QUICK BITES
Gala Dinner opens 'Taste of Lahaina'

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

If you're contemplating a Maui visit, Taste of Lahaina weekend, Sept. 13 to 15, is a good time, particularly because of the gala opening dinner and cocktail party, "Maui Chefs Present ... ," long a favorite of Valley Islanders.

This year it's planned for Sept. 13 at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, and the theme for the under-the-stars event is "Garden of Eatin'." Fourteen Maui chefs are expected to participate, each set up in an individual mini-garden display area. Host chef for the evening is Jon Benson of the Hyatt Regency; David Paul Johnson is coordinating chef. For the first time this year, wines served will be matched to the menus the chefs plan to present.

Tickets are $95 per person, and a portion of the proceeds benefits Maui community groups. Reservations: Lahaina Visitor Center, (808) 667-9193. More information: check the host Web sites, www.kaanapaliresort.com or www.visitlahaina.com. The Lahaina Event hot line is toll-free (888) 310-1117.

Chefs on the move

• Daniel Maio, who grew up in a pastry-making family in his native Argentina, has joined Sam Choy's Restaurants as pastry chef. He already has added some of his creations to the menu at Sam Choy's Diamond Head Restaurant, including mango soufflé and chocolate manapua. Maio's family owned a confectionary shop and bakery in Buenos Aires, and he has worked at the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel in Washington, D.C., Vaccaro's Inc., and Pastries Unlimited Inc. in Maryland.
• Ka'anapali Beach Hotel executive chef Thomas Muromoto recently returned from Taiwan, where he helped present a three-week Hawaiian Food Festival for the Royal Hotels group there under the auspices of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau. Each hotel presented a Hawaiian evening for local media and dignitaries, who were served Muromoto's menu, including 'ahi medallions with cold lobster poke, grilled shrimp with pipikaula strip sirloin and other dishes.

Menu specials

• Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab is in the midst of a Salmon Festival, with specials featuring salmon on the menu now through Sunday.
• Pacific'O in Lahaina has inaugurated a new $11 "Flight Around the World" tasting of the same grape varietal, chardonnay, presented in three different countries — France, Australia and the United States (Napa Valley). New Zealand's Spy Hill pinot noir will soon be available there by the glass.

Foodie events

• The August meeting of the Vegetarian Society of Hawai'i will feature a presentation on religions that advocate vegetarianism. Among the presenters will be representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist church, a Buddhist temple and a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness; Ramdas Lamb of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa Department of Religion will present an overview. The meeting is at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Ala Wai Golf Course Clubhouse, 404 Kapahulu. Information: 944-8344.
• The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival each November features one of Hawai'i's most-entered cooking events, the KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest. Time to start thinking about entries now, in professional (entree) and nonprofessional (entree, dessert or beverage) divisions, and a new keiki competition for children under 15 (desserts). Entry forms are available from Trish Benson, (808) 322-3928 or take a look at www.konacoffeefest.com. The grand prize is a $250 KTA gift certificate; the entree winner gets a Neighbor Island getaway for two.

Send items of culinary interest to Wanda A. Adams, Food Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: taste@honoluluadvertiser.com.