The food of Hawaii is a delicious mash-up of ancient culture, and modern trends. It’s as diverse as the trees in a forest, and as healthy as you want it to be.
When Marquesas voyagers, guided by the stars, sun and sea, discovered Hawaii, few edible plants existed. Masterfully skilled at navigating, the original settlers made many return trips, bringing food to their new island home. The canoe crops included pigs, chickens, coconut and kalo, the root vegetable that poi comes from.
Winning plants at 2011 Kalo Festival in Waipa. Photos by Daniel Lane
In 1778, Captain Cook “discovered” Kauai when he docked HMS Resolution in Waimea. Traders and whalers from England and Cape Horn brought goat, cattle and squash to the Hawaiian Islands, and American missionaries carried baked goods to the potluck.
Overwhelming sugar demands triggered by the Gold Rush forced plantation owners to import laborers from China in 1852. Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, and Filipino immigrants soon followed, and introduced adobo, furikake, andagi, bi bim bap, bacalhau, pigeon peas, and crack seed. World War ll introduced plate lunch, Coca-Cola and SPAM.
Hanalei Taro & Juice Co. Plate Lunch. Photo by Daniel Lane
Hawaii really didn’t have a cuisine to call its own until 1985, when 12 chefs created a style they named Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Combining fresh, local ingredients with Asian and European cooking techniques, this is what you’ll find at high end eateries such as Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill in Poipu.
Deconstructed Ahi Roll at Josselin's. Photo by Daniel Lane
Today, vegetarians, vegans, and those on raw food and gluten-free diets, swim within this rich mix of cultural diversity. Organic, sustainable, bio-dynamic, and fuel-free farmers seek to restore the soil to pre-plantation days, and food artisans handcraft gourmet pies, jams and cheese.
On Kauai, you’ll find equal parts of global cuisine, and da kine that will clog your arteries and stop your heart! It’s all brok da mout ono!
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