Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - July 20, 2022

Mai‘i: The First Native Hawaiian Woman To Win ‘Best Chef ’ Award
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also feel a heavy responsibility to make sure that we do more. That doesn’t mean opening up more restaurants or making it bigger, it’s just about being responsible for contributing to the communi- ty and giving back to the com- munity and making sure we’ re mentoring young cooks.”
ple come into the industry, start working and say, ‘This is so bor- ing,’” says Mai‘i. “For us, it’s nothing but exciting. It’s exciting every single day because we get to work with so many amazing products, especially because we source most of our products locally. They’re not uniform or mass produced. They’re carefully raised and grown.
JULY 20, 2022 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
P roviding a space in the line for budding culinarians — who, Mai‘i says, come to her from all over but most often from her alma mater KCC and Leeward Com- munity College’s culinary pro- grams — is a foundational value for Fête as a whole and Mai‘i personally.
“There are all these details that we love embracing and when we see some of the cooks zoning out, we’re like, ‘Hey, you got to pay attention.’ It’s about just teach- ing the young cooks to find those many, many moments of fascina- tion and awe and responsibility to not waste, make good, delicious, thoughtful food every day.”
In fact, it’s the very reason why she hired her chef de cuisine and ride-or-die kitchen companion Emily Iguchi, who was afore- mentioned as part of the vocal fanfare when Mai‘i won.
W “Hawai‘i/Brooklyn hapa baby,” Mai‘i is a fur-mom to cat Mo- chi and enjoys spending time on a yoga mat. Down the road, she could see herself publishing a cookbook and opening up a baked goods and sweets shop.
“We were very lucky that she wanted to work with us, and in the job interview, I asked her, ‘Why would you want to work at Fête when there are so many restaurants?’ ” recalls Mai‘i. “She said that she wanted to work in a restaurant where she could men- tor young cooks because she was so lucky to be able to learn from so many different chefs, who were so generous to her with ev- erything they taught her and she wanted to do the same for oth- ers. And I was like, ‘OK, you’re
tense, exciting, and there’s so much to do, eat and experience. Everything is on a completely different level. That’s when my culinary horizons completely broadened, as I continued to learn about different cuisines, ingredi- ents and styles. You can spend a lifetime just exploring all the different pockets of New York City to experience certain neigh- borhoods and what they have to offer.”
tors basically flip out on a week- ly basis because something they ordered for the classroom, like an ingredient, didn’t show up,” says Mai‘i. “Sometimes the ingredient was a hard-to-get ingredient ... and I always thought it was in- teresting that they would order that instead of something they know we can get. Like, why are you going through the exercise of potential disappointment and then anger?
instead be used in a stock, family meals or, at last resort, tossed in the compost pile.
Chired. We love you.’ It completely aligned with everything we be- lieved in.”
She worked at Gourmet Mag- azine; taught culinary and pastry arts at a community college in Brooklyn, where she also devel- oped a culinary degree program; and earned her master’s in food studies at New York University. (Before entering the culinary sphere in her 20s, Mai‘i received a bachelor’s degree in English and modern dance in Vermont.)
“So, I always wanted to work in a way where ... there’s an un- derstanding of what’s available and practical. When you think about it, it’s how our parents ran their house. It’s not any different. What’s practical, what’s on sale, what’s tasty? It’s the same thing.”
“It’s deplorable, embarrass- ing and borderline criminal how much food is wasted in this coun- try. We like to do our best and one of the things that we’re most proud of is how little waste we have in this kitchen.
“I couldn’t ask for anything else,” she says. “I feel like this is what I was always supposed to be doing. I feel very privileged and lucky and grateful to wake up in the morning and be thrilled to come to work. And that’s not to say that work isn’t hard some- times or frustrating, but I do feel like it’s how parents feel about their children. If you ask a par- ent ‘Are you happy about your child?’ They would probably say similar things: ‘It’s happy some days and frustrating other days, but generally very fulfilled’ — and that’s what it feels like to have Fête.”
Fête’s kitchen is more than just a kitchen — it’s also a place for educational exploration for young cooks, thanks to chef/owner Robynne Mai‘i’s commitment to teaching the next generation. SEAN MARRS PHOTO
hen she’s not in the kitchen at Fête, which she describes to be a
“These are all the things that the guests may not realize that we think about,” says Mai‘i. “No- body wants to know that tons and tons and tons of food has to get dumped. And this is not a Hawai‘i problem, this is a United States problem.
With a cup of gratitude, a tea- spoon of diligence and a sprinkle of gusto, you could say Mai‘i has found the perfect concoction for success.
ulinary education is no stranger to Mai‘i. After graduating from KCC,
“We’re just a small, little restaurant, but it’s these princi- ples that we hope to pass along to the cooks who will continue to pass it on. It’s just good habits.”
the ‘Āina Haina native worked in a couple of different restaurants in Honolulu before taking off for the Big Apple, where she resided for the next 15 years.
It was there in the Empire State where she solidified her morals surrounding food waste, some- thing she takes pride in not par- ticipating in at Fête.
To walk the walk, Fête sources 75%-90% of its produce locally and accepts fruits and vegetables of all shapes, sizes, appearances and ripeness; works with meat companies to purchase cuts that nobody else wants to work with; and teaches employees to never throw away something that could
Here also lies Mai‘i’s zest for a challenge and commitment to never finding culinary arts — be- causeitisanartform—tobe dull.
“New York City is just like the Frank Sinatra song — if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” she says. “It’s in-
“I would see the chef instruc-
“Emily and I love to cook so much, and I think a lot of peo-