Pau Hana Friday for June 20

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, an internationally acclaimed French chef who, at age 29, earned four stars from The New York Times. Photo courtesy of St. Regis Princeville

Tasting Kauai

In today’s The Garden Island newspaper, read about a The Taste of Summer which includes a cocktail hour, three-course meal and a fashion show with DJ. This Sunday in our On the Farm column, we feature jackfruit and Wootens Produce of Kauai.
I’m thrilled to welcome Laurie Cicotello to the Tasting Kauai team as our new writer/editor! She has an extensive background as an award-winning writer, editor and photographer. Laurie won two Pai Awards from the Hawaii Publishers Association last year for her work at The Garden Island. She is currently working on writing several books, along with volunteering in the community.

Da Food Chain

Da Food Chain offers the ease of online shopping and convenience of home delivery. Each week, founder Carolyn Ornellas collects products from local farmers and food artisans and delivers them to residential homes.
This week you can order organic watermelon from Growing Strong Farm and cooked taro and poi from Na Hulu Makua, which is the parent organization for Kawaikini New Century Public Charter School is a K-12 Hawaiian language immersion school located in Puhi near Kauai Community College.

Carolyn Ornellas, founder of Da Food Chain. Daniel Lane photo

GMO and Pesticide regulation

A new county law regulating the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms on Kauai, has been delayed from taking effect Aug. 16 after a lawsuit was filed by Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer, BASF and Dow AgroSciences challenging the legality of the law. Read more about the issue in the story, Implementation of GMO law pushed to Oct. 1.
Those same companies are also challenging a report this week in the Portland, Ore.-based Cascadia Times newspaper, which found that the agrochemical industry applies pesticides at higher rates on Kauai than most U.S. farms. More details are in Report finds pesticide use on Kauai is extensive in The Garden Island.

Sustainable Kauai Meetups

This month, Sustainable Kauai’s Meetups include:
Tuesday, July 8 and July 15

Two Garden Share events are being held in July.

From 5 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 8, members will meet up at a location in Kilauea. For directions, please register online as a member of Sustainable Kauai Meetups.

The following week, a Garden Share event will be held from 5 to 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 15, at Aiyah’s Garden, located at 4558 Kukui St in Kapaa (map)

The concept of monthly Garden Share events is simple: Bring something you have, take something home you do not.
The monthly gatherings encourages members to share in the bounty of their gardens including homegrown fruit, vegetables, eggs, herbs, honey, flowers, seedlings, plants and seeds!
If a garden is not producing, Garden Share participants welcome homemade treasures, food, and supplies made from or for the garden or kitchen to share in exchange.
Please bring bags, paper towels, etc. to take things home. Any items remaining at the end of the event will be donated to the food pantry or community garden.
EVENTS:
Friday, June 20

Finally Friday

Kauai Beer Company will start offering a limited selection of craft cocktails starting this Friday and as a regular part of Finally Friday, with the number of cocktails gradually growing.

• Summer Saison Fresh Garden Salad $8 ~ with onion, fennel, vacuum compressed watermelon and a Saison lemongrass-honey dressing topped with Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese

• Black Limo Braised Shredded Beef Slider 1 for $5 / 2 for $9 ~ with house-made BBQ sauce, pickles and kale slaw on a taro bun Served with house-made potato chips

• Lamb Shank Nachos $10 ~ with slowly braised lamb shank, fresh tortilla chips and a Lihue Lager cheddar sauce

• Roasted Vegetable Sandwich $9 ~ with roasted fennel eggplant, squash, torched tomatoes, fresh spinach and a pesto spread on a Midnight Bear ciabatta roll and served with house-made potato chips

• Beer Brine Jerk Spiced Chicken Sandwich $10 ~ with torched tomatoes, fresh spinach and a scallion-lime aioli on a Midnight Bear ciabatta roll served with house-made potato chips

• Spent Grain Pretzels $3 ~ Made with the brewery’s spent grain by Judy Capertina of Haole Girl Island Sweets and served with house-made mustard

All menu items feature locally grown vegetables, herbs and fruits from Growing Strong Farm, Kauai Glory Farms, Wootens Produce of Kauai, Molaa Organicaa and Kauai Kunana Dairy.

Kauai Grill’s Beet Marinated Big Island Kampachi with fresh orange segments. Daniel Lane photo

A Fashionable Taste of Summer

Kauai Grill, 6 p.m., $125
Kauai Grill at the St. Regis Princeville hosts an exclusive event that is a celebration of food and fashion. A Fashionable Taste of Summer begins with a cocktail hour, followed by a three-course dinner with wine paring. There will also be a live DJ and fashion preview featuring Tori Richards clothing and Van Balen Jewelry. Reservations are required, call 808-286-2250.

