You know how your mother said to always do your best and good things will come? Jon Matsubara must have learned that lesson well. His efforts as chef de cuisine at Azure Restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian have led him and two other star chefs to the James Beard House in New York this fall.

For culinarians, the Beard House is the major leagues. The venue in Greenwich Village is part of the James Beard Foundation, dedicated to educating America’s culinary community. The late James Beard was an educator, cookbook author and food writer.

Beard House holds more than 20 meals and workshops monthly and spotlights global talent. The opportunity to cook there comes only upon invitation.

What began as a typical night in Azure last November turned out to be eventful when Beard House board member Silvi Forrest stepped in for a bite. Duly impressed, she invited Matsubara to New York.

Matsubara was accompanied by Sheraton Waikiki senior executive sous-chef Colin Hazama and Darren Demaya, executive chef of Kai Market at Sheraton Waikiki.

For a Sept. 14 dinner, each chef made an hors d’oeuvre and entree, and they collaborated on dessert. They wowed the unusually large crowd of 80 diners, who gave them a standing ovation.

A glance at the hors d’oeuvre menu makes clear why. Hazama’s offering was Lomi Lomi Ahi on fried breadfruit chips, topped with limu kohu, Maui watercress and pickled young ginger. Demaya’s Kona Cold Baby Abalone Confit featured Kahuku sea asparagus, micro shiso and a soy scallion dashi sauce. Matsubara spotlighted Waipio warabi by mixing the fern with Ho Farms tomatoes, Maui onion and lechon.

“We were trying to show the evolution of Hawaii cuisine by putting together an eclectic profile of flavors,” says Matsubara. “It’s about having a story to share with the guests … about the food and culture from Hawaii. It’s important to create an experience.”

The chefs’ success is summed up in two words: Be prepared.

To start, says Matsubara, the trio held multiple “mock trials” at Azure.

“Those practice dinners were the smartest thing we did,” he says. “We worked together, and we were constantly re-evaluating our strategy.”

The chefs flew East with two large coolers filled with local produce. But planning couldn’t avert all challenges.

Hazama skirted near disaster thanks to a backup shipment of fish.

“It was a good thing I made that second shipment. The first one, a wahoo, arrived with a smell on it,” he recalls. “On the day of the dinner, the second fish came in.”

Matsubara’s hearts of palm didn’t fare well during the trip, forcing him to rethink the ingredient. “We had to pickle it,” he says.

Then there was Demaya’s sea asparagus, which went black in transit. Amazingly enough, someone in the city was able to provide him with a fresher batch, but “it was still kinda black, so we picked out the green stuff.”

On the night of the dinner, only one of four promised assistants showed. But Hawaii ties proved strong when local boy Tony Liu, executive chef of Morandi and Pulino’s Bar & Pizzeria, jumped in to help.

A bonus for the chefs was partaking of New York’s diverse food offerings. But as it turned out, gratification was delayed.

“We landed on 9/11 and the city was empty. It was on high alert,” says Matsubara.

After a futile search for something good to eat, “we had beers in the hotel room and watched football —  Jets vs. Cowboys,” says Hazama.

One of their favorite haunts was the renowned halal food truck that serves Greek fare. Demaya couldn’t get enough.

“I woke up one night at 2 a.m., and I thought, ‘I can eat some more.’ We were spoiled because there was good food around any time.”