Winners will be determined in a live cook-off on October 15, 2022 at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific as part of the Twelfth Annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival®
HONOLULU, HI (October 10, 2022)—Over the past six weeks, 114 entries from keiki in grades 4-12 poured in to the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival’s® (HFWF) annual keiki cooking competition—Hawaii Gas Presents 2022 Localicious® Recipe & Video Contest—inviting young chefs to create an original, healthy recipe featuring a locally grown, raised or caught product.
Today, the festival announced the six finalists—three in each age category (grades 4-8 and grades 9-12)— selected to compete in a live cook-off at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific on Saturday, October 15, 2022. The finalists of the Ninth Annual Competition will showcase their culinary skills and unique dishes for tasting and scoring by a panel of expert chef judges including Robynne Maii—2022 James Beard Award Winner of Best Chef: Northwest & Pacific and Chef/Owner of Fête; Ronnie Nasuti—Executive Chef of Tiki’s Grill & Bar; Alan Takasaki—General Manager of Restaurants at Neiman Marcus; as well as Vice President of Operations for Hawaii Gas, Kevin Nishimura.
Finalists in grades 9-12 will be eligible to win cash scholarships of $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place winners, while finalists in grades 4-8 will compete for Apple gift cards of up to $150 in value. This year’s finalists include:
GRADES 4-8
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Saige Imig |
Aria Kim |
Kimani Porlas |
GRADES 9-12
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Macadamia Crusted Mahi with an Okinawan Sweet Potato Puree and a Lemon Vinaigrette |
Linguine with Pesto & Meadow Gold Heavy Cream Sauce, Grilled Mahi & Local Vegetables |
Jonah Sahagun Pualu Fish Tacos
|
Paul Andrew Ibous
Contestants in grades 9-12 were also asked to submit a 2 – 4-minute video demonstrating their recipe in addition to the full recipe and photo of their completed dish. Recipes and videos will be available on the HASHI Life website after winners have been announced at the October 15 cook-off. Stay connected— follow HFWF on Twitter/Instagram @HIFoodWineFest and Facebook at @HawaiiFoodandWineFestival.
For Press & Media inquiries, please contact:
Kristen Lau-Grover, Director of Marketing & PR | [email protected] or 808-721-1849
ABOUT HAWAII FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL
The Hawaii Food & Wine Festival is the premier epicurean destination event in the Pacific. The Festival features a roster of more than 150 internationally renowned master chefs, culinary personalities, sommeliers, mixologists, and wine and spirit producers. Co-founded by two of Hawaii’s own James Beard Award-winning chefs, Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, the Festival showcases culinary experiences, wine tastings, cultural engagement and exclusive dining opportunities with dishes highlighting the State’s bounty of fresh, local produce, seafood, beef, poultry and spices. Since 2011, the Festival has given over $3 million to support local beneficiaries committed to culinary and agricultural education, sustainability and cultural programs in Hawaii.