This past Saturday was the final night of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. The event, Mauka to Makai, focused on the farm-to-table movement, emphasizing the use of fresh, locally grown ingredients.

Prominent local chefs included Ed Kenney of Town, Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Jeffery Vigilla, and Roy Yamaguchi.  

"Nonstop Honolulu" food writer, Ed Morita, proclaimed Chef Ed Kenney's Shinsato Chorizo with Malie Kai chocolate shavings "by far the best dish of the event".  Read more here.

We participated in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's 220 event.  It's a farmer's market and brunch that showcases food grown within 220 miles of Honolulu (basically the main Hawaiian Islands).  If you're not familiar with the Royal Hawaiian, it's one of Hawaii's most famous and luxurious resorts.  The market/brunch was held in the beautiful courtyard of the hotel, and featured wonderful food prepared by Chef Hans Stierli and his staff.  We got to meet a lot of wonderful people - both visitors and locals.  Mahalo to all who came by.  You can read more about the event here.  The next 200 event will be August 21 (10 AM - 2 PM).  Click here for more information.

Baked a fresh batch of Waialua (North Shore Oahu) beans for our nibby bars.  We used a convection oven that we have never used before, but it worked great.  The aroma was amazing.  Imagine your home (floors, ceilings, walls and furniture) made of freshly baked brownies.  These beans have a beautiful tang to them.  I think our next batch of nibby bars will be something special.

We got back from Paris yesterday.  We were there for 8 days - not nearly enough time to sample all the confectionary goodies the city has to offer.  Some of the chocolate highlights:

Visiting Michel Chaudun's chocolate shop.  We got to meet the maestro himself.  He's a lovely man - warm, generous and incredibly modest.  We got to sample some of his wonderful pralines and his signature Pavés (little soft pillows of chocolate heaven).

Patisserie Viennoise.  This unpretentious, bustling little restaurant has what many think is the best hot chocolate in Paris (in other words, the world).  It's thick and intense.  It usually comes topped with a mountain of whipped cream, but you can get it without.  They also serve a variety of pastries.  The one shown below is best chocolate mousse cake I've ever tasted.  I would go back to Paris just to eat one these.