Hawai’i Hosts 6th Annual Food & Wine Festival

Sitting on cultural crossroads, Hawai’i has become something of a culinary destination thanks to its Polynesian heritage and popularity as a destination for American tourists. The scene first started to shine when fusion cooking took off, the pan-ethnic combination of traditional Asian cuisines and western flavors. The trend made chefs like Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi world famous, though it became known as something of a fad in the restaurant world.

Fusion cooking’s waning popularity hasn’t affected business for Wong and Yamaguchi. The two James Beard Award winners continue to thrive on the island, and are even event chairs for the Hawai’i Food and Wine Festival. This year’s festival will be held Oct. 14–30, taking place over three weekends at of venues across Maui, Oahu and the Big Island. Organizers are pushing a theme of sustainability, highlighting dishes cooked with ingredients grown, raised or caught in Hawai’i, best exemplified by the official motto “Taste Our Love for the Land.”

The program includes a variety of events like wine tastings, kitchen workshops and panels on cooking and mixology, led by a large lineup of restaurant professionals. Many of the chefs hail from Hawai’i and the Bay Area, two of whom will be awarded a mentorship program with the BKB Foundation’s Culinary Council, allowing them to train alongside a celebrity chef in one of the country’s most highly acclaimed restaurants.