Wednesday, June 25 through Saturday, June 28

Tropical nights, jazz, wine and food at the Red Clay Jazz Festival. Daniel Lane photo

Red Clay Jazz Festival

Red Clay Jazz Festival is a week-long event with concerts and workshops featuring some of Hawaii’s best musicians. The final concert includes plenty of delicious food made by local restaurants and this year, Koloa Rum Company is a sponsor. To get a flavor, read my article A Smokin’ Red Clay Jazz Festival or visit the Red Clay Jazz Festival website for the schedule and ticket information. Food tickets are $5.
Food vendors include:

• The Right Slice ~ Chicken, shepherd’s and vegetarian pot pies plus up to five sweet flavors

• Powerhouse Creamery ~ Deep country organic artisan ice cream, alternative dairy options include toasted coconut and coconut cacao (vegan); 100 percent Hawaiian cocowater sorbets

• Westin Princeville’s Nanea Restaurant ~ Pork belly and mushroom risotto; ahi poke stack

• Passion Bakery & Café ~ Lilikoi cheesecake with lilikoi curd; spanakopita; water or coffee

• Jo2 (Jean Marie Josselin’s new place opening soon in Kapaa) ~ Grilled Hawaiian chicken salad, kimchi ranch; Kalua pork and cabbage pot stickers, curried pineapple vinaigrette

• Hukilau Lanai ~ Jambalaya with Kauai Shrimp, house-made pasta and sausage; grilled homemade sausage on bulgur wheat with tomato and coconut chutney

• Kauai Marriott Resort ~ Mongolian BBQ with brown rice; roasted veggie quesadilla, salsa fresca and chipotle ranch

Saturday, June 28

Earl and Sue enjoy fresh pineapple after touring an exotic fruit orchard. Marta Lane photo

A Taste of Kilohana

Kilohana Plantation, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., $130
A Taste of Kilohana is an exclusive, guided food tour that includes an off-the-menu, three-course, locally sourced meal that’s served in the Private Dining Room of Wilcox Mansion. Begin with a ride in a open-air train through the 105-acre orchard which has more than 50 varieties of exotic fruit trees. Guests disembark and feed wild boar, goats and chickens and stroll through the orchard with Kai, Kilohana’s expert in local fruit. After picking and eating exotic fruit, sit and relax as Kai demonstrates how to select and prepare tropical fruit, then taste the best of Kilohana in a super-fresh fruit salad.
After a short tour of the historic Manor House, guests settle in at Mahiko Lounge and learn how to make Gaylord’s signature Mai Tai. Meet Gaylord’s executive chef Todd Barrett while he explains the day’s preparations and enjoy a three-course, locally sourced lunch in the Private Dining Room. Lunch is always based on seasonal ingredients, but here’s what our guests enjoyed last month:

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli
• Grass-fed Makaweli Meat Company beef tenderloin topped with port wine and a confit of Kauai’s Kaneshiro Farms pork belly and Island fresh Wasabi Crusted Opah with a lilikoi white wine vinaigrette, caramelized Ewa onion, jasmine rice, and a medley of farm fresh vegetables
• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

A portion of proceeds from Tasting Kauai’s food tours and book benefits the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch. To make reservations, visit A Taste of Kilohana. To see previous tours, check out our Facebook photo album. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.
 
Friday June 20 & Saturday, June 21

Winemakers Weekend

The Cliffs at Princeville, $99
The Cliffs at Princeville just announced their 2nd annual Winemakers Weekend. Dan Tudor of Tudor Wines will pour some of his “Latest & Greatest” for all to try. His new releases will be poured on Friday evening on the bluffs of The Cliffs overlooking the Pacific. On Saturday, his classics will be paired with a special dinner. Reservations are requested as they will have limited seating. For reservations or information, email jyoung@cliffsatprinceville.com.
UPCOMING:

Learn how to make a Gaylord’s Mai Tai during A taste of Kilohana. Daniel Lane photo

• Sake soaked Kauai Shrimp with Kailani mixed greens, Maui tropical pineapple, and sweet sesame ginger aioli
• Grass-fed Makaweli Meat Company beef tenderloin topped with port wine and a confit of Kauai’s Kaneshiro Farms pork belly and Island fresh Wasabi Crusted Opah with a lilikoi white wine vinaigrette, caramelized Ewa onion, jasmine rice, and a medley of farm fresh vegetables
• Rustic Wi and Molokai Uala Gallete

A portion of proceeds from Tasting Kauai’s food tours and book benefits the Hawaii Food Bank – Kauai Branch. To make reservations, visit A Taste of Kilohana. To see previous tours, check out our Facebook photo album. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.

