Taste It

Preparing tastes of tender beef sandwiches at Taste 2011 was Chef George Gomes of the Mauna Kea Beach Resort and his team of Hawaii Community College culinary students.

Get out your calendar and put a big red circle around Friday, Sept. 21 for the 17th Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agriculture Festival. Come celebrate our locally produce food and meet Hawai’i Island’s hard-working, food producers—including ranchers who produce healthy and humanely raised, grass-fed beef.

Event organizers report 33 restaurants have already committed to participate and their chefs will be dazzling diners 6-8 p.m. with delectable dishes using pasture-raised beef, pork, lamb, goat, mutton and wild boar—plus a cornucopia of fresh island fruit, veggies, honey, spices and beverages.

Culinary adventure seekers can taste and enjoy all the cuts of grass-fed beef—everything from tongue to tail—prepared expertly by Hawai’i chefs.  Enjoy familiar cuts like sirloin tip and ribs, plus beef cheek and the infamous “rocky mountain oysters” or bull testicles. All beef is aged for 21 days and 100 percent finished on grass.

Saddlemaking by Ka Hana No'eau was one of the 2011 fun educational booth enjoyed by attendees like Monty Richards of Kahua Ranch.

While tasting, “grazing” attendees can visit Hawa’i's food producers at gaily decorated vendor booths and talk story with island residents who make a living growing our food. Taste also affords local food producers the opportunity to hookup with isle chefs and wholesale buyers. The event sprawls both inside and out—last year’s Taste boasted 80-some stations offering your choice of tastes and ag-related information.

Students from Hawaii Community College in Kona and Hilo assist chefs and local food producers at their culinary stations and booths. The future chefs also attend pre-Taste seminars on using grass-fed beef.

Chef Babian of Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is leading this year's Cooking Grass-Fed Beef 101 class.

Pre-Taste hoopla geared to the public and local culinary students is the informative Grass-Fed Beef Cooking 101 class. This year’s guest presenter is James Babian, executive chef at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. The class includes sampling and Chef Babian will share how his resort best uses grass-fed beef on its award-winning menu.

Tickets prices for the evening Taste and Cooking 101 demo will be conveniently sold at Taste Of The Hawaiian Range starting June 1. Taste tickets remain priced at $40 presale and $60 at the door, while the fee for the cooking demo is $10.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication or a modification of policies and procedures to participate in this event should contact Jeri Moniz at 808-960-8411 as soon as possible and no later than Sept. 14.

Watch for event updates and ticket giveaways on Facebook at Taste of the Hawaiian Range. See you Friday, Sept. 21 and come hungry! Stetsons, boots and cowgirl duds are welcome—but not required.

Cooking Grass-Fed Beef 101 seminar

About 1,200 eager eaters filled the Lagoon Lanai and Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Waikoloa Village on September 30 to celebrate our local food and the people who produce it. Meat was on the menu-dry-aged, 100 percent grass-fed beef, plus lamb, mutton, goat and wild boar-and a cornucopia of locally farmed ingredients.

Wild boar, prepared by the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, was a big hit

This year’s Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range began in the early afternoon with a pork industry seminar for 81 community college culinary students and continued with the 2011 installment of Cooking Grass-Fed Beef 101, an engaging, public cooking demonstration led by KTA’s Derek Kurisu and Chef Scott Hiraishi of Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai. Samples of Shortribs Delight and Braised Oxtail were passed all around, along with their recipes.

George Kahumoku and Friends serenaded attendees

At the evening Taste, festival-goers enjoyed delicious cuisine prepared by 35 chefs, samples from 30 local food producers and a dozen displays focusing on agriculture- a whopping 85 “things to do.” Country music-paniolo style-was performed by George Kahumoku and Friends to serenade attendees munching on kiawe-smoked roast beef, kim chee meatloaf, kalua pork and tempura meatball lollipops.

Dragonfruit and more filled the table by Adaptations

Food producer booths ranged from the fresh produce and edible flowers of Adaptations, to the sweet cane juice of Kalapana Organics. Educational displays encouraged conversation and offered handouts, including UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resource’s (CTAHR) “Benefits of Edible Ginger” and the saddle-making know-how of Ka Hana No’eau. The Paniolo Preservation Society kicked off a membership drive by awarding a standout photo of the late Walter “Wala” Stevens, Parker Ranch’s legendary horseman.

The Benefits of Edible Ginger display was presented by UH's CTAHR

Taste was again put on as a Zero Waste event with the help of County of Hawai’i's Dept. of Environmental Management and the students of Kanu O Ke Aina. As such, attendees easily and efficiently divided their throw-aways into a host of waste bins at each trash station.

