Nalo Farms and Hawaii Regional Cuisine - This is Fresh!

While in Hawaii visiting my sister and her family, I always check in with my dear Hawaiian friend (and fellow International Caterers Association member and catering colleague), Michael Rabe. He owns Creations in Catering in Honolulu and uses the Dole Cannery's ballrooms as his venue and commissary base for the island of Oahu. What a great guy...and always a wonderful host, providing much aloha spirit and congeniality - along with plenty of inside contacts. He knows everyone, including the best chefs of the island.

Before I arrived in Hawaii, I had asked Mike if he could take me to see the farm where all the island's top chefs get their lettuces, herbs, greens, etc...As the story goes, in 1991 a dozen of these celebrated and talented chef's gathered together to form Hawaii Regional Cuisine, in an effort to support local growing and put Hawaii on the map in terms of cuisine. I can attest to the fact, as thousands of other culinarians can, it's been a huge success!

I had heard about this farm and because we are in the process of going Green as a catering company, my curiosity about local growing has really been piqued. As many of you know, my mom also grows organically for me from her 140-acre farm in Graysville, PA - in Greene County. Anyway, a few days ago, Mike took me to visit Dean Okimoto, owner of Nalo Farms in Waimanalo on the eastern (windward) side of Oahu. Back in 1991 Dean's good friend Roy Yamaguchi told him "if you grow lettuce for me, I will buy it and serve it in my restaurants"... The rest is history - Dean's Nalo Farms greens appear across many of the top restaurant's menus.

Owner Dean Okimoto & author Jason Capps

Outside the Nalo Farm gates

The fields in full cover of lettuces, herbs and greens...

Dean was gracious enough to show us around his farm and we walked the fields tasting just about everything - including Peppercress (a soft green herb - similiar to parsely in appearance), which presented a very interesting flavor. It had a subtle flatleaf parsley beginning, but finished with a hearty splash of heat, then quickly disappated on the palate). Some of the other items Dean pointed out were his Corn Sprouts, Snap Pea Sprouts, Japanese Spinach (much more robust and buttery than American types) and a host of other Asian herbs like Tat Soi and Mezuna, even Swiss Chard and much more...

Corn Sprouts...grown by using store bought popcorn, germinated, covered and grown for 8-9 days in complete darkness. A single shoot tastes like a whole bite of corn on the cob!