Hawaii Food & Wine Festival^® Celebrates 15 Years of Culinary Excellence & Community Impact

HONOLULU, HI (May 15, 2025)—The highly anticipated Fifteenth Annual Hawaii Food and Wine Festival^® (HFWF) celebrates a major milestone this fall marking its evolution as the premier epicurean event in the Pacific and a vital contributor to Hawaii’s culinary and agricultural industries. Tickets are now available for the 2025 Festival, which will span three weekends from October 17 to November 2, 2025, across three islands—the Island of Hawaii, Kaanapali, Maui, and Oahu—and spotlight Hawaii’s world-renowned chefs and beverage talents, locally-grown ingredients, and unmatched hospitality. This year’s theme, FEAST, honors the powerful connection between Food, Education, Agriculture, Sustainability, and Tourism—the foundational pillars that have not only shaped the Festival, but reflect the very identity of Hawaii.

As a program of the Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance (HACA), the Festival’s nonprofit mission has always been to create meaningful connections—between chefs and students, farmers and restaurants, Hawaii’s local economy and the global culinary stage. “What started as a three-day culinary event in Waikiki in 2011 has grown into a statewide movement that celebrates our chefs, supports our farmers, uplifts Hawaii’s food systems and has helped establish Hawaii’s reputation as a leading culinary destination.” said Denise Yamaguchi, HFWF Chief Executive Officer.

That reputation was reaffirmed earlier this year, when Hawaii’s culinary scene was recognized as the top food destination in the U.S. by Escoffier and featured in Travel + Leisure magazine. “Today, our mission continues to evolve—investing in education and workforce development statewide to ensure a stronger future for Hawai‘i’s culinary and agricultural industries,” Yamaguchi added. “We’re focused on building pathways and partnerships that will uplift the next generation of chefs, farmers, and hospitality professionals across our islands.”

Co-founded by James Beard Award-winning chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong in 2011, HFWF has grown to be the largest food and wine festival in the state of Hawaii, bringing Hawai‘i’s agricultural richness and homegrown culinary excellence to the forefront through immersive dining experiences that highlight local ingredients and chefs. The 2025 Festival events will feature a lineup of more than a 100 world-renowned chefs and culinary leaders from coast-to-coast, as well as international chefs from Canada, Japan and New Zealand. This year’s festival boasts 23 new chefs, including Leah Cohen, Johnny Courtney, Masa Gushiken, Alex Kim, Nini Nguyen, Dominica Rice-Cisneros and Aarón Sánchez, alongside HFWF veteran chefs such as Chris Cosentino, Dean Fearing, Brandon Jew, Andrew Le, Robynne Maii, Spike Mendelsohn, Michael Meredith, Masaharu Morimoto, Shota Nakajima, Jason Peel, Sheldon Simeon, Nancy Silverton and more. Joined by celebrated winemakers, sommeliers and mixologists, the Festival boasts a roster of more than 150 global tastemakers at events ranging from walk-around tastings with VIP gourmet experiences to wine-seminars, brunches, gala dinners and for the first time, a one-day conference for industry professionals.

Kicking off on the Island of Hawaii, the Festival will tee off with the First Annual Cuisines of the Sun^® Golf Classic Hosted by Alan Wong at the Mauna Kea Golf Course, followed by Cucina: From Mauka to Makai, a grand tasting event that brings together land and sea with Italian culinary masters. The following weekend, in partnership with Kaanapali Beach Resort Association, the Festival will present an exciting weekend of events on Maui including Southern Seafood Sunday Hosted by Aarón Sánchez at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows that celebrates the bold flavors of the South through local seafood and ingredients.

The Festival culminates on Oahu with a series of signature experiences, including Slanted & Phan-tastic: A Celebration of Charles Phan—a special evening at Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach honoring the late Chef Charles Phan and his culinary legacy. In a bold new addition to the lineup, the inaugural FEAST Summit will bring together industry professionals and changemakers for a full-day conference dedicated to the intersection of Food, Education, Agriculture, Sustainability, and Tourism, and include a special networking lunch honoring the original Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs and spotlight the next generation shaping the future of food in Hawaii. Tickets for FEAST Summit will go on sale in June. The weekend’s events will also include the Festival’s signature wine-centric grand tasting, Hawaiian Airlines Presents Decanted, featuring more 17 chefs and more than 20 wine professionals.

Oahu

Slanted & Phan-tastic: A Celebration of Charles Phan
Thursday, October 30, 2025 | 6:00 – 9:00 P.M.
Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach

FEAST Summit
Friday, October 31, 2025 | 8:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort
Tickets to go on sale in July

Hawaiian Airlines Presents Decanted
Saturday, November 1, 2025 | 6:00 – 9:00 P.M.
Hawaii Convention Center

MatCHA Chai Brunch
Sunday, November 2, 2025 | 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa

Washoku to the World
Sunday, November 2, 2025 | 5:00 – 9:00 P.M
Halekulani

Ticket are on sale now for the Fifteenth Annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival at www.HFWF.me. The schedule of events and participating chef line up is available online at hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com. Stay connected—follow HFWF on Instagram @HIFoodWineFest using #HFWF25 and Facebook at @HawaiiFoodandWineFestival. Since 2011, HFWF has raised over $5 million to support local community and ‘āina-based organizations committed to agricultural and culinary education, sustainability and cultural initiatives.