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Somewhere, someone is sniffing wine glasses. Somewhere, someone is taking delivery of 246 pounds of butter.
Starting Wednesday, as many as 11,000 dining enthusiasts will head for the Oahu events of the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival — 12 events spread over five days, in venues from Waikiki to Ko Olina.
A total of 122 chefs are coming from across the country, along with 36 winemakers from around the world.
Somebody has to make sure they have everything they need.
That harried soul is Jason Peel, in his fourth year as the festival’s executive chef. At this moment Peel is probably taking yet another call to sort out yet another issue.
Like the call he got Monday while on the loading dock at the Hawai‘i Convention Center: A chef had received a delivery of wetland taro for his dish, but he needed dryland. Peel called Armstrong Produce to make the fix.
The convention center is the major sorting point for deliveries for many festival events, as its 20,000-square-foot kitchen, one of the largest in the state, has the real estate to make it work. On Monday morning alone, an 18,000-pound delivery of dry goods and meats arrived from HFM FoodService. A huge Armstrong delivery of fresh produce was on its way.
And that’s only the beginning of what Peel will have to handle. Fresh fish and other perishables will arrive closer to each event.
It’s a balancing act that must account for each chef’s recipe, with an eye toward buying local, a prime festival objective. “It’s so hard for the farmers and the purveyors to get that much product in that short amount of time,” Peel said. “We wipe people out.” So there are backup plans, including out-of-state sourcing. On occasion he’s had to hit the nearest grocery store to fill out a chef’s need.
“It’s a very small rubber band that’s holding it all together,” Peel said.
Some specialty items are ordered online, for example Japanese grills that he found on eBay. “I would love to show you what my house looks like, things are everywhere, all stuff from Amazon.”
MEANWHILE, at the Halekulani, the banquet staff is polishing 2,300 wine glasses, to be used in seminars on Saturday. The task is spread through the week — the glasses first run through the dishwasher, then individually dipped in steaming water and polished with cloth napkins.
After the seminars, the glasses are cleaned again, for the $1,000-per-person dinner that the hotel hosts on Sunday.
The wines for these events are rare and very expensive, stashed in the Halekulani’s walk-in wine refrigerator.
Wine Manager Kevin Toyama said they must be poured at the perfect temperature, which means making sure they are opened and handled exactly right.
But it all starts with the glasses. Each must be spotless and scentless, so Toyama will spot check for any off smells. In the past, he said, he’s had to have as many as 300 glasses redone, but now that’s down to 50 or fewer.
The wines are so nuanced and the tasters so sophisticated, he said, any hint of a tainted glass will ruin the pour.
“It’s really important that we get this right from the start.”
Oahu-based Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival events begin Wednesday with “Crops & Hops” at Ward Village. Events run from brunch to late-night, from casual to formal dining, as well as cook-offs and wine seminars. Most events cost $100 to $250, although Family Sunday is just $5. For tickets, a full schedule and lists of participating chefs, go to hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com.
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