The lineup for this fall’s seventh annual Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival was announced Friday during a Cuisines of the Sea launch event at The Kahala Hotel & Resort.
The festival begins Oct. 20 on Maui with the 20th annual Roy’s Golf Classic at Ka‘anapali Golf Course. The 18-hole benefit for Imua Family Services features tastings on the green, with a dinner reception to follow at Roy’s Kaanapali. The roster of participating Maui chefs will include Sheldon Simeon of Tin Roof and “Top Chef” renown.
At the Kahala event, 570 guests feasted on paella prepared by chef Vikram Garg, jumbo scallops from festival co-founder Roy Yamaguchi, and more dishes prepared by some of the island’s top chefs, before closing with a fireworks display.
The event proved an appetizing introduction to the lineup of 14 culinary events that will bring 100 international chefs, 50 winemakers and a dozen mixologists together Oct. 20 through Nov. 5, to share their talent and promote Hawaii’s bounty of locally sourced ingredients.
Here are some of the fall highlights. For the full list of events, visiting chefs and to purchase tickets, visit hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com.
MAUI
Oct. 21
“Global Street Food”: Dishes from around the globe paired with fine wines, craft cocktails and beer at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. Joining local chefs including Chris Kajioka (Senia), Ed Kenney (Town, Mud Hen Water) and Alan Takasaki (Le Bistro) will be Spike Mendelsohn (Bernaise, Washington), Yuji Wakiya (Wakiya, Tokyo) and David LeFevre (Fishing with Dynamite, Manhattan Beach, Calif.).
BIG ISLAND
Oct. 28
“Return of Cuisines of the Sun”:A six-course, six-chef dinner at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort will feature Alan Wong, Dean Fearing (Fearing’s, Dallas), Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie, Houston), Mark Peel (Prawn, Los Angeles), Francois Payard (Payard, New York) and Jayson Kanekoa of the Waikoloa. The event pays tribute to the former Cuisines of the Sun that Wong once hosted on the Kohala Coast.
OAHU
Nov. 1
“Kamehameha Schools Presents Raw & Wild Farm to Table to Innovation”:Six chefs will be paired with a farmer and an “innovator” — someone who turns an island ingredient into a value-added product. The chefs: Nico Chaize (Nico’s Pier 38), Mark Noguchi (Pili Group), Lee Anne Wong (Koko Head Cafe), Jordan Keao (aina, San Francisco), Mike Lofaro (Grand Wailea Resort) and Blaine Wetzel (The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, Wash.). At Salt @ Our Kakaako.
Nov. 2
“Spice Market”: The event at the Modern Honolulu highlights flavors found along the ancient Silk Road. Among 11 chefs joining The Modern chef Keith Pajinag will be Garg (TMG Hospitality), Kanji Chiba (Chibayaki, Tokyo), Brandon Jew (Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco), Chris Oh (Hanjip, Los Angeles) and Ming Tsai (Blue Dragon, Boston).
Nov. 3
“Uncorked”:Dishes created by 21 chefs from around the world, accompanied by wine, handcrafted cocktails and craft beers. Local chefs Chai Chaowasaree (Chef Chai) and Wade Ueoka (MW) will match talents with Marcel Vigneron (Wolf, Los Angeles), Xing Lian Liu (JuQi, Beijing), Ben Ford (Ford’s Filling Station, Los Angeles), Stephanie Izard (The Girl and the Goat, Chicago), and 15 others. At the Hawai‘i Convention Center.
