With the active encouragement of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement and the considerable resources of the Kamehameha School agricultural land use initiative, the future for serious small farmers has rarely been brighter in the islands. With over 300 independent farms growing Kona Coffee and several dozen growing cocoa beans, the future for these Hawaii agricultural products is robust.
cocoa pods at Original Hawaiian Chocolate, Kona, Hi
The Kona Coffee Belt, panoramic Hawaii Route 180, hugs the Kona coast. Several dozen farms, including UCC-Hawaii Kona Coffee Estate and Original Hawaiian Chocolate offer tours and tastings. It’s no surprise that coffee and chocolate pair well together, but their Hawaiian story is just as interesting.
“I’m not a French chef,” says Marseilles born George Mavrothalassitis, “I’m a Frenchman who’s a chef.”
Executive Chef George Mavrothalassitis
This is not self modesty but a succinct definition of what has made his Honolulu venue, Chef Mavro, one of only two Mobil Five Diamond restaurants in the state of Hawaii.
Keahole lobster with kurobuta pork belly
As a founding chef of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, it is not a stretch for chef Mavrothalassitis to create menus influenced by Hawaii’s pan Asian products and his own eclectic imagination.
Shirakabe Gura-Sho Chiku Bai sparkling sake
Wine as an essential flavor experience is a hallmark of Chef Mavro. Read more about this remarkable Honolulu restaurant …..
Ikaika Bishop beams with pride as he tells of his commitment to the sustainable revival of Hawaiian agricultural. He has a right to be proud as he shows off his taro fields, the heart of Keanuenue Farms and Hawaii’s agricultural future.
Keanuenue Farms
The vast resources of Princess Bernice’s legacy are focused on reviving sustainable Hawaiian agriculture, and the answers may be in taro, continued …
Poke at Hilton Hawaiian Village opening reception. Poke is raw marinated fish with herbs.
pool at The Modern hotel Waikiki dessert reception
Pool at The Modern Hotel, Waikiki, next door to the Hilton. The Modern sponsored a dessert reception.
Maui Surfing goat cheese & Ho Farm Tomato Quiche at breakfast at the Moana Surfrider hotel (oldest in Waikiki)
Celebrating its 112 year of operation, the historic Moana Surfrider hotel sponsored a breakfast including Maui Surfing goat cheese & Ho Farm Tomato Quiche.
fine art at the Honolulu Museum of Art and
Fine art at the Honolulu Museum of Art with imaginative groupings and vibrant wall colors
mahi-mahi udon salad at lunch at the Honolulu Museum of Art Cafe
Equally fine at the Honolulu Museum of Art was the menu at the cafe. Pictured above is the mahi-mahi udon salad
pool with view of Diamond Head at Shangri La the Islamic art filled home of the late Doris Duke
Pool with view of Diamond Head at Shangri La the Islamic art filled home of the late Doris Duke
Hula and music from ancient to new social media sensation
IFWTWA president & 4th generation Hawaiian born Michelle Winner
IFWTWA president & 4th generation Hawaiian born Michelle Winner
weekly Friday evening fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki
Weekly Friday evening fireworks at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki
IFWTWA 2013 Conference, Honolulu, HI – Sunday education sessions
IFWTWA 2013 Conference, Honolulu, HI – Sunday education sessions:
Clockwise: IFWTWA Board member and book publisher, Sherrie Wilkolaski and IFWTWA president Michelle Winner, Grame Kemlo, president IFWTWA Australasia, Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association respresentatives, Loni Rich, president Visitor Aloha Society, Manly Kanoa, Hawaiian cultural trainer, Kim Chapman (left) Alabama’s Orange Beach/Gulf Shores CVB and Jo Duncan (right) Benders Walker Group PR both associate members IFWTWA, Joe Recca, Hawaiian cultural trainer.
poke on edible spoon, Duke’s Waikiki, Honolulu
Poke on edible spoon, Duke’s Waikiki, Honolulu
Dinner at the Canoe Club Waikiki
Dinner at the Canoe Club Waikiki was sponsored by Shay Smith, (bottom center) CEO of the family owned Ocean Vodka, Maui. Robert Larsen of Sonoma County, CA, Rodney Strong Vineyards provided the wines.
