Big Island Chocolate Festival Debuts at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

By Julie Z

Mar

13

Think BIG at the inaugural Big Island Chocolate Festival, Friday, June 8 at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Executive Chef James Babian and Pastry Chef Linda Rodriguez of Four Seasons are leading a selection of hand-picked pastry chefs, confectioners and chocolatiers to offer an evening of chocolate decadence and savory bites.

Also on tap are celebrity chef demonstrations and an educational cacao presentation from 10 a.m-3 p.m. above the resort’s Pahu i’a oceanfront restaurant. Tours of cacao farms will be available that day in Keauhou to showcase how cacao is grown, processed and made into chocolate.

The evening gala will be held from 6 p.m-10 p.m.  Enjoy a silent auction, gourmet savory and sweet appetizers, Kona Brewery beer, sparkling wine, music by Cyril Pahanui and Salsa Latinos, plus dancing.

The gala includes a fun competition for Best Savory and Best Sweet culinary stations, which will be determined by a team of local and celebrity chefs. Attendees will vote for The People’s Choice Award. Culinarians wishing to participate can download entry guidelines and an application on the Big Island Chocolate Festival website after March 21 or contact Farsheed Bonakdar at 808-937-4736.

Attendance to the delectable gala is limited to 400 and ticket prices are $75 per person.

Tickets go on sale April 15 online through EventBrite, and are available at the Kona Public Pacific Charter School and Kona Wine Market.  Symposium tickets and chocolate tours are separate ticketed events from the gala and can be purchased at www.BigIslandChocolateFestival.com after April 15.

Another opportunity to enjoy even more gourmet chocolate is with the prix fixe chocolate-themed dinner prior to the gala that Chef Jim Babian will create at Pahu i‘a. More information about reservations for this specialty dinner can be found on the event website.

(I am one of the key organizers on this event this year, so I had a chance to work with the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai to make it happen – that’s me at the resort lagoon!) Kona Pacific Public Charter School and the “Equip the Kitchen” campaign, (Culinary Arts Program benefit of the soon-to-be-built Palamanui Community College) are both running the silent auction to benefit both organizations)

Big Island Chocolate Festival: The 2012 Big Island Chocolate Festival is presented by the newly formed Kona Cacao Association, Inc. The mission and goal of this association is to promote the cacao industry on the Big Island of Hawaii by presenting the BICF as an educational and outreach opportunity for local cacao farmers, the hospitality industry and cacao enthusiasts. www.BigIslandChocolateFestival.com

You Can’t Catch A Fish or Watch a Whale Sitting on Your Couch

By Julie Z

Jan

24

I wrote the title of this post after taking a sportsfishing charter and speaking to Captain James at BiteMe Sportsfishing. Words of wisdom..read on.

I got on the BiteMe boat at 6:15 am last Thursday and excitedly learned the ropes of hauling in “the big one” from the BiteMe crew. (Of course, I was slightly terrified by the actual prospect of  hooking a 500 pound marlin and reeling it in!) The crew told us that striped marlin and spearfish were prevalent in the winter months. He shared that the steep slope of the ocean bottom places deep sea sportfishing within a short distance from the shoreline. Just three miles straight out of the harbor, it’s over 6000′ deep. Six species of billfish cruise the Kona coast along with six species of tuna, mahi mahi (dorado), ono (wahoo), and  a wide variety of big-game bottom fish. (He also shared with me towards the end of the charter that the best time to fish is during the summer months. Hence, why all the bill fishing tournaments are in July and August. ) We watched him bait the hooks with lures that looked like squid and were slightly amazed at the size of some of those hooks..four inch claws.

The BiteMe crew taught us how to spot jumping fish, circling sea birds and floating marine trash as indicators for the signs of a large fish.We kept a keen eye out for these signs of our possible dinner while driving about 9 miles out to open ocean with four lines of hope dragging behind us. After our “orientation” we were free to just sit and relax and watch the sun come up over the volcanos showcasing the beauty of the island. The guests were from areas of the country experiencing some very cold weather and once again, I silently high-fived myself for living here. 

During the time we were searching we saw something very large jump out of the ocean in a “C” formation..prompting yells of “MARLIN!” from the passengers. I was excited to see what it was and when we steamed over there, we found it was a very ecstatic dolphin. Not a Spinner dolphin, which are the kind I am used to seeing along the coast, but a larger dolphin species. (I heard someone say it was a razor toothed dolphin, but can not back it up with web research!)  We also saw groups of migrating whales and a few Bottle Nosed dolphins, as well.

We started to head back in after about four hours on the water without having a hit on any of the lines. I asked Captain James if it bothered him to go out and have the passengers come back empty handed. What he said was just perfect, “If they were sitting on a couch right now they would not have even had the chance to catch anything. At least you folks got out here, put a hook in the water and had the opportunity for a grander to catch your line.”. Think about that as a metaphor for life, right?  He was right and I knew that even if I did not get the thrill of watching someone haul in a huge catch, I watched whales, dolphins and discussed life with the other passengers. Fish or no fish, I had a beautiful day out on the blue Kona water!

