NORTH HAWAII — Around this time of the year, grills start heating up as chefs finalize their juicy, grass-fed beef culinary creations for the annual Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range. ADVERTISING NORTH HAWAII — Around this time of the
NORTH HAWAII — Around this time of the year, grills start heating up as chefs finalize their juicy, grass-fed beef culinary creations for the annual Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range.
But for the first time in 21 years, the event is on hiatus in 2017.
“Basically it’s because we lost some vital volunteers and partners,” said Susan Miyasaka, interim county administrator for for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. “We want to get The Food Basket and the Hawaii Farm Bureau more involved. We’re still shooting for September 2018 to resume Taste of the Hawaiian Range, but instead of at a hotel we plan to move it back to Waimea … so it can be more like a country fair, like it originated.”
The agricultural festival started in Waimea as a companion event to the Cooperate Extension Services’ Mealani Forage Field Day, featuring research done at the UH-Mealani Research Station that’s part of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. More than 60 ranchers, meat processors, food and beverage professionals, chefs and butchers attended the 1996 Forage Field Day. The event was held for many years thereafter at Hilton Waikoloa Village.
Produced by the community and CTAHR, the food festival is not a fundraiser, but rather a promotion of Hawaii and Big island agriculture that brings together food producers and processors, chefs and consumers to celebrate the bounty of the Big Island. Its founders were Milton Yamasaki, then Mealani manager, and Glenn Fukumoto, county extension agent-livestock program of UH-CTAHR. Other members included Chef Olelo Pa‘a Ogawa; Gene Erger; rancher Rick Habien, Kulana Foods and extension agent Burton Smith.
“I like the idea of bringing it back to Waimea,” Chef Ogawa said. “When we started it, our goal was to educate farmers about growing things in a natural environment and find a market for their finished product, hence why we involved the chefs. We need to do this once again with meat and produce to raise awareness of agriculture further, and introduce technology and new ways of farming to make it sustainable. We are the bread basket on this island.”
Taste of the Hawaiian Range has become one of Hawaii’s premier ag-tourism events over the years, and a venue for sustainable agricultural education, encouragement and support of locally produced ag products in a partnership between CTAHR, Hawaii Cattlemen’s Association, Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council, Kulana Foods, Hawaii Beef Producers, UH-Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management, County of Hawaii Dept. on Environmental Management and community volunteers.
“The goal of Taste was to create a collaboration between ranchers, food handlers and chefs to create good food,” Yamasaki said. “By getting everybody involved in the product — creating, preparing and enjoying — the hope was chefs and consumers would purchase it.”
Volunteers interested in helping organize and plan the 2018 Taste of the Hawaiian Range event can call Susan Miyasaka at 969-8258, or email miysaka@hawaii.edu.
Info: Go to www.tasteofthehawaiianrange.com/
