Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Credit: Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
Under a white tent at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on Hawaii’s Big Island, 20 students sat rapt as respected toque Andy Ricker offered his Chef Fest 2018 cooking class. Standing with a white bandana tied over his head, the chef/owner of Portland, Oregon, favorite Pok Pok directed everyone to rise from their seats and head into the adjacent hotel garden to pluck ingredients.
The star of the plate was the garden’s Chinese eggplant. Ricker spotted them at last year’s Chef Fest, and the long, thin fruit inspired him to build a central Thai dish around it.
Top Chef season 14 winner Brooke Williamson also found her muse on the lush grounds of the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel. “I was doing a demo for the festival and I chose an ingredient that I don’t have a ton of experience with, but that always fascinated me, and I saw it as a challenge to embrace,” Williamson said. “It was ulu, which is breadfruit. I ended up making something that I would totally serve on my menu [at California’s Hudson House].”
During the intimate four-day festival, culinary inspiration abounded. There was an exquisite Louis Roederer champagne tasting, a special session with rare Cos d’ Estournel bordeaux, a bar lesson with mixology legend Tony Abou-Ganim and lots and lots of food.
Forbes Travel Guide chatted with the star chefs to find out which local ingredients spoke to them, what other surprises they found in Hawaii and their upcoming projects.
Chef Jason McLeod. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
JASON MCLEOD, CHEF/PARTNER OF BORN & RAISED, SAN DIEGO
What was a standout ingredient you had on the Big Island?
The Hualalai oysters. I am still in shock that Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is growing their own Hualalai oysters right next to the golf course and that they taste so delicious. My mind is completely blown!
The coffee. I drink coffee from the moment I wake up to the time I got to bed and had some really delicious coffee at the resort. Big Island Coffee Roasters from Puna served at the Hualalai Trading Company was amazing.
The fish. Being a seafood restaurant owner, I thought it was incredible!
The cheese. Being a huge fan of goat cheese, I especially loved the fresh goat cheese from Hawaii Island Goat Dairy in Honokaa.
What did you do when you weren’t cooking at Chef Fest?
I did enjoy the spa, Hualalai Golf Course and, of course, the pools!
What’s next for you?
We have three new restaurants being built and opening within the next nine months or so in San Diego, so it’s going to be a crazy year ahead!
Gala Dinner. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
CHARLES PHAN, OWNER/EXECUTIVE CHEF, THE SLANTED DOOR, SAN FRANCISCO
What was a standout ingredient you had on the Big Island?
The Hawaiian kanpachi from Blue Ocean Mariculture! Learning about the farm was a new experience and what a great group to spend it with.
Outside of the festival, did you do any island activities?
Rowing on the outrigger canoe. I got to see some spinner dolphins and green sea turtles along the way!
What’s next for you?
Slanted Door San Ramon is opening this November at Bishop Ranch, and Slanted Door Las Vegas will open in the spring of 2019 at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
What can people expect at the new restaurants?
Fish from Hawaii.
All of the Chefs Pitching in for the Gala Dinner. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
HUGH ACHESON, CHEF/OWNER, 5&10, ATHENS, GEORGIA
What was a ingredient you had on the Big Island?
Pineapple and fish for the win. Hawaii is a tropical paradise with an amazing fishing culture. The fruit is sweet, ripe and delicious.
Did you get any culinary inspiration during Chef Fest?
Working with a number of other chefs always spurs my culinary brain. Watching Brooke Williamson sous vide heart of palm with duck fat and then grilling it was inspirational.
Did you explore the island?
We rented a car and took the long road north to Hilo. It was a drive through about 10 climates! It was amazing!
What were some of your Chef Fest highlights?
The Beach Cookout was stunning. To be cooking in flip-flops is not something I get to do often. The final Gala Dinner at ‘Ulu was a 10-course thing of beauty.
You mentioned you were working on a sous vide cookbook in your class. When is that due?
Hugh Vide, as it is tentatively called, should come out in about 10 months.
The Grand Tasting. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
CHRIS FORD, EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF, BEVERLY WILSHIRE, BEVERLY HILLS (A FOUR SEASONS HOTEL)
What was a standout dish you had on the Big Island?
If I have to pick, chef Thomas Bellec’s dish at the Beach Cookout was my favorite. The ahi loco moco was outstanding! I had four of them!
Did you do any fun island activities?
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is paradise. I swam and snorkeled with sea turtles, dolphins, a monk seal and even saw a shark — didn’t swim with him, though!
Chef Fest is definitely not the typical event. It was as much about the food as it was about the culture and what it means to live in Hawaii.
The Ohana Dinner. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
CRAIG DRYHURST, EXECUTIVE CHEF, FOUR SEASONS RESORT MAUI AT WAILEA
What was a standout ingredient you had on the Big Island?
The Keahole shrimp was a standout ingredient for me. They have incredible flavor that is sweet, buttery and slightly briny. And the texture… they have that snap when you bite into them! They are just so fresh!
