Hawaii Food & Wine Festival Showcases the Culinary Excellence of the Islands and Beyond

Fiona Chandra

Not that anyone needs an excuse to travel to Hawaii, but the upcoming seventh annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival is certainly a great excuse to do so. For the multi-city, multi-weekend festival, events will be held on the islands of Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii.

The festival will first stop on Maui from Oct. 20-22. Play a game of golf with celebrity chefs, winemakers and golf pros at the 20th Annual Roy’s Gold Classic at Kaanapali Golf Course featuring seven tasting stations and six beverage stations. The golf tournament will be followed by an award ceremony and dinner reception at Roy’s Kaanapali. On Saturday, Oct. 21, Global Street Food will showcase tastes from Chefs Jonathan Waxman, Roy Yamaguchi, David LeFevre and more. Sunday, Oct. 22, is time for the Lucky 7 seven-course dinner featuring chefs Niki Nakayama (n/naka), Stephan Pyles (Flora Café), Joachim Splichal (Patina), and others.

There will be an event on the Big Island. Return of Cuisines of the Sun will showcase the bounty of Hawaii Island with a six-course dinner prepared by Mark Peel, Alan Wong, Francois Payard, Dean Fearing and more.

Most of the events will be held on the island of Oahu, starting from Nov. 1. Raw & Wild in the Tank on Nov. 1 will showcase local ingredients from the Hawaiian islands. Spice Market on Nov. 2 on the pool decks at The Modern Honolulu will feature the hottest chefs and mixologists like Chefs Ming Tsai, Charles Pham, Chris Oh and more. Uncorked on Nov. 3 will bring 20 top wineries and 21 chefs on the rooftop of the Hawaii Convention Center. Chefs from all over the world will participate, from Chefs Nobu Matsuhisa (Nobu), Neal Fraser (Redbird), Stephanie Izard (Girl and the Goat), Ravi Kapur (Liholiho Yacht Club) and others.

There will be a number of wine seminars, family-friendly cooking classes and more tasting events. At Taste of the Seasons, opt for a tasting created by 12 master chefs or opt for a VIP five-course sit-down dinner, both of which will be followed by a fireworks display over the beach. Close out the year’s festivities with the Halekulani Culinary Masters Gala’s six-course wine-paired dinner.

Hawaii Food & Wine Festival takes place Oct. 20-Nov. 5. Purchase tickets here.