Deliciousness for a Cause: Hundreds Attend Successful Hawaii Foodbank’s Great Chefs Fight Hunger

By Miguel Gonzalez

Editor

(Mapunapuna)–It was truly a foodie’s paradise on Saturday at the Hawaii Foodbank’s Great Chefs Fight Hunger event, which celebrated its 10th anniversary and has consistently raised important funds to assist those in need.

Hawaii’s signature culinary event brought together many well known chefs and restaurants and unleashed a very rich, eclectic selection of food and drink from all parts of the world to the delight of attending palates.

Hundreds of Hawaii’s most influential figures and community leaders attended the well organized event, all in the name of fighting hunger and social responsibility.

“The need is 24-7. Hunger does not go away,” Hawaii Foodbank CEO Gerald Y. Shintaku told Hawaiiahe.com. “The people of Hawaii are so generous and continue to support our cause. We are so thankful to have these wonderful chefs and restaurants donate their amazing food and time to help others and represent the true spirit of aloha.”

Many chefs and restaurants participating in this event expressed their joy to be able to give back to the community in a form of showcasing their delicious dishes, spirits and mouth-watering desserts. “It’s a real honor. This event is one of our favorite ones and it represents such a good cause because it helps feed the hungry. This is an opportunity to give back to our community and to do it for this cause makes it very worthwhile,” Darren Seu, Vice President for the iconic Top of Waikiki restaurant, said.

The event was held at Hawaii Food Bank Warehouse, which distributes over 50,000 pounds of food a day, and served as an appropriate setting to remind attendees of the real need many residents of these islands have everyday to put food on the table. “In this warehouse we have over 2,000 volunteers helping us with our mission, we want to invite the public to volunteer or make a donation that can expand our mission to reach those in need,” added Shintaku, who explained that a donation of $10 can distribute 25 meals.

This event truly defined the essence of the aloha spirit through social responsibility and the commitment that the participant restaurants and chefs showed in each meal carefully prepared to delight the palates of the giddy crowd who behaved, this reporter included, like keiki at a candy store.

Guests also tasted savory and sweet samples from some of Hawaii’s most talented culinary artists, complemented by a selection of fine wine, craft beers, and local spirits tastings. Guests also bid on exciting prizes in the Silent Auction and some tried their key in the Cellar Door to win a collection of wine selected by Fujioka’s Wine Times, JMD Beverages, Southern Wine & Spirits, and Young’s Market Company of Hawaii. Everyone enjoyed live music throughout the evening by local entertainers including multi-instrumental melodies from JazzyJay, Hawaiian music from the Osorio ‘Ohana, rock and roll from WREKT, indie alternative tunes from The Fresh Preps and gorgeous ballads from Tahiti Rey on two stages. All proceeds raised by the Great Chefs event will help feed 1 in 5 residents in need this year, including over 32,387 keiki and over 33,000 kupuna on Oahu.

List of chefs, restaurants and beverage purveyors included: