Best Local Eats: Hawaiʻi Cuisine Restaurants

To understand Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine, it’s essential to recognize that Hawaiʻi is one of the world’s most culturally rich places. Its unique character has been shaped by the Hawaiian monarchy and the plantation era of the 1850s when many people flocked to Hawaiʻi to work on the sugar and pineapple plantations. This wave of immigration significantly added to Hawaiʻi’s population, creating a mix of Native Hawaiians and Polynesians, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Filipino, Chinese and more. Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine is a culinary movement that began in 1992 when a group of local chefs introduced a distinct style of cuisine to highlight Hawaiʻi’s historical influences and ethnic flavors. The cuisine blends Hawaiʻi’s diverse cultural heritage with island-grown ingredients like Big Island-raised beef, Maui-grown vegetables and Pacific-caught seafood.

The founding chefs of Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine are Sam Choy, Mark Ellman, Roger Dikon, Roy Yamaguchi, Beverly Gannon, Amy Ferguson Ota, Jean-Marie Josselin, Peter Merriman, Philipe Padovani, Alan Wong, George Mavrothalassitis and Gary Strehl. Starting in 1992, these foodies banded together to showcase Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine to the world. They opened restaurants, appeared on food networks and published cookbooks while fostering the growth of food produced locally in Hawaiʻi by supporting island farmers, ranchers and fishermen. Thanks to these chefs, the Hawaiian Islands became famous for Pacific-style fusion dishes made with local foods, and in doing so, it raised the profile of Hawaiʻi’s culinary experiences. Eventually, Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine secured its place as the jewel in the crown of Hawaiʻi’s modern food scene.

Traditional Hawaiian food reflects the original diet of Native Hawaiian people, centered around fresh, natural ingredients like taro, sweet potatoes, seafood and pork prepared simply by steaming, smoking or consuming raw. On the other hand, Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine is a style of cooking developed by a group of local chefs in the 1990s highlighting Hawaiʻi’s culinary history, combining multicultural influences with home-grown ingredients.