The Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival returned to the islands for its 14th year, featuring various chefs, mixologists, and of course, wine.
New this year — a discussion and showcase about decolonizing the plate.
Kamehameha Schools presented “Roots” on Nov. 6 at the Hyatt Regency in Waikiki, featuring seven chefs from the U.S. continent, Hawaii, North America, and Aotearoa with indigenous ties. The chefs repeatedly emphasized their hope to restore cultural foodways.
One of the chefs featured was Bonny Davis, who has a long history in the culinary industry and has been the executive chef at Kamehameha Schools Maui for the past 18 years.
“We hope that the people who taste the food, it kind of takes them back and we’re trying to reintroduce products that’s been here from our ancestors,” Chef Davis said.
Also in attendance were student volunteers from the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Ka’amauloa pathway, who were preparing and pounding fresh poi for guests. Their reasoning for volunteering came down to sharing and spreading the story of their Native Hawaiian roots.
“As a youth and from a younger age, I always understand the importance of culture and me attending events like this is a different way of me explaining that ‘hey, I’m still here and I want to share my culture,’” said student volunteer Auriana Meleakalani Fujihara.
The event also featured a chef’s panel and Q&A session, hosted by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, ambassador of culture for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. She explained that food represents so much more than its physical embodiment, and that it has deep cultural and generational significance.
“Food bridges our existence in the now to those whom have gone before, and establishes pathways that will take our next generations into the future,” Wong-Kalu said.
While reclaiming sustainable and indigenous foodways remains the ultimate mission for the chefs and guests attending, they also acknowledged that it will take time and effort to overcome the colonial hurdles set in place.
“It’s extremely expensive to eat native in Hawaii and so decolonizing our primary food source, at least for the native people of this land; it is a daunting question,” Wong-Kalu said.
Still, they remain optimistic and have hope that through events like these, more awareness will eventually lead to more action.
“We’re starting to make the baby steps, we’re working towards that,” Davis said. “I think it’s something, eventually we’ll be there, we’ll get there, but it’s going to take some time.”
Grant Nakasone is a junior, third-year journalism major and political science minor at UH Mānoa, and is primarily interested in web and broadcast journalism with a focus in politics.
Josslyn Rose is a second-year journalism major at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa who loves to focus on local stories, cultural events, and politics.
Christopher Kae is a second year junior journalism major, currently covering the University of Hawaii’s athletics as a member of the Sports Media Relations Department, who’s seeking a career in sports journalism.
