Quickbites: ‘Halloween Wars,’ Kona Coffee Cultural Festival

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COURTESY FOOD NETWORK

Kauai pastry chef Orly Yadao, right, was part of the winning team on Food Network’s “Halloween Wars,” which earned $50,000 for their efforts.

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A GHOULISH VICTORY

Kauai pastry chef Orly Yadao was part of a team that won $50,000 in the Food Network’s “Halloween Wars.”

The show’s eighth season wrapped up Sunday with Yadao’s team, Candied Cadavers, the last of six groups to remain standing.

The point of “Halloween Wars” is to create large-scale creepy scenarios using pumpkins, cake and sugar. Each team consists of a master carver, a cake baker and a sugar master — that was Yadao’s part.

Throughout the competition he was praised for his complex sugar designs, which included a range of sea creatures in one episode and his contributions to Sunday’s finale- winning laboratory scene: a row of beakers and a flow of liquid pouring from a flask.

As for that finale, Yadao delivered despite losing his voice and breaking a critical sugar element with little time to spare.

Yadao, former executive pastry chef at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa and The Club at Kukui‘ula, said his prize money will go toward opening his own shop, Orly Patisserie, in Lihue next month.

GIVE A TOAST TO THE ROAST

The 48th Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is Nov. 9 to 18, offering many ways for lovers of the brew to put their best efforts forward in various competitions. Most entry deadlines are Friday.

>> Recipe contest: Enter recipes using pure Kona coffee for cash prizes in professional, amateur, culinary student and keiki divisions. All entrants receive a 2018 festival button and a $25 KTA Super Store grocery certificate. Enter by Friday at konacoffeefest.com/applications.

>> Cupping competition: Open to Kona coffee farmers. Run by Pacific Coffee Research. Enter by Friday at pacificcoffeeresearch.com/cupping competition.

>> Lantern parade: Walk in the procession along Alii Drive, starting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 9, with prizes for different age groups and best overall. Enter by Friday at konacoffeefest.com/ applications

>> Lei contest: Part of the festival Hoolaulea, Nov. 17 at Makaeo County Pavilion. Submit entries by 9 a.m. that day at the pavilion.

For a complete list of festival events go to konacoffeefest.com.

Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.