Jay Eats Worldwide

On trip to Maui for the Maui County Agricultural Festival , I was able to meet up with several farmers.  Having spent a lot of summers in Hawaii, I've had a lot of different type of taro dishes at all of the luaus and family parties.  This trip, I learned more about taro, the Hawaiian staple, at the Maui Tropical Plantation. There are about 85 different taro varieties grown in Hawai'i. The interesting thing is that the entire plant is edible, provides fiber and wholesome carbohydrates. Farmer Bobby Pahia Hoaloha Farms A lot of the taro farming that I've seen in Hawai'i has been wet farming, like rice fields. But as a city boy, I'm more familiar with the dry type of farming that Hoaloha Farms does at the Maui Tropical Plantation. Showing us the 3 different varieties of taro grown on this farm. The kalo (taro in Hawaiian) stalk are replanted and the root is used to make poi and other taro products. Farmer Bobby showing us...

April 7, 2012 at The Maui Tropical Plantation I've been a follower of the Maui food movement for many years, I was a fan of Mark Ellman's first restaurant...Avalon. When I started cooking professionally, I started to use a lot of what I've learned from Maui, which is a special place for me, it's where my family is from. The Maui Visitors Bureau invited me to be a judge at this year's Maui County Agricultural Festival, which I thank them for hosting me. I knew this would give me an opportunity to learn more from those inside of this unique food movement, that and to sample some amazing food. I joined a diverse group of food writers at the judges' table Let the competition begin... Grand Taste Education Presented by In Partnership with Here's how the competition worked... A chef and a farmer (or rancher) are paired together to create a unique dish using a main Maui ingredient. Dishes are judged b...