CHEF NAKI KANEKOA, WAILUKU COFFEE CO.

“It’s mo’ betta for your belly, for our aina and economy.”

26 N. Market St., Wailuku

495-0259

wailukucoffeeco.com

Salads $6.50-8.50

We get as much produce locally as possible. Strawberries, zucchini, papaya, avocados, lettuce, oranges, limes and lemons, when they are in season. Some comes from small gardens and farmers we know; otherwise, we get it from Rainbow Organics. Our salads are the closest to 100 percent local, and it’s made with love!

ANTHONY LA BUA AND MALETA VAN LOAN

“We are committed to preserving more than just fruit!”

Maui Preserved

mauipreserved.com

Maui Preserved is rooted in the idea of eating locally. Maui grown fruits and vegetables are not only good for our health and community, but are intensely delicious. Our company is driven by the realistic need to make our island and the state of Hawaii more sustainable. Our products start and finish on Maui, giving a reliable income to our farmers and thus a dependable excellence to our customers. Starting with the highest-quality local produce, our jams, pickles and hot sauces capture flavor at the peak of freshness for your enjoyment year-round. From Green tea in our pickled beets and pineapple steeped in Hawaiian chile pepper syrup, Maui Preserved strives to bottle our dynamic food culture.

Maui Preserved is based on confronting the challenges of eating and growing local food. Our favorite challenges revolve around finding peak-of-season Maui-grown produce and competing with the barge!

JOSH MARTEN, R.S. SHARKY’S

“Use local to reduce trash and landfill problems.”

41 E Lipoa, Ste. 15, Kihei

Sharkyshawaii.com

Margarita pizza 14.95

Our restaurant is all about the community. Our margarita pizza is made from local tomatoes, basil and cheeses. We get our vegetables from the Lipoa Street Farmers Market, and our burgers are from a local beef manufacturer that is not Maui Cattle Company. We support them because we need them to support us. It is something everyone should do. If we all did this more we could help out Maui and eliminate waste from packaging products.

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CHEF WESLEY HOLDER, PULEHU

“We are committed to the community to lessen our carbon footprint while providing the best and freshest products for our guests.”

6 Kai Ala Drive, Lahaina

667-3200

westinkaanapali.com

Wild Arugula and Roasted Beet Salad $13

We use beets and onions grown in Kula and sourced from Kula farms and goat cheese from Surfing Goat Dairy. In a search for the opportunity to use fresh, local ingredients I was inspired by the taste and texture combinations that these ingredients make. I am constantly looking for ways to use locally grown products for our seasonal menus. We are striving to use at least 80 percent of our ingredients from local farmers and purveyors. We are proud to be part of the Maui community and make a commitment to support our economy by doing what is pono. We hope our efforts inspire other restaurants to be enlightened as to the amazing local products that we are able to use.

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GERRY ROSS AND JANET SIMPSON

“We love to grow food for people!”

Kupa’a Farms

kupaafarms.org

We use organic and sustainable agricultural practices to grow a diverse array of fruit, vegetables and award-winning coffee. Our farm has grown every year since we began in 2003. We need more land, which is very hard in the current real estate market. We need a local source of fish fertilizer and quality compost. Bugs, birds, weather and mice can be a challenge on a cyclical basis.

We produce for a couple of restaurants and personal chefs but we also produce for a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA), filled entirely with produce from our farm. We are also a regular fixture on Saturdays at the Upcountry Farmers Market in Pukalani.

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CHEF BEN KLEIN, MALA OCEAN TAVERN

“Living in Hawaii, 3,000 miles from any major landmass, our carbon footprint becomes magnified that much more.”

1307 Front St., Lahaina

malaoceantavern.com

Beet carpaccio

I feel that the combination of using fresh local ingredients and a unique cooking technique make this dish special. We sous vide the baby beets, which gives them a unique texture and allows them to retain nearly all of the vitamin and mineral content as well as the vibrant color.

