Local Plate

No matter whether there are clear, starry nights, if you’re a foodie, the three days of Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 will be star-filled. That’s when some of the world’s top chefs and wine experts will descend upon Honolulu for the inaugural Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, presented by Food & Wine magazine and headed up by Hawaii luminaries Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi. The theme of the event is "Mauka to Makai: Hawaii’s Sustainable Future."

Signature events include gala and grazing dinners that spotlight Hawaii-grown food, prepared by the likes of Stratta’s Alessandro Stratta, Fleur de Lys’ Hubert Keller, Kikunoi’s Yoshihiro Murata, Mozza’s Nancy Silverton and Hawaii’s Vikram Garg, George Mavrothalassitis, Peter Merriman, Philippe Padovani, Yamaguchi and Wong.

The festival benefits the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific.

It is understood that a festival of this stature doesn’t pay mind to economy; instead, it will feature dinner for $1,000 a seat (which, incidentally, is sold out), grazings for $200 and wine events for $100. Other happenings run $40 and up.

If you’re not starry-eyed, your head may be spinning. Sustainability’s all fine and well, you say, but if that’s what it costs, how does one eat consciously AND pay the rent?

It takes a little bit of effort and making a choice or two, say several chefs whose philosophies on sustainability are reflected in their work. Town’s Ed Kenney, Michel Nischan of the Dressing Room in Westport, Conn., and Mark Noguchi of Heeia Kea General Store & Deli will take part in a lineup of events on Sept. 30 centered on the future of food.

"Eating local can be a lot of work and more expensive," admits Kenney. "But maybe you don’t eat that way three times a day. Like they say, you vote with your fork, so make one meal a day count.

"Here’s an example: At MA‘O (Organic Farms) at lunch, you see the kids eating Spam musubi with MA‘O greens. These kids are used to eating just junk food; to see them eating those greens is fantastic. It’s not all or nothing."

For Nischan it’s all about scale. A farm-to-table chef since 1981, Nischan heads up Wholesome Wave, an organization dedicated to making fresh, locally grown food accessible to more people.

"Look, the white-tablecloth diner represents just 5 percent of the restaurant industry. How many people can afford a $30 plate of food?" he asks. "At Wholesome Wave we created a program in which families on food stamps could purchase food from farmers markets. It began on a simple premise: There’s $32 billion in food stamp money. If some of that money was spent at farmers markets, it would really help local producers."

The organization devised a privately funded incentive program that doubles a recipient’s food stamp money if some of it is spent at a farmers market. To date, 25 states are participating, and a pilot program is coming this year to one Hawaii community yet to be selected.

"The idea is that the state and media see how well the program works, and local funding follows," says Nischan. "We think there is about $1 billion in Hawaii food stamp money. Imagine if one-fourth of that money could be spent on local crops."

Noguchi is a staunch proponent of sustainability, but he’s low key about talking up his philosophy to customers. He lets the quality of the products inspire action.

"My kuleana as chef/owner is to slide in, if you will, local products and let customers see how good they are," he says.

Recently, for instance, a customer ordered a plate that included purslane, a succulent with a sweet-sour flavor.

"He came back and held up a leaf and asked, ‘What’s this? It’s so good.’ Then he came back in the following week and told us he planted purslane in his yard."

But Noguchi is doing much more than just cooking delicious local food. He’s actually feeding the Kaneohe community its own food and exposing visitors to the bounty of the area. His eatery is part of a group of Heeia organizations working to support a functional ahupuaa there. Ahupuaa farms and fishponds supply some of the food Noguchi serves, and he also takes part in the maintenance of the area.

Plus, Noguchi offers fish caught by area fishermen and greens grown in Kaneohe home gardens (and other areas). The purslane is one such item. These folks barter with him — fish for a lunch plate, purslane for a salad. What could be healthier for a budget?

Fortunately, many Hawaii farmers markets have jumped a hurdle in offering enough variety of produce to fit any budget. The next challenge: local meat, which is still relatively pricey.

Noguchi says supporting local ranchers requires reassessing the way we eat.

"Local meat is more expensive because it’s raised responsibly and sustainably," he says. "Because of Western influence, we eat way more meat than we’re supposed to. At the pier I serve smaller plates. It’s not the 2-pound plate lunch some folks are used to, and I get complaints about that. You know, we all joke about ‘kanak attack,’ but we’re not supposed to eat until we’re tired."

At the festival, Kenney will discuss the topic during a lunch themed "Setting the 21st Century Table."

"I thought about it, and for me it really means looking back. In the ’50s it became all about … packaged food and TV dinners," he says. "But prior to that, people grew their own food and had an attachment to where their food came from.

"I’ll be using Shinsato pork from Kahaluu, and it’s sustainable: It’s local, family-run, and I use the whole animal. We’ve gotten so used to eating pork chops, people don’t know pigs’ feet and pigs’ tails."

Those changes also resulted in meat dominating the plate, Kenney says.

"Everything else is on the periphery. We need to shift back to a balanced plate," he says.

Noguchi agrees.

"It’s about frugality. If you take pork belly, just a small amount cooked with lots of veggies can feed eight people," he says.

"I don’t feel that the question should be how to get prices lower. It’s about re-evaluating our situation."