E hele mai 'ai (Come eat!)

I have always been a proponent of eating local, but in this New Year, I decided to go a step further and am challenging myself to eat in a healthier and more conscientious way choosing more locally grown and produced foods as propounded by one of the Hawai'i chefs I most admire.

 
Chef Olelo pa'a Faith Ogawa is one of the brightest stars in Hawai`i's culinary firmament.

I have always been very impressed by her approach to food.  The love and respect for the food she prepares shows in her handling of it and also in how she uses it… simple ways but with delicious and spectacular results.

She is a firm believer in the premise that food prepared simply and with love is of more nutritional value than any difficult or convoluted recipes.

This local girl who was born and grew up in O'ahu, is a much sought-after private chef who uses carefully selected sustainable products and healthy ingredients for flavor and freshness from local farmers then adding her own creative spin, a cooking style she calls "Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine."

"Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine" reflects her unique flair for preparing and presenting fresh food as simply as possible in a setting that both energizes and soothes the senses by creating a completely harmonious experience for the guests.

 
On a recent evening a group of enthusiasts met in the Kulia Room at the beautiful campus of the Halau Ho'olako in Waimea for a workshop presentation of Hawai'i grown foods cooked simply and yet with the care that Chef Olelo pa'a bestows on all her food preparations.

The table centerpiece was a gorgeous bowl filled with dragon fruit, rambutan, star fruit and longan with a pineapple in the middle…instant sign that Hawaiian hospitality was being served along with the food.

All of the food prepared was grown in Hawai'i.  Corn, taro, ulu, sweet potatoes, coconut, heart of palm, locally grown mushrooms, beef, pork, pumpkin, green beans, baby lettuces in a rainbow of colors and Kona Kampachi prepared in a simply delicious salad style poke.

 
No breads or rice or any other side dish that was not grown on the island made it to the table, proof that a feast can be had with only locally grown foods.

A delicious soup or stew containing beef, but also taro, carrots, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes and a vast assortment of other vegetables.  You could detect a very slight note of the anise in the Chinese Five Spice mix she used to enhance it.

Another dish was a barely blanched kernel corn and green bean salad that was so fresh you could feel little bursts of sweetness when you bit into the corn.

 
Simply boiled ulu, sweet potatoes, roasted pumpkin, and taro were served with an assortment of piquant sauces, where you could choose whatever sauce you preferred.  Although I'm not one for a lot of hotness, I found all of the sauces delicious.

Several more salads and side dishes completed a veritable smorgasbord of locally grown food.  Her spicy Hawaiian Caesar Salad was enough to wake up any dormant senses you might have arrived with!

The desserts were a Hawai'i Island grown and processed double chocolate confections, Mauna Kea coconut and meringue little snowballs and coconut-taro tapioca pudding.  It was all I could do to not pick up several pieces of the chocolate!

 
Here is one of Chef Olelo pa'a's sauces:

Luau Sauce

Original article