Spanning three islands and three weekends this year, the eighth annual Hawaii Food and Wine Festival is continuing to deliver the gastronomical magic to the tune of cooking demos, dining adventures, wine tastings and more than 100 top culinary talent the world over. Started by Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi, the event is chaired by Alan Wong — a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Northwest who was one of 10 chefs in the United States nominated by the Wedgewood Awards for the title of World Master of Culinary Arts — and Roy Yamaguchi, the creator of Hawaiian Fusion cuisine, which combines exotic flavors and spices mixed with the freshest of local ingredients, always with an emphasis on seafood. The event’s mission is not only to attract attention to the culinary talent, but to also shine a light on the diversity of quality locally grown products to ensure Hawaii maintains its competitive edge as a world-class destination. And in terms of talent, it’s not just an island affair. The Hawaii Food and Wine Festival takes place October 6 through October 28 this year. hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com
Here are the Bay Area chefs making an appearance this year:
Stephen Durfee – Culinary Institute of America
Ravi Kapur – Liholiho Yacht Club
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.