Ka Hana No'eau members demonstrated saddlemaking

Mahalo to all the hard-working volunteers and generous sponsors who made the 16th Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range a success.  You have furthered the event’s goal of educating everyone that our Hawai’i Island ranchers produce quality, grass-fed beef that tastes good-all of it-from nose to tail!

Photos by Fern Gavelek

In an effort to hookup local ranchers and farmers with food service buyers, Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range has a VIP Pre-Taste trade show from 5-6 p.m. During this time, participating chefs and invited resort and restaurant purchasers can “taste and see” a cornucopia of fresh foods and value-added products.

Vendors, who participate in the trade show for free, also stay for the 6-8 p.m. Taste to offer samples to the general public. Having food producers at Taste enables attendees to “talk story” with the people providing our food.

This year’s Taste hosts about 30 agriculture vendors and a dozen educational displays. Ranging from fresh hearts of palm to bottled water, all the products are locally produced. New producers strutting their stuff include Kalapana Organics-while favorites like the Hawaii Cattle Producers Cooperative and Wailea Agricultural Group-return.

Sugar cane juice debuts by Kalapana Organics

Kalapana Organics

Debuting at this year’s event, Kalapana Organics will tout the company’s sugar cane juice. Originally called Sugar Rush, the newly named Organic Hawaiian Cane Rush comes in a line of flavors like Coco Cream. Producing the juice are Jackie Prell and “Ginger” John Caverly. The couple farms the sugar cane just north of Hilo on 18 acres in Onomea; they make the juice at their production site and adjacent new Sweet Cane Café at 1472 Kilauea Avenue in Hilo.

“We also farm lilikoi, ginger, tumeric, limes and lemons in Kalapana to flavor our organic-certified juice,” adds Prell. She says the company recently starting pasteurizing the juice with an ultraviolet Cider-Sure. “This will give it a longer shelf life and enable us to increase our distribution reach.” For more info, visit www.kalapanaorganics.com.

Village Burger uses Hawaiian Ranchers Red Veal

Hawaii Ranchers Red Veal

Offered by the Hawaii Cattle Producers Co-op, Hawaiian Red Veal is produced from calves weighing up to 600 pounds, who have just been weaned off the mother cow. These young animals have eaten some grass on pasture as they have been allowed to roam freely. No hormones or antibiotics have been administered to these humanely raised animals and they have been subjected to minimal stress. Meat is pinkish-red in color and tender with enough fat to offer a mild beef flavor.

Wailea Agricultural Group's Michael Crowell and Lesley Hill

Wailea Agricultural Group

Showcasing its fresh Hawaiian heart of palm at Taste, Wailea Agricultural Group also offers a wide diversity of fresh fruit, flowers and spices. Located in Honomu, the company began operations in 1994 and is a Hawai’i Seal of Quality member.  At the helm are Michael Crowell and Lesley Hill, who met at the University of Hawai’i.

“Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range is a wonderful way for the community to see all the agricultural products coming from the Big Island,” explains Hill. “It is our 13th year and during our participation, we’ve been able to educate attendees about heart of palm-what it is and how it tastes.” For more info, visit www.waileaag.com.

Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range is 6-8 p.m. and sprawls from the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom to the Lagoon Lanai. Pre-Taste activities include a 3 p.m. culinary demo, with sampling, Grass-Fed Beef Cooking 101.

Ticket prices for the evening Taste and Cooking demo are conveniently sold online at www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com. Taste tickets remain priced at $40 presale and $60 at the door, while the cooking demo is $10. The above link also lists ticket sale locations.

They’ll be creating everything from Hawaiian Tea-Infused Beef Brisket to tempura-fried Hamburger Lollipops. Nine new restaurants and their chefs are participating at the 16th Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agriculture Festival on Friday, Sept. 30 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

They join a total of 35 culinary stations offering local, forage-fed meats prepared with fresh fruit and vegetables. Meats on the menu include a variety of dry-aged, grass-fed beef cuts—everything from tongue to tail—plus lamb, mutton, goat, pork and wild boar.

Four of Taste’s culinary newbies are also fresh to the Big Isle’s dining scene: Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai of Keauhou-Kona, Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Museum in Waikoloa, Kohala Burger & Taco in Kawaihae and Red Water Café in Waimea.

Chef David Abrahams

Chef David Abrahams of Red Water Café and Hawaii Gourmet Society will be making savory roast beef from grass-fed beef bottom round. Each culinary station gets 100 pounds of meat to concoct into a delicious culinary creation.

