Race to the finish

The cream of the crop will come together June 6 for Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race: All-Stars, and included in the tasty mix is Hawaii’s own Aloha Plate. Led by brothers Adam and Lanai Tabura, and Shawn Felipe, the local mobile eatery is hoping to showcase its culinary craftsmanship and ubiquitous aloha spirit in the Bay Area for this special installment that highlights previous seasons’ winners.

Aloha Plate brought home the bacon in season four of The Great Food Truck Race with outstanding dishes that put true Hawaii-kine grinds at the forefront. Twists on local faves — we’re talking Spam and teri burgers, and island-inspired wraps — earned the trio the coveted win.

That was in 2013, and nearly a decade later Aloha Plate has returned to prime-time television to show the world exactly what it’s made of: absolutely appetizing edible arrangements. These local boys will be going up against six other teams from California, Utah and Louisiana, and they invite all of Hawaii to tune in and support them.

“It’s always been Hawaii from day one,” shares Lanai. “We had all kinds of challenges, like we had to use specific foods, but Adam always added his flair and his touch of aloha to each plate. Everything that we served was something with a touch of Hawaii.”

The food is good and will remain so in this all-star season, no question about that. But part of the friendly competition also involves marketing and getting people to buy from their truck, and that’s where Lanai comes in (make no mistake, though, as Adam and Shawn put this guy to work in the kitchen, too).

Indeed, no food truck would be successful without the word-of-mouth and promotion involved in making a truly delicious endeavor spread like wildfire. Just like their original season, Lanai tapped into the good, old coconut wireless to spread the word.

“Adam can cook,” he praises. “We know we had good food, but it’s all about how many people you can get to the truck.”

For this all-star edition, the former DJ and radio personality tapped into his literally thousands of social media followers to get the momentum moving — and hele on it did! Thousands of Hawaii transplants — and even more converts — supported Aloha Plate, which debuted delicious dishes (including an island-inspired hibachi chicken salad), in California.

Adam, for his part, has logged culinary experience with the likes of Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Ruth’s Chris Steak House (he was executive chef) and Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas — oh, and he started his own company, The Spice Rack, and cooked for notables like Steven Tyler and the late Steve Jobs.

No big deal, right? Joining Adam in the food realm is Shawn. This Pearl City grad who is the lead chef’s “right-hand man,” to hear Lanai tell it, is a conglomerate of emcee, comedian and, now, food trucker — all of which makes for the perfect entertaining addition to this truckin’ amazing team.

Due to the pandemic, this all-star edition of The Great Food Truck Race will be a little different, though no less exciting. Instead of traveling across the nation, Aloha Plate and the rest of its competitors will stay within the beautiful Bay Area, making their way from Fisherman’s Wharf to Napa to the Redwoods and Ocean Beach and Chinatown.

“We’re not driving across America, but it’s still going to have that same excitement,” says Lanai. “If you love food, stay tuned.”

Catch Aloha Plate on ‘The Great Food Truck Race: All-Stars’ on Sunday, June 6, on Food Network (check foodnetwork.com for times). It’ll stream after that on Discovery+.