How does the food in the Big Island differ from that on Maui?
In many ways, the produce on Hawaii Island and Maui are similar. Both have a plethora of top-quality fruit and vegetable farms. Both islands have many micro-climates that allow farmers to grow all types of ingredients. And, of course, there is the bounty of the sea.
But in Kona, they farm crab, lobster, shrimp, and kanpachi, and it’s all fantastic! The proximity of these farms to the resort make the product as hyper-local as you can get.
What did you find special about the Big Island?
Hawaii Island’s terrain is so distinct, so beautiful. The island has seen its fair share of ups and downs lately, thanks to Mother Nature/Pele, but flying into Kona, amid the miles of black lava rock and beaches, you would never know it. It is absolutely breathtaking, and it gets me every time.
What’s next for you?
Four Seasons Resort Maui is launching a re-imagination of our Lobby Lounge. The entire lounge will be refreshed. The menu — both craft cocktails and shared plates — will reflect a modern tiki concept, which is expected to launch toward the end of the year.
We are also in the planning stages for a luxury wine summit March 1 to 3, 2019. We have partnered with renowned wine expert Christian Navarro of Wally’s Wine & Spirits, who is curating the list of 30 wineries represented at the event, such as Harlan, Billecart-Salmon and Pio Cesare, to name a few.
Tony Abou-Ganim’s Home Bar Class. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
THOMAS BELLEC, EXECUTIVE CHEF, FOUR SEASONS RESORT HUALALAI
What are your favorite local ingredients to work with?
I am always a huge fan of using all the best local ingredients, and here at the resort and on the island in general, we are surrounded by amazing produce. Being born and raised in Brittany, my cooking has always been influenced by seafood, and here at the Hualalai, we are raising our own oysters and they are so tasty. One of my favorite ways of serving them is freshly shucked and dressed with a lilikoi [passion fruit] mignonette sauce on a bed of salt on a lava rock slab.
I also love using fresh Keahole shrimp raised here on the island near the airport. The meat is so sweet and perfect, that I love to simply roast them and brush them with a housemade lemongrass-ginger barbecue sauce, topped with crispy rice and foraged local seaweed.
Do you have any upcoming projects?
We will be opening a culinary academy above ‘Ulu next year, which will be a multiuse space accommodating private dinners, chefs tables, wine dinners, cooking classes and cooking demos.
We are also working on increasing our produce production and adding citrus at our herb garden and adding clams and more seaweed to our oyster pond.
Some Bites from Chef Fest. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
KALANI GARCIA, EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF, FOUR SEASONS RESORT HUALALAI
What are your favorite local ingredients?
I love using Surinam cherries, since they are sweet with hints of white pepper, making them a nice bridge for desserts incorporating both sweet and savory components. They come from South America, but they also grow really well here in Hawaii.
I also love kiawe flour, which we use in our power bars. They contain tons of vitamins and minerals and have a nice smoky, rich flavor.
What are you working on now?
We’re working on a new confections dessert box for two to four people at ‘Ulu Ocean Grill + Sushi Lounge. The guests will be able to pick and choose different desserts hidden in a jewelry-type wooden box brought out to the table.
BROOKE WILLIAMSON, CHEF/OWNER, HUDSON HOUSE
What did you think of your first visit to the Big Island?
It was different from any of the other islands that I’ve been to. The terrain of the island is like no other. It literally looks like a volcano just erupted and cracked open. It’s all black. It’s really kind of surreal looking.
What did you do when you weren’t in the kitchen during Chef Fest?
I definitely visited the adult pool and did some cocktails. I took a swim in [King’s Pond, the hotel’s] brackish water lagoon with 3,000 tropical fish in it, and I did some snorkeling in there, which was really cool.
What were your Chef Fest highlights?
For the opening event, they paired us with a local farm to present their produce or fish. I got paired with a local fruit vendor/farm, who had some really cool fruit, some of which I’ve never seen before.
The Beach Cookout was one of the highlights because I love that style of cooking. It felt very relaxed and we were all in Hawaiian shirts. It felt really casual yet the food was so appreciated. The crazy Instagram pictures of the Four Seasons Hualalai are real life — you get those sunsets every single night, and they are really mesmerizing. To be able to cook in that atmosphere was really great.
What’s next for you?
We are in the midst of giving Hudson House in Redondo Beach a breath of fresh air. We are giving it a mini facelift and completely changing the menu. We are going to focus more on our cocktail program. The menu [which will be unveiled in November] will be a lot of fun and be more of a sharing plate atmosphere.
Chef Andy Ricker. Credit: Andrew Richard Hara
ANDY RICKER
What was a standout ingredient you had on the Big Island?
I really enjoyed using Hawaiian chili peppers from the resort’s herb garden. They are essentially the same a Thai chili in heat and fragrance.
Did you do any island activities?
We got a chance to cross something off our bucket list: helicopter ride! We took a flight over the entire island on the clearest day of the year, making it extra memorable.
