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Poke (POH’-keh) is alive and well, and so are festivals honoring the Hawaii favorite, not just in Hawaii, but in California, as organized by Ono Yum.
Beloved local chef and TV personality Sam Choy launched his eponymous poke festival in 1992 on Hawaii island, and while the events are not related, the idea has been carried out in San Diego since 2009 with a sister event in Orange County, Calif., added since then.
Nino "Neens" Camilo is a co-founder and organizer of the annual I Love Poke competition and tasting event at Bali Hai Restaurant in San Diego coming up May 26.
He has received more than just an assurance that he’s not stepping on Sam Choy’s toes.
He and Choy have had some recent phone conversations. "Uncle Sam … basically sees that we’re the younger generation. He wants to help us out and pass the baton to us," Camilo said, his voice taking on a different tone.
"It’s such an honor, I was blown away," he said softly.
Kilauea Fish Market in Waipouli, Kauai, will participate as a competitor in the contest, pitting its best recipe against professional chefs, many with Hawaii ties. Competitors come from the gamut of venues, from fine-dining to mom-and-pop operations.
Participating chef Keoni Simmons of Sushi on a Roll is a California native, but his family is from Laupahoehoe on the Big Island.
Other participating chefs include Dion Morales of Bali Hai Restaurant, which is hosting the event; Kurt Metzger from Kitchen 4140; Alvanette Pacheco from Specialty Produce, one of last year’s winners; and 13 others.
Pacheco, from Oahu, "did a watermelon poke with coconut cream, and it flipped everybody out," Camilo said. It was garnished with coconut flakes instead of ogo, a type of seaweed. "She just did that for fun and wound up winning. It’s fun to see," Camilo said.
All competitors are responsible for sourcing their own seafood and ingredients, and most will do so in their own local areas. However, there are specific ingredients that are hard to find in California, and those will be provided by Hawaii companies including seafood from Garden and Valley Seafood or Tropic Fish, and produce from Kauai Growers Exchange or Esaki’s.
Another 15 restaurants participate and create anything but poke, from Korean barbecue tacos to malasadas to shave ice, Camilo said.
"It’s kind of an update to the luau, or giving people’s taste buds a (Hawaii) vacation for three hours," he said. For Hawaii expats it might feel like being home for an evening.
There is always musical entertainment, and organizers’ hope is that it will be such a relaxed, kani ka pila-type backyard environment that people will be compelled to spontaneously dance hula.
"The biggest compliment we get, outside from the food, is the vibe of the whole event," Camilo said. "The mix of people we have is super fun. They come from all over."
A group is coming in from San Francisco, while others fly in from Las Vegas and even the islands, he said. Some 800 attendees are expected, and the event always sells out, as do the 500 tickets for the Orange County event.
"We’re going for more of a quality event than quantity," Camilo said, adding that "I don’t want to be super cliche, but it’s like all the aloha spirit coming together for one night."
Camilo started learning hula in his family’s halau "from a very young age," and his network of family members and surfing- and food-connected friends stretches from the islands to California.
He was born and raised in the latter but has family in Kaneohe and Waipahu and is a regular visitor, he told TheBuzz. Event host "Sumo" Sato now lives in California but attended Castle High School.
Camilo didn’t start out in the food business. "I’m a marketing guy from the surfing industry," he said. He got into the food world by "accident" during the economic downturn.
Forced to find a new source of income, he created a map of Southern California detailing where all the plate lunch restaurants were. "I called it the musubi map," he said, "and from that launched a blog site, ilovemusubi.com."
Since then he and partners decided the musubi and plate lunch focus was too narrow.
They have renamed the venture Ono Yum, calling it a California-Hawaii lifestyle brand.
"So many of us travel back and forth, and we can all relate. If you’re in Hawaii, you’re going to Rainbow Drive-in or Leonard’s, and in California you’re eating Mexican food or going to In-N-Out Burger," Camilo chuckled.
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On the Net:
» www.onoyum.com
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
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COURTESY BRYSON KIM