5 days of tours, gala meals offer festival preview

The Hawaii Food &Wine Festival launches Oct. 25, but a preview of sorts was offered last week through the festival’s first spring component, the Connoisseur’s Culinary Journey. Six couples partook of the full roster of food tours and gala meals; several hundred sampled events a la carte.

Friday’s closing event, a beach cookout at the Kahala Hotel &Resort, served as a kickoff for what’s to come in the fall.

Events will range from the free Keiki in the Kitchen cook-off at Ko Olina Resort on Oct. 29 to the $1,000 Halekulani Culinary Masters Series Gala on Oct. 30, a luxurious five-course dinner that sells out every year.

Many of the all-star chefs who’ve attended the festival since the beginning will return, along with several new faces. These include two chefs who have helped introduce Hawaii cuisine to the rest of the country, Chung Chow of Noree­tuh in New York and Ravi Kapur of Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco, as well as chefs at the forefront of innovation, including Singapore-based pastry chef Janice Wong of 2am:dessertbar and Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of San Francisco’s State Bird Provisions.

The festival opens with dinners on Maui and Hawaii island. For a full list of events and prices, go to hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com.

Oahu highlights:

>> Oct. 26: “Urban Luau,” a pairing of traditional Hawaiian restaurants with contemporary chefs offering two versions of luau food, at Our Kakaako

>> Oct. 27: “The Hungry Monkey,” a showcase for high-end cocktails and food to match at the Modern Honolulu, followed by “Clash of the Ramen,” an after-party at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa

>> Oct. 28: “A Culinary Flight,” a rooftop wine and food tasting at the Hawai‘i Convention Center

>> Oct. 29: “Foodtopia,” a gala on the beach, at the lagoons of the Ko Olina Resort

>> Oct. 30: “Battle of the Brunch Showdown Round III,” a people’s choice competition at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort