the Center Stage.

Kauai festival celebrates isle food

GARDEN ISLAND RANGE & FOOD FESTIVAL
» Place: Kilohana Pavilion, Kilohana Plantation, 3-2087 Kaumualii Highway, Lihue, Kauai

» Date: Next Sunday

» Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

» Cost: $35 per person; $17.50 for children ages 6 through 12; free for kids age 5 and under. Tickets are available online and at 22*North, Larry’s Music Center in Kapaa, the Ukulele Shop in Koloa, Wrangler’s Steakhouse in Waimea, Scotty’s Music in Kalaheo, Hanalei Music’s Strings & Things in Hanalei, and Kawamura Farm and Deli & Bread Connection in Lihue.

» Phone: 338-0111

» E-mail: barbara@kauaikai.org

» Website: www.kauaifoodfestival.com

For once, Olivia Wu was at a loss for words. In 2005 the staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Food and Wine section was on deadline for a story about eating locally grown food. Needing a catchy word to describe supporters of the movement, she sought ideas from Jessica Prentice, a respected professional chef, cooking teacher and author in the Bay Area who had been her primary interview for the piece.

Prentice coined the term “locavore,” based on the Latin words “locus,” meaning “place,” and “vorare,” “to devour.” Foodies embraced the term, and in 2007 the New Oxford English Dictionary chose it as its Word of the Year.

Chefs celebrate local meats at Taste of Hawaiian Range

Meat lovers are invited to “graze” at Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island on Sept. 10.

Locally raised lamb, mutton, goat, pork and beef will be prepared at 30 food stations manned by premier Hawaii chefs. They will serve up dishes using a variety of meat cuts — everything from beef tongue to oxtail.

Also on display will be educational exhibits relating to agriculture and sustainability.