Taste
A month for your mouth

By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor

Farm Fair

Starting at the source, farmers kick off the Hawai'i State Farm Fair this weekend, running each weekend through August 19 at Aloha Stadium. Sponsored by the Hawaii Farm Bureau, there will be agricultural exhibits and sampling from Hawai'i's growers of produce, livestock and flowers. The grinds will be good: fresh and locally grown, and you'll be able to take some home from the Country Market. Sam Choy will do a cooking demonstration at 7 p.m. on Aug. 10; here's the schedule for the fair at Aloha Stadium.

• Friday, Aug. 10, 16: 6 p.m.-midnight.
• Saturday, Sunday, Aug. 11, 12, 17, 18, 19: noon-midnight.

Admission: $3 adults, $1.50 children 5-12 years, free for children under 5 years.

Chili in August

To heat up an already hot month, the Halekulani is staging "Its Chili in August" a tasting event, 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 featuring those spicy peppers we love.

Hotel wine manager Randy Ching will emcee the event, which will feature Hector Valenzuela of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's Horticulture Department, who will talk about chili varieties. The Halekulani's executive sous chef, Shawn Smith, is preparing a vertical chili pepper tasting: mild to hot chilis atop Boursin cheese and croutons.

After the tasting and informational session on the history, origins, growing and use of chilis, attendees can graze on haute chili preparations including chili-rubbed shrimp, skewered stuffed peppers, chili pepper crepes and chili vanilla ice cream. $55 per person, inclusive. 931-5040.

Made in Hawai'i

You can sample Hawai'i-made food products at the Made In Hawai'i Festival, Aug. 18-20 at Neal Blaisdell Center.

There will be sweet potato, taro and shrimp chips; candies and fudge from the Hawaiian Chip Co., candies and fudge from Kauai Tropical Fudge; pure Hawaiian milk and dark chocolate from The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory; macadamia nuts from the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association; ice creams from Tropilicious Ice Cream; poi products from The Poi Co; pure Kona coffee from Kona Joe Coffee; breads from Kanemitsu Bakery; fruit-flavored butters by Liko Lehua Products and tropical wines by Volcano Winery. There will also be cooking demonstrations and other events celebrating a variety of Hawaii-made products.

The Made in Hawai'i Festival happens noon-9 p.m. Aug. 17; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Aug. 18; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 19. Admission is $2, children under age 6 are free. Half-off coupons are available at First Hawaiian Bank branches beginning today.

Showcase

One of the best values in foodie events has always been the Showcase at the Academy of Arts. This year, this celebration of food, wine and art will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 featuring a star-studded lineup of chefs: Alan Wong, Darryl Fujita, Hiroshi Fukui, Doug Lum, Dean Okimoto, Roy Yamaguchi, D.K. Kodama, Jean Marie Josselin, Chai Chao-wasaree, Philippe Padovani and the academy's chef Mike Nevin.

Master sommelier Chuck Furuya organizes the many wineries represented at this annual event, and the art sale always features great finds by local artists.

Tickets are $75 per person and proceeds benefit childrens' art programs at the Academy of Arts. In case you can't get a ticket for the Showcase (it's always a sell-out) you can view and buy the art on Aug. 18 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for free. Tickets: 532-6099.

Flavors of Aloha

The foodie event of the year will be on Aug. 25 when the Hawai'i Regional Cuisine chefs and Hawai'i island chefs — more than two dozen in all — present signature dishes at a "Flavors of Aloha" reunion from 6-10 p.m. at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

The event will honor the dozen chefs who organized Hawaii Regional Cuisine — Sam Choy, Roger Dikon, Mark Ellman, Amy Ferguson-Ota, Beverly Gannon, Jean-Marie Josselin, George Mavrothalassitis, Peter Merriman, Philippe Padovani, Gary Strehl, Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi. All will be present, plus more than a dozen rising star chefs from all islands. The $125 tab will partly benefit culinary programs in Hawai'i public high schools, insuring the future of Hawai'i Regional Cuisine. Tickets: 922-0588. (There is a $25 discount if purchasing individual tickets with an American Express card.)

