MAKING HISTORY: Chefs In Paradise Return To Hawaii's Culinary Roots

BY TIM JOHNSON

It’s all very green, and blue, and brown, and red, rich soil sprouting all sorts of good things, and then the views from these fertile eight-and-a half acres sweeping past the west Maui mountains to the endless blue of the pacific beyond. Looking out, you can almost imagine the ships, sails full, skimming here on the trade winds, bringing culture and culinary traditions from all over the world, and the traders, workers and explorers meeting with indigenous people who have always fished, farmed, and surfed. Here on the islands of Hawaii, all of those elements have created a melting pot that has never been more delicious than right now.

KO FOOD TABLE

Here in Maui, O’o Farm rests on the flanks of Haleakala, a 10,000-foot volcano, surrounded by other farms, ranches and even a winery. It’s a part of the island that feels about halfway to the sky, sometimes bathed in clouds. Supplying two upscale restaurants closer to the beach, the small spread at O’o grows dozens of different fruits and vegetables, from leafy greens like sorrel and shungiku to broccolini and chayote squash, carrots and cauliflower, plus herbs and even edible flowers. It’s part of a larger movement to return Hawaiian cuisine to its roots. It has been decades in the making.

Long-time local chefs remember when restaurants on these islands focused on classic crowd-pleasers tailored to the vacation crowd without regard for heritage, or freshness (sometimes even serving fish frozen and brought by slow boat). And then, about 30 years ago, and over the following decades, an increasing number of kitchens started to prioritize the ingredients and dishes that make Hawaii so unique — volcanic, super-fertile crossroads of the Pacific with a strong Indigenous culture.

CHEF PANG’S POKE MAKANA MARKET

Born and raised on Oahu, executive chef Tylun Pang, who began his professional career in the kitchen in 1974, was part of the change. Ko, one of the restaurants he oversees at the Fairmont Kea Lani, means “sugarcane,” and brings together hardworking legacies from Hawaii, the Philippines, China, Korea, Portugal and Japan. “In the plantation days, immigrants moved to the islands and left their homelands behind,” he says. “What they carried with them was their cultural traditions, a few cooking tools, and recipes from their families.”

Set under palm trees, bathed by sea breezes, Ko’s menu is a melange of those influences. “Cooking was their lifeline to their culture. Here, we share family recipes, passed down through the generations.” It was no different for Pang himself, who grew up in the Chinese kitchen of his grandmother and father, which, he says, built his foundation in food and culture.

These recipes, combined with those sourced from international cooks in his kitchen, now make up the menu at Ko. His favorite? Lau lau, a traditional Hawaiian dish dating back centuries, made from pork and salted fish, wrapped in taro and ti leaves and steamed for hours. At his restaurant, they give it an updated twist, adding fresh seafood and greens sourced nearby, not far from O’o Farms.

Hop across the Hawaiian islands, and you’ll see the long legacy of harvesting. On a remote stretch of coastline on the North Shore of Oahu, stop at the He’eia Fishpond, dating back 600 to 800 years, 88 acres of brackish water enclosed by a long basaltic wall curving from the shore through the ocean, where generations feasted on a steady supply of fish, crab, shrimp and eels. On the quiet island of Molokai and the garden island of Kauai, tour taro fields, a root vegetable and staple of early Hawaiians, a crop that once covered 35,000 acres of these islands, brought here on canoes by the original Polynesians, who navigated here by the stars. And on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island), pass by cattle connected to a herd that once belonged to King Kamehameha I, back in 1793.

CHEF MARK ELLMAN

Chef Mark Ellman was one of the pioneers in the movement restoring heritage dishes and local ingredients in the ’90s. He notes that vital connection between the natural environment – land and sea – and what you eat on your plate. His favorite dishes include the taro-derived poi, and poke, diced fresh fish, a Hawaiian sushi. He owns two restaurants on Maui (Honu, named after the Hawaiian name for a green sea turtle, and Frida’s) and sources his seafood from three local fishermen (as well as the fish market on Oahu). Both restaurants sit right on the water. “When you’re sitting on Honu’s patio and looking out at the sea turtles, it just tastes better.”

Searing Tuna on a Heated Rock

Back at O’o Farms, Decio Dacosta says he spends plenty of time in the fields. The executive chef at Pacific’o, a seaside spot in the picturesque town of Lahaina (and one of the two restaurants the farm supplies), he talks about the connection between the two as symbiotic. “It is a fluid line – everything grown on the farm gets used as the restaurant,” he says, working with the on-site farm chef and other staff on what crops to grow, and how to best utilize them.

The farm’s coffee cherries are used as a spice rub on the Pacific’O shoyu chicken, finished with honey from O’o. Their steamed fish is local, and served with sweet potatoes from Molokai, just across the way. It’s all fresh, and diverse, and delicious. “Here on Maui, we have so many micro-climates,” Dacosta points out. “I am truly blessed and inspired by the culinary crossroads we have here.” A melting pot that you can eat.

Raw Oysters at Honu