Taro chips
Taro has been life sustaining since the beginning of Hawaiian time.
The Pacific coast at Punalu’u, Oahu, Hi, A Kamehameha Schools land asset.
The Pacific coast at Punalu’u, Oahu, Hi, a Kamehameha Schools land asset.
Lush green grass, the deep blue of the ocean, dry rock wall fences and plump black cattle are as much a part of Hawaiian tradition as spear fishing and canoe racing.
Nearing the Hilo Farmers Market, the scents and sights are a kaleidoscope of sensations. Food stalls, produce vendors, flower sellers, clothing, crafts, jewelry and a even a seamstress radiate out onto the surrounding sidewalks.
In the 1820’s artist and naturalist John James Audubon lived for months in the Everglades, surviving mosquitoes, to paint in painstaking detail and breathtaking artistry its many bird species.
The Everglades is a vast subtropical wetland and collection of coastal ecosystems including freshwater marshes, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine rock lands, extensive mangrove forests, saltwater marshes, and seagrass ecosystems. The abundance of wildlife, both subtropical and temperate species, is found nowhere else in the United States.
Through wars, hurricanes, political and economic upheaval, Seville Square and surrounding Historic Pensacola Village remain one of America’s most enduring Florida gulf shore neighborhoods.
Mari Carmen Josephs, Carmen’s Lunch Bar, Pensacola, Fl
The Pensacola Business Challenge’s mission is to grow the downtown economy one business at a time.
on Palafox Street, historic downtown Pensacola, Fl
Pensacola has a fierce independent streak that has buoyed its success for 450 years as both an important Gulf of Mexico commercial city and a tourist destination.
raw oysters plain & with crab, The Compleat Angler, Orange Beach, Al
“Is it hard work?” asked journalists on an IFWTWA media trip to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala. Without a pause in her stride, 85-year-old Ms. Velma Fell replied, “I love it.”
Velma Fell, 42 year employee of Bon Secour Fisheries, Bon Secour, Al
With a sly smile, chef Chris Sherrill’s response to winning Gulf Shores 5th Annual Oyster Cook-off in November was, “eat oysters, love longer.” Ten restaurants along the beautiful white sands of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach epitomize both coastal food and southern hospitality.
Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake, North Cascades National Park, in Whatcom County, WA
With rich farmlands and vineyards in the east, stunning mountain and coastal scenery in the west and some of America’s most active volcanos in between, Washington State is a magnet for travelers worldwide. Known for its apples, the state boasts some of the nations best organic produce, naturally raised meats, extraordinary seafood, world class restaurants and a growing wine industry.
Sunset on the bay, Lummi Island, WA
Pronounced “gooey duck,” it is, naturally, neither gooey nor a duck…it’s a…ah…
Purslane salad with goat cheese stuffed squash blossom fritter, Ciao Thyme, Bellingham, WA
“There was no free casual sex in Victorian society, unless married,” quipped Good Time Girl Hayley Boothe. Along withJane Burleigh, the Good Time Girls provide a unique social perspective on the boom town history of Fairhaven.
Hayley Boothe and Jane Burleigh, the Good Time Girls Walking Tours, Fairhaven, WA
Poland, crepes, or even exciting food, are not connections that normally come to mind, but Magdalena Theisen wraps a myriad of creative fillings in etherial crepes, and customers flock to her Fairhaven creperie.
Magdalena’s Creperie, Bellingham, WA (photo credit: Magdalena’s Creperie)
Following in the path of John Chapman, aka the legendary Johnny Appleseed, it’s a natural progression from acres of apple trees to distilling a clean, crisp apple based vodka.
Travel with Pen and Palate 
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