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Le‘ahi Concept Kitchen celebrated its grand opening in the Waikiki Parc on Friday, bringing together foodies and supporters of Kapiolani Community College’s culinary programs to enjoy cooking demos and small bites.
The restaurant was created as a partnership between the school and Halekulani Corp., to give KCC culinary students a hands-on opportunity to work alongside renowned chefs in a professional kitchen.
Peter Shaindlin, chief operating officer of Halekulani Corp., said the space is available while the Parc undergoes renovations and was offered to the school for a year.
“There’s no profit for us, a little bit of expense, but everybody wins,” Shaindlin said, adding he has a little bit of a secret agenda in keeping his eyes on the best and brightest who might eventually be recruited by the Halekulani.
Resident chef Eddie Mafnas of Mafnas Catering will oversee daily culinary operations and has created a locally focused menu that will be augmented with dishes by an international roster of visiting chefs who will also spend time in the classroom.
The menu currently includes such dishes as spicy ahi won ton tacos, Kona coffee-rubbed prime rib-eye steak, and ginger-and-green-onion-crusted daily catch served over Ewa corn and Okinawan sweet potato succotash.
The restaurant is open from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly. Reserve at 971-6300.
KAPALUA WINE SHOWCASE
Headed for Maui? Aim for next weekend to partake of the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, June 8-11 at venues throughout the resort.
Master sommeliers Michael Jordon, Rob Bigelow and Patrick Okubo will host seminars with winemaker panelists from 28 wineries.
Guest celebrity chefs are Cat Cora (“Iron Chef America”) and Andrew Sutton (Disney’s Napa Rose), who will host cooking demonstrations on Saturday (Sutton) and Sunday (Cora). Both those events are sold out.
Other participating chefs will come from throughout Maui.
Indulge an interest in food, wine or both:
>> Wine seminars and tastings: Regional focus on wines of Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Paso Robles, Calif. (both on Friday); varietal focus on pinot noir and panel on multigenerational family wineries (both Saturday); the emerging Baja, Calif., wine region and classic California cabernets (both Sunday)
>> Dinner events: The Grand Tasting — Kapalua Style featuring resort restaurants (Friday, Montage Kapalua Bay); Seafood Festival featuring a selection of Maui restaurants (Saturday, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua)
All-event passes are sold out, but a la carte tickets are available at $100 to $195 per event.
Go to kapaluawineandfoodfestival.com for a full event schedule and information on room rates at the Montage, Ritz-Carlton and Kapalua Villas.
A SUMMER BARBECUE
Hilton Hawaiian Village celebrates summer with a BBQ Buffet on Fridays at the Rainbow Lanai.
The buffet is available from 5:30 to 9 p.m. through Sept. 1, bridging the resort’s weekly fireworks show.
Cost is $49.95, $24.95 for children. Call 949-4321.
CHEFS PARTNER FOR SERIES
Chefs Adam Tabura and Maile Sengoura have launched a summer dinner series, Pacific Comfort, at Sengoura’s restaurant, Bellini Bistro & Bar in Ward Centre.
The next dinner is at 6:30 p.m. June 10, centered on pairings with Bols Geneva gin cocktails.
A mauka-makai menu theme will be reflected in Thai-style courses by Sengoura, who also owns Maile’s Thai Bistro in Hawaii Kai, and seafood choices by Tabura.
The series was introduced May 6 with a sake-pairing dinner featuring Joto Sakes.
Cost is $125, $250 for VIP seating. Call 591-2488.
The series will continue monthly through the summer.
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.
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