Note: BiteMe Sportsfishing also owns the BiteMe Fish Market and if you catch something, they will actually prepare and serve it to you! “Eat what you catch”, as they say.


Family Adventure on the Kohala Coast

By Julie Z

Jan

3

Who gets to see a mammoth whale come barreling out of the ocean behind a group of surprised surfers? My children and I last Friday! We were on a “Mauna Lani Area” adventure to discover the Holoholokai Park and Puako Petroglyphs on Thursday night and Friday morning.

What did we find?

1. A secluded park (Holoholokai) wrapped behind The Shops at Mauna Lani and the Fairmont Orchid. This is a pretty swanky area of the Kohala Coast and to find a park with numerous picnic tables, BBQs and a stunning view of Maui, the Kohala coastline and the Kona sunset was a real treat.

We had a picnic dinner while we watched the sun set into the red voggy glow of Kona. It was high tourist season and there were only a handful of people there to enjoy this serene sight with us.

2. We went to The Shop’s at Mauna Lani’s free Polynesian hula show from 6-8 and enjoyed the way the hula troupe incorporated their entire family into the show including a ten year old and a three year old. My kids really enjoyed watching the keiki up on stage twirling batons and dancing to the pounding Polynesian beat. There were also fire dancers and women wearing coconut bras..yes, really. We sat on the terraced lawn steps in almost the front row, which gave my husband the chance to have one of the performers come up with a scary warrior stance and then shake his hand after the effect of shock was created. Pretty funny.

The next day the kids and I came back around 10 am and went out to the beach park. There we found a very easy to walk beach path and did some exploring. That’s when we saw the breaching whale. It was pretty close to shore and the splash he made literally created ripple waves for the nearby surfers. Then the whale flapped its fins a few times on the water to the delight of everyone watching. Glad to see the whales are back for the  season.

3. The Puako Petroglyphs were an easy walk from the beach park. As soon as we passed the sign that explained that these petroglyphs were created between 1,000-1,800 A.D., we were able to walk around a large circle where the most interesting and deeply carved petroglyphs had been cut out of the rock and placed for easy viewing. They were a showcase in cultural artistry. Another circular area contained a few more well placed carved stones and then we followed the path into the Kaiwi trees which led us through the forest where we found few more along the trail. I took a video so you can see it.

It started getting warm so the kids asked to go play in the fountains at The Shops. They had a ball playing with a toddler who was also there to cool off. The water runs in unpredictable spurts and this kept them entertained for awhile until the 4D movie started. After the movie, we got sushi from Foodland Farms, had a nice lunch and headed home.

When I asked the kids what was their favorite part of the day, they said the fountains, but educationally, I was glad that I took them to see the petroglyphs! My daughter made me laugh when she said a possible explanation for the petroglyphs could have been children carving into the rocks when their parents were out fishing! Who knows?

Things To Do in the Waikoloa Area For the Holidays

By Julie Z

Dec

9

Every Christmas, I take my kids up to the Waikoloa area when they are on break from school and let them experience the holidays at the resorts and shops in that area. I am going to write a few posts about  some of the fun things we have planned to do this year if you need some help with ideas for holiday adventures!

Starting with North Waikoloa:

1. The Shops at Mauna Lani – (My friend, Laura Kinoshita, is the web marketing pro there and gave me some tips to share with you)

First of all, many of my friends from Kona STILL don’t know where this mall is located. It’s about a mile NORTH of the Waikoloa turn off. It’s the same entrance you would take to go to the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel. As you are heading towards the hotel, look on your right and you will see the Shops.

My kids LOVE the Great 4D movie ride and they are excited about going up there during their break. Kama’aina Kids RIDE FREE during December-Cool, huh? Bring your kids up to the 4D movie ride and let them experience one of six different rides. The rides start at noon.

Yummy tip..the Foodland right next to the 4D ride has gourmet gelato by the scoop, so I am going to surprise the kids and treat myself, too..can you say MINT CHIP?There is also Juice 101 for healthy smoothies and they are opening up a taco restaurant, too.

Another feature that is quite entertaining is the water fountain at The Shops. It plays like a mini-Vegas show and the water is warm..hence, kids love to play in it. My son spent over 40 minutes in there one time! There is a dancing/chasing feature that little kids love because they don’t know where the water streams will burst from next. Good news: Even in December, the mid-day temps are in the 80′s, so kids can play in the fountain all year long.

If you are a tourist or visitor here, The Shops is doing a great promo right now for Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. If you go today until December 22nd, you can get a free appetizer up to $15 with the purchase of two entrees. Get your coupon here.

The Shops also has a FANTASTIC and FREE Polynesian Hula Show every Monday and Thursday starting at 6. The performance troupe, Te`E`a O Te Turama, have been performing for over 20 years and provide a show that is  just as good, if not better, than any you will see on the island. After the intermission at 7 pm, they perform a FIRE dance. How cool is that? Here is a short video clip of the fire dance portion of the show; http://bit.ly/tgmgeO.

My next post will be the petroglyphs and the Mauna Lani Christmas trees!