NEWS:

The guide includes some color photographs like this mahimahi with citrus beurre blanc, papaya salsa and wok-fried vegetables at Kukui’s on Kalapaki Beach. Daniel Lane photo.

Last Sunday, we released the digital version of our book Tasting Kauai: Restaurants. There were some comments on our Facebook page that I’d like to address because there is a lot of anger and misinformation in today’s world, and I’d like our book to be a trusted source. One person was very upset that we attended a pop up dinner that had veal on the menu. Another person wanted to know if our book had GMO-Free listings.

At Tasting Kauai, we are very aware of how food gets to our table. That’s why we do what we do. We even have three pages on our website dedicated to conscious eating, food and farming definitions, and steps you can take. Our passion is to share our knowledge about the people and places that not only care about how food tastes but how it’s sourced. Everyday, we (at Tasting Kauai) make conscious choices so that the food we consume is wholesome for the people who grew it, the environment and ourselves. We have no desire to be perfect, rigid or militant about our choices. With that said, if you care about this sort of thing, using our guide will direct you to the places and people who cook good food from scratch with local ingredients whenever possible. If you don’t care about this sort of thing, then using our guide will direct you some great tasting food.

Kauai is a small island and 90 percent of our food is imported. That number makes us very vulnerable, and it’s impossible to do 100 percent local here. We don’t grow wheat, beans or grains, nor olive oil, onions, stone fruit or berries. Kauai is blessed with an abundance of small, family farms, most of who grow organic, some of who use a little commercial fertilizer.  Local beef is grass-fed on thousands of acres of pasture. Experimental test crops (aren’t they all really?) of GMO corn seed grows on the west side, Poipu and Lihue. The “food” doesn’t get consumed here, but the biotech companies, which infiltrate our state, contribute a lot of money to government agencies, politicians, community events and schools. Because they have the money to pay ten times the normal rent for land, they get to stay. The best way to avoid GMO food is to avoid processed food that comes in packaging. Continue Reading →