Miami chef connects with Hawaii culinary students

Michelle Bernstein brought the unique flavors of South America-meets-Miami to the tables of Leahi Concept Kitchen last week as part of the restaurant’s Master Chefs series.

Each dinner in the series starts with an educational component, exposing culinary students from the Kapiolani Community College-run restaurant to super-star chefs from around the globe and to cuisines that would normally require a hefty travel budget to experience firsthand. Honolulu diners get to taste the results when the chefs and students collaborate.

While much of Miami’s cuisine is influenced by spices of the Caribbean, Bernstein, a James Beard Foundation Award winner and author of “Cuisine a Latina,” explained that with her Argentinian- Uruguayan roots, “We have a softer, more sensitive palate, we don’t do spicy.”

She’s adapted to the Miami flavor profile by adding spices and acids to her dishes, “but it’s still not too spicy.”

Her dinner opened with a Cuban- style rabo encendido tostada of braised tomato and oxtail stew. Other dishes were seared octopus a la plancha that had been marinated in jalapenos for hours, served over a white gazpacho with almonds and cashews; opakapaka with leeks braised with Portuguese sausage and served with another Cuban classic of mojo de ajo, a citrus-garlic sauce; a two-day brined chicken roulade with apple and foie gras filling; ending with dessert of banana tres leches (three milks) cake. The three milks were sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and heavy cream, finished with very adult bourbon gel and a crispy topping of candied corn flakes.

Though very different from Hawaii’s Asian-American cuisine, the richness and touches of sweetness in the dishes could easily be appreciated here.

Bernstein, who also was in town to participate in the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival, said she tries to offer an educational component whenever she travels to a food event. “I appreciate the students because they want to learn, and as chefs we always want to teach. Feeding a young mind is such a delicious thing.”

She’s been an annual visitor to Hawaii for four years, since her husband, David Martinez, persuaded her to take a look at the 50th state, where he spent five years attending Hawaii Pacific University.

“It was all new to me. Miami is not only far from Hawaii in hours, but also culturally. I knew nothing about its history, and I told him, ‘It’s hot here already, why would I want to go so far to go to another beach?’”

He finally convinced her to give Hawaii a try on their honeymoon 11 years ago.

“It was far and exotic enough in my mind so we did it, and once I got a taste, it was hard not to come back. There’s a spirit here you can’t find anywhere else and I’m learning it. Everybody’s so lovely and so open and approachable.

“It’s the quasi opposite of South Florida, where people have a reputation for being passionate, but they’re not really friendly. If you look at them on the street they’ll cringe. They’ll think something’s wrong with you.

“The moment I get to baggage claim here, I feel light, like this crazy weight has lifted from my shoulders. Everything is so laid back.”

That bit of decompression was needed as she returns home to Art Basel, the prestigious international art event that draws 300,000 visitors to Miami, more than the Super Bowl. As caterer to the event, she’ll be introducing four pop-up restaurants open from Dec. 6 through 10.

As for the food here, she admits to a fondness for ramen, malasadas and Rainbow Drive-In plate lunches. “I love the never-ending use of shoyu, sugar and that you guys aren’t afraid of fat. Eating here is really making me fat. I feel like a kid in a candy store.”

Her Hawaii finds may eventually make their way into an extensive repertoire that started with cooking alongside her Argentine-Jewish mother.

“Every night we had something different. It might have been arroz con pollo with olives and peppers, Milanese pounded veal with applesauce braise, or gnocchi served with a dollar under the plate for good fortune.

“I have a pretty big glossary of recipes. I don’t think there’s anything I can’t make. I make a good kalbi.”