Guests from Austria learn how to tell when a pineapple is ripe on A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. Marta Lane photo

A Culinary Romp Through Paradise

Various locations in Kapaa, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., $140
Tasting Kauai’s Culinary Tour offers an intimate glimpse into the Garden Island’s culinary scene. We start with a farm tour and sample exotic fruit grown on Kauai. At the Kauai Marriott Resort, we join executive chef Guy Higa for an outdoor cooking demonstration and gourmet, four-course lunch made with Kauai grown ingredients. This tour ends at The Feral Pig where, Dave Power, co owner and bartender, will demonstrate how to make handcrafted cocktails. This is a special treat as Dave has been written up as one of Hawaii’s best bartenders and he excels at making drinks customized to individual tastes.
Sample menu:
First Course
Chef’s Garden Salad and Lilikoi Vinaigrette
Second Course
Kaneshiro Farms Crispy Pork Belly Plantation Style
Third Course
Kauai Shrimp, Wailua Herb Butter and Fresh Pasta
Fourth Course
Kauai Coffee Expresso Cheesecake with Poha Berry Sauce
To make reservations, visit A Culinary Romp Through Paradise. To check out previous tours, visit our Facebook photo album. Chef Higa donates proceeds from his portion of the tour to the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen and Tasting Kauai donates a portion of tour and book proceeds to the Kauai Branch of the Hawaii Food Bank. For a complete list of tour dates, check out our Kauai Culinary Tours Calendar.
ONGOING:

Sunshine Farmers Market in Kapaa. Daniel Lane photo

Farmers Market Tour

Wednesdays, 3 to 4 p.m., $30
Meet local farmers, learn how to select perfect produce as well as when it’s in season and how to cook with it during Tasting Kauai’s one-hour farmers market class. Farmers markets are an affordable way to immerse yourself in local culture and the best place to buy produce that’s so fresh, it was harvested that morning. But buying at the farmers market doesn’t always insure that it was grown on Kauai. It happens all over the world. In Hawaii, customers want mangoes year-round. In Colorado, they want tomatoes in May. To make that sale, vendors buy imported mangoes or tomatoes and sell them as their own. Becoming familiar with growing seasons insures your dollars are spent on local produce.
There’s a whole world of delicious produce that many people never try. Let’s face it, some of it looks like it came from another planet. Once unfamiliar produce is demystified and cooking tips are shared, it may become a regular at dinner table. Many factors can make exotic produce expensive and the last thing you want to do is buy a pineapple that isn’t at peak perfection. This class will also teach you how to tell when produce is ripe as well as how to store it for best results. To make reservations, visit our Farmers Market Tour page.

Hanapepe Friday Night Festival and Art Walk

Hanapepe Town, 6 to 9 p.m.
Every Friday evening, Old Town Hanapepe bustles with people. A dozen art galleries stay open late and local crafters sell their wares. There’s also stilt walkers, classics cars, live music and entertainment. The Right Slice sells fresh-baked pie by the slice or whole. Midnight Bear Breads makes pizza fresh from a wood-burning oven. Aloha Spice Company serves samples of their Hawaiian sea salt and spice blends on grilled chicken. These spices quickly add fantastic flavor without a lot of calories and make wonderful gifts of aloha.
Haole Girl Island Sweets sells a variety of hand-made butter croissants, including grilled chicken and portobello mushroom seasoned with Aloha Spice Company blends. Other croissants are filled with local fruit, nuts, honey or vegetables. Samples are given just outside the parking lot, in front of the darling Aloha Spice Company building. Call 808-335-6469 for more information.

Kapaa Art Walk in Old Town Kapaa. Daniel Lane photo

Kapaa Art Walk

Old Town Kapaa, 5 to 9 p.m.
On the first Saturday of the month hundreds of people party in Old Town Kapaa. The street is filled with the sounds of laughter and music, smells of delicious local food, and the work of Kauai artists. In front of the Dragon Building, Anni Caporuscio (owner of Small Town Coffee and Blue House Booksellers) sings to a three-piece band which includes a guitar player, drummer and washboard player. Art Cafe Hemingway and Java Kai open a new exhibit and serve food late. The Buttery hosts jewelers and other Kauai Made jewelry is available throughout.
A designated parking area is located at 4451 Lehua St., on a 3-acre spot next to Restore Kauai and Specialty Lumber. Cost to park in the lot is $3.
 

