Kauai Roots Co-Op Fram Fresh Salad. Daniel Lane photo.
Last week, MidWeek Kauai ran my article on Grow Culture, a statewide virtual farmers market. The idea is for farmers to upload crops that are ready to be harvested, along with yields, and chefs place orders. I imagine that a chef who hustles will get the best farm fresh produce of the week! The site is still in its infancy, but I expect owner Collin Darrell will have it populated with Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu and Big Island farmers and chef’s soon. Those who produce cheese, meat, eggs and catch fish will also be able to list their products. It’s a virtual candy store for those in the food industry.
Ravioli filled with beet greens from dinner at One Song Farm. Daniel Lane photo
But Darrell isn’t content with half a circle. His goal is to go full circle by including the most important element of all, the diners! I mean, without them, what’s the point? His pop-up dinners bring farmers, chefs and diners together, and foster conversations where words such as locavore, sustainable, organic, and foodie are passed around like bread at the family table.
It connects those who eat with those who grow and make food. The chefs are told to use only local ingredients, and what’s even better, is the fact that Darrell pierces our food loving hearts by placing these dinners smack dab in the middle of nature. Oh, and did I mention libations are included?
Collin Darrell pouring wine at One Song Farm dinner. Daniel Lane photo.
Darrell is a sommelier, and cultivates relationships with small batch vineyards, and bartenders who still believe in hand-crafted cocktails. It’s very exciting for Kauai, and tonight will be his second dinner since last December.
Before you get excited, I should warn you that the dinner is sold out. So you’ll have to contact Darrell to reserve your space for his next event, which he tells me will be in April. The theme for tonight’s dinner is comparing today’s food industry with how it was a century ago, in Darrell’s words, “When everything was local, and community came together through food.”
Sous Vide A‘akukui Strip Loin with chard stem marmalade, ali’i mushrooms and decadent beef lardo. Daniel Lane Photo
The dinner will be at The Residence at Na Aina Kai, a botanical garden owned by the former wife of the late Charles Shulz. It’s scheduled early so folks can imbibe on the lanai, while watching the sun set over the ocean, and still get home early enough for work. Darrell has twin boys, and his day job as sommelier for Johnson Brothers of Hawaii means an early bedtime.
Dave Power pours from a mason jar with charred cedarwood, apples and Campari. Daniel Lane photo
A five-course tapas menu will be made by Garrison Price, executive chef of the sumptuous Kauai Grill. Dave Power, owner of The Feral Pig and former bartender at Town on Oahu, will pair old-fashioned cocktails to each course. If you haven’t had a cocktail at the Feral Pig, make sure you do. There’s no drink mixes, Power hand squeezes citrus, and makes stepped concoctions using local produce for his well-balanced drinks.
If tonight’s dinner is anything like the last one at One Song Farm, everyone is in for a special treat. I’ll be there, celebrating, not working, because tomorrow is my birthday!
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