I hadn’t seen the Southern Cross in nearly twenty years. Back then, I was a junior in college, studying abroad for a semester along the southern coast of Australia, thousands of miles away from family and friends.
![2013 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival - Malama Maui [DAILYBLENDER.COM]](https://dailyblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/hfwf3_horz.jpg)
Hot on the heels of a very successful – and über-Maui-focused – Ka’anapali Fresh, the folks at the Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival swung into town to present Malama Maui this past Sunday – the first off-island, offshoot of the larger Oahu-based event taking place this weekend, September 6-9. Held oceanside at the beautiful Napili Gardens of the Hyatt Regency Maui, with honored guests, chefs Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi in attendance, the evening’s lineup included Iron Chef Japan’s Hiroyuki Sakai, Marcel Vigneron, Rick Tramonto, Hawaii’s Bev Gannon and Sheldon Simeon, and Greg Grohowski, executive chef of the Hyatt Regency.
When Maui calls, you have to answer. Since my last magical visit to the island, I’ve dreamed of nothing but palm trees and the warm breeze that greets when you when arrive. The solitude of cruising down a sunny two-lane, oceanside highway. The welcoming ‘aloha’, the thoughtful ‘mahalo’.
At first sight, Chef Eric Faivre was nearly intimidating as he walked toward me during…
I have to say I was quite sad by the time I reached my last…