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Renowned Chef Ming Tsai to Cook Up Some Fun

22nd Annual Kapalua Wine and Food Festival

By Madelyn Miller

Famous “East Meets West” chef Ming Tsai has signed on to “chart a course for great taste” as the featured chef of the 2003 Kapalua Wine and Food Festival, taking place July 10 – 13, 2003.   Tsai will be paired with Master Sommelier and host of the Kapalua Wine and Food Festival Andrea Immer for a special cooking demonstration that promises to be entertaining, informative and fun. 

I was at the event in 2002 and Chef Ming Tsai has some act to follow. As a foodie and follower of food and wine festivals, I have always regarded Kapalua as one of the best.

And last year’s event will be hard to top.

The Kapalua Wine and Food Festival features more than 100 international wineries, 16 of Hawaii’s top chefs and more than 3,000 wine lovers over the course of the four-day food and wine extravaganza on Maui.  Hosting the event for the third year in a row, Immer has designed a series of wine seminars, tastings and signature events surrounding the theme, “Flavor Map of the World—Charting a Course for Great Taste.”  Among the Festival’s savory events:

The Grand Tasting: Opening on the spectacular Kapalua Bay Hotel & Ocean Villas’ oceanfront promontory on Friday, July 11, The Grand Tasting will highlight one to two world-class wines from each of the featured wineries for an alfresco sampling of more than 100 wines with an exciting menu prepared by chefs from the Kapalua Bay Hotel & Ocean Villas.

Gala Dinner:  Chefs of The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua prepare a traditional Hawaiian luau, showcasing the international influences on Hawaiian cuisine. Kalua pork, lau lau, lomi lomi salmon, poi and other traditional luau ingredients will be interpreted in a new internationally-inspired way at the Festival’s always sold-out gala event.

Kapalua Seafood Festival:  This signature event shines the spotlight on 16 of Hawaii’s hottest chefs as they prepare a bounty of the Pacific, complemented by wines selected personally by Immer.  Hawaiian entertainment tops this memorable evening, which takes place on Sunday, July 13 at The Ritz-Carlton’s Aloha Pavilion.

Designed for both novices and wine aficionados alike, seminars will feature a Ruinart champagne vertical; Russian River Valley wine tasting; Old World / New World tasting comparing the old world classics with the same grapes grown in the new world; chef demonstrations and an artisanal cheese tasting and wine pairing. Other spirited events include an author brunch and book signing with a Bloody Mary bar, a rum mixology seminar, and hands-on sushi making with famed Hawaii Chef D.K. Kodama.

Tsai, a native of California, is most noted for his popular Food Network television programs, East Meets West with Ming Tsai and Ming’s Quest.  Tsai’s passion for food originated in the kitchen of his family’s Chinese restaurant in Dayton, Ohio.  Tsai served as an executive chef at Ginger Club and Santacafe before opening his own restaurant, Blue Ginger, in Boston.  Blue Ginger has been highly acclaimed since its opening, including receiving three stars from the Boston Globe and being named Best New Restaurant by Boston Magazine.  Tsai has also appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, Saveur, Food Arts and Food & Wine.  Additionally, Esquire Magazine hailed him as Chef of the Year in 1998 and the James Beard Foundation has nominated Blue Ginger as Best New Restaurant in the country.

A four-day festival pass includes admission to all events. Most events may also be purchased separately.  Special festival rates are available at Kapalua’s luxury accommodations, the Kapalua Bay Hotel & Ocean Villas, The Kapalua Villas and The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua.  For pricing, tickets or more information, call toll-free 1-800-KAPALUA or visit the web site at www.kapaluamaui.com. 

Kapalua is a 1,650-acre master-planned resort community set amidst a 23,000-acre working pineapple plantation on Maui’s northwest coast. The resort is renowned for its three world-class golf courses – The Bay, The Village and The Plantation Courses; nine residential communities; two premier hotels – The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua and the Kapalua Bay Hotel & Ocean Villas; a villa rental program, The Kapalua Villas; a luxury home rental program, Kapalua Luxury Homes; two tennis complexes; three white sand beaches; and a myriad of restaurants and shops.

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