G'day!...Top Honors, Dinner Parties....and other musings.

Aloha,

I am back from my annual trip to Sydney, Australia for Hawaiian Airlines and what a great trip it was! I stayed at the Four Seasons, my home away from home in Sydney and it was great to see many of the staff at the hotel again. The concierge and one of the doormen in particular are always such welcoming faces.

I love the 10 hour flight to Sydney.....if you can believe it. Three movies and lunch and POOF! there you are.....right in Sydney.

I had lots of work to do regarding the cuisine for Hawaiian Airlines, yet had some opportunity to enjoy a few restaurants during down time. Two restaurants stand out in my mind: Pier and Sea Cow. The fish at Pier was possibly the best fish I have ever eaten. The fish was so light and beautiful and the views from the restaurant were phenomenal. The restaurant literally juts out on the rocks over the water. At Sea Cow, the owner is also the Chef and seems to run the entire show by himself. The food was GREAT. I truly enjoyed the Salt & Pepper Calamari (the rings of calamari were enormous!) and the Grilled Fish & Chips. If you've never had Sydney Rock Oysters, you are missing out - they were served straight up with no sauce or condiment and they were sweet and delicate and utterly delightful.

During my stay, I wrote many new recipes for my next cookbook that will be published later this year. The views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and of course the opera house were quite inspiring.

I did get some shopping in and had a good excuse to do so.....my friend Gerrianne Sakamoto asked me to bring home some rose and ginger flavored hand made chocolates that she loves from Sydney, so I spent some time in the market looking for those treats. I also spent time in the fish market and seeing all that wonderful fresh product had my recipe-writing gears clicking away!

I read about 4 books during the trip. Read Eat, Pray, Love! if you haven't. I really enjoyed that writer's journey and also read a James Patterson novel as well as a book called Twilight. I saw a bunch of classic movies on television - you know the ones.....John Garfield, Bette Davis, etc.

There were a few celebrity sightings along the way...Catherine Zeta-Jones and Nicole Kidman are both lovely in person!

After the long trip, I arrived home to fantastic news: The Small Business Administration named me Hawaii's Small Business Person of the Year! When I was first notified of the award, my first thought was, "What? Who? Me?!!!" This award is very humbling and I am very thankful to those who believed in my work enough to nominate me. I don't mind saying that I take this award to heart because I feel validated. Like every business person, there were times when I had some doubts about different decisions, but this award makes me think that maybe I actually did know what I was doing all those years!!!!! I will be going to Washington, D.C. to accept the award next month with all of the other state level winners and will compete for the National Award. I'll let you know how that trip goes!

This past Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to cook for some folks on Maui who bid on a dinner prepared by me with all of the money going to support the arts on Maui. I served six courses, but the highlight of the evening was the Butter Poached Australian Barramundi (I hand carried that fish back with me!) in a Ginger Veloute with Asparagus, Forest Mushrooms and topped with a Crab Raviloi. I'll post a picture of the guests at dinner below!

Thank you, as always, for stopping by the blog. I love the questions and comments - please keep them coming!


With warmest aloha,
Bev

Fresh Fish!

Aloha Everyone!

I am currently in sunny Sydney, Australia and I saw a comment posted on the blog by Mark from Seattle who wants to try my Macadamia Nut Crusted Fresh Catch recipe when he and his wife are vacationing on Maui in April.

Mark asks:
We're from Seattle and get fish from the market versus the grocery store. If there's an equivalent near Kihei I would love to know! Thanks for your help and for sharing some great recipes.

Mark: The grocery stores in Hawaii sell GREAT fish because the people of Hawaii demand fantastically fresh seafood. We cook more fish at home in the Islands than in most other places in the country. Safeway in the Piikea Shopping Center, Star Market on S. Kiehi Road and Foodland on S. Kihei Road all sell great fish. You know what to look for in fresh fish, so trust your instincts. Talk to the people behind the counters in the fish departments at these stores. They are all very helpful and excited to share the fresh product they have to offer. Another place in Kihei that you may want to check out is: Eskimo Candy Seafood Market Tel: (808) 891-8898 Address: 2665 Wai Wai Pl, Kihei, HI 96753

Mark, when you are in town, stop by one of my restaurants. I have a close relationship with the fishermen that bring me fresh fish daily - you will find it hard to get your hands on fresher seafood than I can offer at the table!

Good luck with the hunt and happy cooking!

I'll write more about my stay in Australia once I return to Maui.

With warmest aloha,

Bev