“What’s fun about Taste is our meat assignment is a surprise so we’re challenged to come up with a dish,” says Abrahams, who participated before at Taste while with Merriman’s. “I’ve been assigned everything from tongue to tripe and getting bottom round, a flavorful cut, is a plus. I’ll be doing a special preparation, I’ve been mulling around a few ideas.”

Taste’s format of assigning chefs a variety of meat cuts fulfills its goal of educating both chefs and attendees that all the cuts of grass-finished beef can be enjoyed. In addition, with more of the animal being used, there is less waste and the value of the product goes up—a plus for the local livestock industry.

Chef Ken Takahashi

While Hilo native and Waiakea High School alum Chef Ken Takahashi also isn’t new to Taste, his year-old restaurant is. The owner of Honolulu Burger Company on O’ahu is assigned grass-fed ground beef and he’ll be making Hamburger Lollipops to wow Taste attendees.

“We’ll be using shitake mushrooms from Hamakua, feta cheese from Naked Cow Dairy and Maui onions to craft the ground beef into the meatball treats,” details Takahashi, who prides himself in using as much Hawai’i product as possible. “Then we’ll tempura fry the meat on the stick. It’s going to be fun and I look forward to coming home.”

Also returning to Taste, but with a new restaurant, is Chef Kapolanialaimaka “Kapo” Kealoha of 4Kings Kitchen in Honolulu. Other O’ahu eating establishments making their debut include the Pagoda Restaurant in Honolulu and ‘Umeke Market in Kahala.

Chef Robert Wemischner

Earning his Taste culinary chops all the way from California is chef and author Robert Wemischner. The Los Angeles-based professional pastry chef and culinary educator has authored four books: The Vivid Flavors Cookbook, Gourmet to Go, Cooking with Tea and The Dessert Architect. He comes to Taste on the heels of preparing a host of tea-infused delectables at the LA International Tea Festival.

“I’m looking forward to being the only mainland chef to participate, tying together Hawaiian-grown beef and tea in a tea-braised brisket with wasabi cream,” details Wemischner. He will use a combination of oolong and black teas and says his dish will showcase “the best of localvore eating.”

Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range is 6-8 p.m. and sprawls from the Hilton’s Grand Ballroom to the Lagoon Lanai. Pre-Taste activities include a culinary demo, with sampling, on how to use and prepare 100 percent pasture-raised beef. Time is 3 p.m. for the 2011 installment of Grass-Fed Beef Cooking 101. This year’s guest presenter is KTA’s Derek Kurisu of TV’s “Living in Paradise.”

Tickets prices for the evening Taste and Cooking 101 demo are conveniently sold online at www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com. Taste tickets remain priced at $40 presale and $60 at the door, while the fee for the cooking demo is $10. The above link also lists ticket sale locations.

The 16th Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range continues to highlight and feature locally grown grass-fed beef that has been aged for 21-days.  The tradition continues with raising cattle in our tropical climate and ranchers are perfecting their grass-fed beef for chefs and families to enjoy!

Hamakua Landscapes

Advantages of Grass-fed Beef
Many of us are eating grass-fed beef and forage-fed animals today for their health benefits.  Yet, many of us are unaware of the environment, social and economic factors.  In The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook by Shannon Hayes she discusses all of these advantages of the grass-fed beef industry.

Health Benefits
Grass-fed meats are rich in the “good fats” known as omega-3 fatty acids which helps in lowering high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol.  It is a rich source of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA’s) which have been linked as a source in cancer prevention.  Hayes also shares, “these meats are known to contain antioxidant vitamins and are much less likely to carry the virulent strain of E. coli 0157:H7.”

Environmental Benefits
Pasture raised animals encourages and improves land management with soil fertility, eliminates waste management problems and keeps our wide open landscapes.

Social Benefits
Cattle and animals raised in open pasture fields have less diseases and stress, are able to exercise and act on their own natural instincts.  Ranchers and farmers have less respiratory related illnesses found in large scale operations.

Grass-Fed Beef Burger with Local Greens & Sweet Potato Fries from Eddie Aikau Restaurant & Museum.

Economic Benefits
Locally owned based ranches and farms provide a service to their community with the product of grass-fed beef and forage fed animals.  They tend to hire local workers and the most important benefit is that when you purchase grass-fed beef from a farmer or rancher locally – it keeps them in business!!!

Prepare great meals with your family with locally grown grass-fed beef from our island: hamburgers, tacos, chili, stews, kabobs, teriyaki and kalbi, stir fry with local veggies, pot roast and more…

Want to learn more?  Join us for Cooking Grass-fed Beef 101 at 3:00 p.m. with KTA’s Derek Kurisu for $10 at www.brownpapertickets.com. Free shuttle service will be available from Anaeho`omalu Bay.