Kauai Culinary Market at Kukuiula Shopping Village in Poipu. Daniel Lane photo

Art Walk at Kukuiula

The Shops at Kukuiula, 6 to 9 p.m., free
An evening of fine art, fine dining and live music under the stars at The Shops at Kukuiula the second Saturday of each month. See May 10 listing for this month’s details.
Dining options include Merriman’s Fish House, Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill, Tortilla Republic, Dolphin Sushi, Living Foods and Lappert’s Hawaii. Plus, enjoy jazz outdoors by Hank Curtis and Steve Dubey and Latin rhythms by Manuel Mendes and Cary Valentine.

Kilauea Art Walk

Stone Building, 5 to 8 p.m.
Join more than 20 artisans on the last Saturday of the month at the Stone Building in Kilauea Town. There’s live music, original art, hand-made apparel, jewelry, photography, custom slippers, painted glass bottles, ice cream and unique creations. Face painting henna tattoos. Stop by Kilauea Fish Market for dinner.

Art and Wine Thursdays

Art and Wine Thursdays includes an art reception by Kauai based artists such as Donia Lilly, with original pastel, acrylic, and mixed media paintings from the “Oceans” and “Moons” and “Memories” series, along with prints and greeting cards. Wine tastings have included Buena Vista The Count Cabernet 2008; St. Francis Chardonnay 2009; Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2011; Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay 2011 and Lyeth Meritage 2010. Light appetizers of cheese, fruit and vegetable crudités are also available. Includes a coupon for a 15 percent food discount at the Naupaka Terrace with the purchase of any dinner entrée.

Verde’s Healthy Thursday

Verde’s Healthy Thursday meal for June is Swiss Chard & Bean Tacos, made with Govinda’s Farm Swiss chard, pinto beans, Spirit of the Earth Farm cilantro and homemade pico de gallo on two GMO-free corn tortillas.

Truck Stop Thursday

Kauai Beer Company, 5 p.m.
Every Thursday, Kauai Beer Company invites three food trucks to serve food. Trucks park along the curb, the sidewalk is converted into a patio and hundreds of people enjoy food, conversation and each other. Since the trucks change every week, it’s a great opportunity to try something new. For a listing of this week’s trucks, check out the Kauai Beer Company’s Facebook page.

“You Dine, We Donate” to Benefit Kauai Veterans Center

Sheraton Kauai Resort announces its “You Dine, We Donate” program will honor veterans in the month of June. All net food and beverage proceeds at Table #53 in the resort’s signature restaurant, RumFire Poipu Beach, will be donated to the Kauai Veterans Center for the month-long fundraiser. More than $65,000 has been donated to charities through “You Dine, We Donate” to benefit the Kauai community since its inception in October 2012.
RumFire Poipu Beach, the south shore’s oceanfront hot spot, features locally sourced cuisine with global influences, exciting cocktails to ignite your palate and 180-degree oceanfront views from all of its 240 seats. Facing the beautifully landscaped Ocean Courtyard and inviting fire pits, Table #53 features private booth seating, perfect for viewing Kauai’s lovely sunsets. Guests can enjoy delicious pupu such as Coconut-Crab Luau Dip with smoked taro leaf and crispy flatbread and Seared Scallops served with crispy rice noodles and pho broth all while supporting a worthy cause.
Kauai Veterans Center exists to promote and enhance the delivery of benefits to all Veterans, their families and dependents of those who have given their lives for their country. It is a standing monument that honors their service, promotes their military heritage and embraces their family. All personnel associated with the Kauai Veterans Center work to maintain and foster the highest respect and honor for those who have given their lives and for those who are currently protecting the country.
“Kauai Veterans Center has been part of our family of veterans for over 25 years, but most importantly is serving our war veterans whom have represented and served our beautiful country called America,” says Aida Cruz, Site Manager of Kauai Veterans Center. “We are proud to have a beautiful home for veterans here on Kauai.”
Patrons who are interested in participating in RumFire’s month-long “You Dine, We Donate” program are encouraged to make reservations in advance by calling 808.742.4786 and requesting Table #53. The table is available on a first come, first serve basis. Net proceeds for all food and beverage at Table #53 during dinner service will be donated to the Kauai Veterans Association, gratuity will be paid to the server and taxes will be remitted to the State of Hawaii.

Photos for this blog post were contributed by Daniel Lane of Pono Photo.