I was inspired to create this dish by the introduction to the sous vide technique and by farmer James Simpliciano, who allowed me to sample some of the local baby beets. The dish is also basically a deconstructed and slightly healthier version of the roasted beet salad that we have on our regular menu. We used a tarragon vinaigrette as apposed to the anise seed flavored vinaigrette and instead of the fried goat cheese croquette on the roasted beet salad, we use fresh goat cheese and fried shallots to create a similar texture and flavor profile. We are constantly motivated to use local ingredients whenever possible, not only for freshness and quality but for leaving as little of a carbon footprint as possible.

CHEF RHODERICK D. BULOSAN AND THE COOKS, BUZZ’S WHARF

“By showcasing local items, we are providing the customers with the product that is indicative of what Hawaii has to offer.”

Ma’alaea Harbor

244-5426

buzzswharf.com

Misoyaki Walu $29

In this dish, the walu is caught by local fisherman in our waters and delivered to us fresh, never frozen. Our Maui onions and baby bok choy are grown by Kula local farmers. We use these items because they are consistently available for us and they compliment each other very well in this dish.

The dish is a six-ounce filet of walu marinated in miso paste, mirin, sweet Thai chili and green onions. It is seared, then baked til the fish is nice and golden brown. It’s served with Buzz’s own teriyaki sauce, crispy Maui onions, shitake mushroom chips, stir fry vegetables and choice of starch (white rice, brown rice, or garlic mashed potatoes). I love the nice moist texture of the fish, some like it with a miso glaze, others with a teriyaki glaze, so I decided to put the two together to get the best of both worlds and created a “Misoyaki Walu.”

As a young chef developing new skills, I learned to utilize local items not only to support the economy but to bring out the flavors that our island has to offer. Visitors come here not to see and taste what they already have, but to try something new and interesting.

CHEF ALAN MCLAUGHLIN, HAWAIIAN MOONS NATURAL FOODS

“We live on a Rock, we need to support all of our local growers of all foods.”

2411 S. Kihei Rd.

875-4356

hawaiianmoons.com

Organic Lacinato Kale & Chard Salad: $7.49 per pound in the Salad Bar

Our philosophy has always been to use as much local products as possible. The organic kale is grown Upcountry at Coca Farms and we also use Kumu Farms. It’s a local, organic, made fresh daily and an all-around great simple raw dish. The kale is julienned a quarter inch and the chard is jullienned  a half inch, then dressed with a fresh lemon juice, unrefined x-virgin olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and coarse ground black pepper. Freshness and quality keeps folks employed. If you want fresh, then support the local ranchers, growers and fishermen. This is a way for us to give back.

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PRESTON HOPE, MALA WAILEA

“Any farmers out there with unique products, Mala would like to hear from you.”

3700 Wailea Ala Nui Dr.

Malawailea.com

Miso Paka, $42

We marinate the fresh fish in a sake miso paste, bake it in a very hot oven and serve it on top of purple Molokai potatoes with fresh local corn and kabocha squash. Everything on the plate is local, from the Maui seafood to the island herbs for micro greens.

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SHA’ANAN FADER

“Coconut is something that everyone should have access to.”

Alive & Well

aliveandwellmaui.com

The coconut kefir I produce out of local coconuts is fresh coconut meat and coconut water. It’s completely coconut. It’s not watered down in any sense of the word. The process only takes 18 hours; it literally ferments overnight. The fresh oily coconut meat is combined with young coconut water. The Kefir strains are stirred in and 18 hours later life is teaming from the jars. The enormity of benefits that probiotic-rich foods possess make them close to the best thing you can put in your body.

One of the most exciting things to me about the coconut yogurt is its use in live/raw food preparation. Most live/raw food menus are based on nuts and seeds. The desserts that are produced tend to be heavy and rich. The coconut kefir yogurt has let me substitute the nuts in the dessert for yogurt. The probiotic in the yogurt, which is a digestive aid in itself, combines with the naturally occurring enzymes to pleasantly introduce the desserts to the belly. No guilt, no “bomb,” just smiles.