So we worked Friday service...

No one can tell me they have never been ecstatic the day you leave for a weekend like the one we just embarked on. A ticket to Maui, 2 and a half days, and four friends who are now more family than ever. What an incredible weekend. It starts out on Friday after service, a few drinks to make the flight more enjoyable. 

Once we get to the above bar inside the airport, our first vacation drink, the best thing happens to me. After our clink, my elbow graciously knocks over my water glass and breaks right in half. So beautiful and so perfect and it will only keep getting better. 

Finally in Maui, we make our way to the exit of the airport in search of Maui car rental. Little do we know we were about to get ripped apart by a lovely cab driver. As the doors of the taxi slide open and all our luggage is secure in the trunk, we begin our long and tiresome 15 foot journey to the end of the sidewalk. Someone so kindly asked where Maui car rentals was and we got a stern reprimanding. "You in Maui now! Everywhere here car rental" she demands. "You pick any and they have car rental". We immediately got tossed out of the cab and was told to go find the shuttle. What a lovely welcome to Maui. 

To be continued...

Soul of a chef...

After a service at MW restaurant, I was able to have a small loon at the pop up world in Oahu. Chef John was doing a fantastic little dinner in a small room with three other chefs. I don't know how many people they served or what their full menu was. What I felt when I walked inside that box of a kitchen was love and passion. 

There are some things that I certainly cannot explain in words about what it is like to be a cook. If you want to know,  you have to experience it. While I was standing outside the dining room, I saw these four chefs standing around a bowl of something delicious. It reminded me of a bunch of brothers playing around the dinner table. That's when I knew and understood where the love and passion for making people happy came from. Not only did I feel it, I saw it which is a very rare occasion for diners. 

Volcano time...

Remember the elementary school project where you would build a clay volcano then put vinegar and baking soda to make an eruption? Hiking through Hawaii volcanoes national park brought me straight back to those times. Getting to see the lava flow of 1974 and the expansive lava tube kept me on my toes with excitement. At one time, all of those were over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and liquid red hot lava. Fascinating. 

There was a huge hole in the ground and everything around it was either dead or dripping wet. The incredible heat that was emanating from the steam vent was almost invisible yet it would blast you in the face like a thousand fists. The magic behind volcanoes continues to intrigue me just as much as when I was a little boy. It really puts into place how insignificant, small and powerless we truly are against the whim of Mother Nature. We are not invincible. 

Circumnavigate big island...

What an extraordinary day to have filled with numerous cherry poppings. To start it all, never in my life have I circumnavigated almost an entire island in one day. Especially one as big as the big island of Hawaii. Second, it was a sincere pleasure to have seen a stereotypical photograph of what we call paradise. Third, I have never snorkeled around a fully living and thriving reef with a plethora of fish and sea wonders. Fourth, I to be able to see a zebra, longhorn, bison, lama and a donkey in one fence on an isolated island was beyond baffling. Fifth, standing on the southern most part of the southern most state in the ENTIRE United States, seeming to be where the sidewalk ends was breathtaking. Sixth and by far one of the most exciting, driving through pure darkness for it to be broken only by the raging red glow from an active volcano. What a phenomenally productive day with my impromptu travel partner, Amber. 

Hawaiian Conservation Alliance...

Traveling to Hilo so far has been an incredible journey so far. I got the opportunity to work with some incredible chefs from local restaurants. Our goal this week was to create a plate lunch that emulates the locality and sustainability of Hawaiian cuisine. Half of the products that we used for our meal were gathered either by our own hands, such as oh'i'o (baby fern), kalamansi or ulu (bread fruit). From start to finish, we knew inside and out, the life of those fruits and vegetables. 

Being able to work with chefs Mark Pumaski, Sheldon Simeon, Mark Noguchi and Cacey Halpern was wonderful. The amount of fun and hard work that was put into this event is mind blowing, and together they did it with ease. The entire Hawaiian food culture behind the scenes and open to the world  is in my opinion, the epitome of local and sustainable. Perhaps the rest of us can learn something from these islands and most other islands in the world. 

Hilo bound...

As of now, traveling in Hawaii has been one of my favorite experiences eating wise. While en route to Hawaii, I received a rather tasty egg sandwich on the airline. Now, on the way to Hilo, I got a small jackpot of food. The option to eat Burger King was there of course, but there were other, more satisfying options. 

To be honest, the plate of crunchy orange chicken with veggies and white rice was better than most "American" Chinese food. It easily surpassed my expectations of a meal at the airport. The chicken itself is what stood out. The quick, glassy crunch of a lightly breaded chicken piece gets fried and tossed in this tangy and sweet orange sauce to a fantastical explosion of olfactoral pleasure. 

And to top it all off, having a nice snack on the plane is a must, so I attained a Hawaiian chex mix called cookies in paradise. The furikake party mix is unbelievable. A mix of honey comb, chex, buggles and pretzels are coated in a sweet furikake glaze. So incredibly different than what I am used to. 

Perhaps this could open a door for future chefs to collaborate with airlines to create great flying experiences such as these past two that I had. It could change the world for our mouths and stomachs. 

The joy of sake...

I never would have expected to have the pro league of working another Joy of Sake event. To make it even more exciting, it took place at the Hawaiian convention center; a behemoth building specifically designed for parties such as these. 

The opportunity arose when one of my previous chefs contacted his hometown chef companions. A family company by the name of Pili group graciously allowed me to work with them for this epic night of food and sake. Being able to assist chef Mark Noguchi and the rest of the Pili family. I got to meet, talk to and work with local chefs. 

From yuzu and pickled plum Popsicles to kimchee quinoa spring rolls, the chefs produced simple and delicious tastes of what they stand for. To me, the message is clear that local and sustainable is the only way to be successful in Hawaii. About 85-100% of all food is grown and produced here on the local islands. It is extremely important that the rest of the world so the same. It is one way that we can do our part to try and save the world.