The Hawaii Food and Wine Festival spotlights sustainable foods on the islands and showcases their foods to make Hawaii a culinary destination not just a beautiful location. Chef Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s) has a passion for educating culinary students and the festival places students next to a well known chef since not all students can go to the mainland to learn. Roy told me Hawaii is raising the bar on offering excellent food using local products. Legendary Chef Alan Wong wants people to know that Hawaiian food is more than spam and Hawaiian pizza. The event honored Shep Gordon who not only was a talent agent for rock stars we all know, but propelled hard working chefs into celebrity status in the early days of the Food Network. The documentary Supermensch is a fascinating movie about his influences and success, yet he remained kind to those in need and humble. I asked him what he thought about the event and he said, “it’s great”.