During the day, a free Hawai'i Regional Cuisine Farmer's Market Festival will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. Island-grown fruits and vegetables, seafood and flowers will be showcased; Hawai'i-made products and cookbooks will be on sale, and there will be cooking demonstrations and wine seminars throughout the day.

"An Evening with the Angels" at 6 p.m. on Aug. 27 will feature food by chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Khamtan Tanchaleun in this benefit for Sisters Offering Support at the Koolau Golf Club in Kane'ohe. Tickets are $100 per person; 941-5554.

Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

Onion Festival

The 12th annual Whalers Village Maui Onion Festival, a celebration of the sweetest onions from Upcountry Maui, gets under way this weekend.

Ten of Maui's finest chefs each will prepare a signature Maui onion dish in a series of live cooking demonstrations and tastings throughout the weekend. Maui Onion King Eric Siegmund, a six-time winner of the Maui onion-eating contest, will preside over the festivities, giving other contest participants a chance to consume as many ounces of Maui onions in a minute as possible. The perennial food favorite — crisp-fried Maui onion rings — will be available as well as other onion-themed tastes.

The festival runs from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Whalers Village in Ka'anapali, Maui.

Pineapple Festival

Maui celebrates one of its principal crops at the Seventh Annual Maui Pineapple Festival, Aug. 17-19 at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului. Maui chefs will create desserts featuring pineapple, there will be cooking demonstrations, juice and fresh pineapple sampling, exhibits, entertainment and more. Highlight of the three-day festival will be the Maui Pineapple Dessert and Sushi Contest at 11 a.m. on Aug. 18.

The celebration takes place noon-8 p.m. Aug. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug 18 and 19. For more information: (808) 877-4325.

BIG ISLAND Events

Sunset Tea

Sunset Tea, bruschetta buffet and desserts takes place from 5-7:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. A benefit for nutritional education for children on the Big Island, sponsored by the ACF Kona-Kohala Chefs de Cuisine organization. $40 per person. Ticket information: (808) 326-2350.

An Evening in Paradise

On August 11, notable chefs will converge at 6:30 p.m. at The Orchid at Mauna Lani for "An Evening in Paradise," a benefit for the Hawai'i Island United Way campaign.

For a fully tax deductible $60 per person, attendees can sample the foods of Daniel Thiebaut, Daniel Thiebaut Restaurant; James Cassidy, Four Seasons Resort Hualalai; Corey Waite, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel; Miles Togikawa and Pat Saito, Outrigger Waikoloa Beach Resort; Bill Poolman, Koa House Grill; Glenn Alos, Kona Village Resort; Thomas Woods, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel; Ryan Vargas, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows; Sandy Barr, Merriman's; Amy Ferguson-Ota and Gary Pfahl, Oodles of Noodles; Frank Ke, Royal Kona Resort; D.K. Kodama and Sean Kinoshita, Sansei of Maui and Oahu; and James Babian, Roy Basilio and Daniel Sampson, The Orchid at Mauna Lani.

The Cruz Family will entertain; TV personalities Kim Gennaula and Guy Hagi will emcee the event. Tickets: (808) 935-6393.

Headdress Ball

The Gala Foodbank Headdress Ball is another food-tasting extravaganza, this one with a strange twist, which starts at 5 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village grand ballroom on the Big Island.

This Carmen Miranda-inspired event is a benefit for the Hawaii Island Food Bank. Chefs Glenn Alos, James Cassidy, Willie Pirngruber, Ryan Vargas, Corey Waite and David Brown will donate their talents; Big Island farmers and food purveyors donate their products.

Entertainment, silent auction and dancing are a part of the evening. Tickets: $50-$60 per person. (808) 885-0018.