Hawaii: a food and wine destination?

Wines & Vines, March, 1999 by Ann Walker

Ten years ago, a typical meal in an upscale Hawaiian restaurant would be a piece of frozen fish (even though the sea around the islands is filled with fish), frozen veg and a wilted salad, both imported from the mainland. If someone offered an Hawaiian "specialty," that meant it was covered with soy sauce and a side of macadamia nuts. Wine list? Are you kidding? It was cold beer or an expensive French wine that was there for tourists who buy their wine by the label.

So when the call came to go to Hawaii last fall and check out the new Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, with a stop at the Winter Wine Festival, I didn't exactly jump with joy at the prospect. But, what the heck. The water is warm and I could always go to one of Hawaii's ethnic restaurants if I got hungry.

Well, I was wrong. Not only wrong but blown away by the food and by good wine in abundance.

I began to realize that things had changed as I settled into my seat for the Hawaiian Airlines flight from San Francisco to Honolulu and checked out the menu:

* Roast Duck Ravioli with Shitake Leek Relish served with Plum Sour Cream Sauce;

* Fresh Chilled Asparagus Salad with Black Bean Vinaigrette;

* A choice of entrees. My choice, a Hanohano Sesame Seed Mahi Mahi served with Watercress Asparagus Relish and Miso Sauce.

My seat-mate went for the Cracked Black Pepper marinated Beef Tenderloin with Herb Sauteed Shrimp, served with fresh Chow Mein Noodles and Braised Spinach.

For dessert, there was Fresh Strawberries with warm White Chocolate Sauce.

And brandy.

And wines to match the food. (Before the food arrived, I was offered a handmade mai-tai complete with a cute little orchid.)

Did I get on the right plane?

By the end of the first day in Hawaii, I was ready to forget everything I thought I knew about Hawaiian food and learn from scratch. The first thing I wanted to know was, who created that Hawaiian Air menu?

George Marvothalassitis, a Frenchman from Marseilles, born of Greek parents, that's who. He's known all over Hawaii as Chef Marvo, which makes conversation considerably easier.

We talked about food and wine (he brought up wine without any hinting) at the Pacific Grill of the Four Seasons resort on the island of Maui. As it happened, Chef Marvo had just announced that he was leaving the resort to go to Honolulu to open Chef Marvo Restaurant.

Following in his father's footsteps, Chef Marvo had a successful career as an engineer in France when at the age of 28, he decided he just "couldn't take it anymore" and went to night school to learn to cook. Following stints at some of the best restaurants in France, he went to the U.S., eventually ending up in Hawaii.

"Ten years ago, every restaurant here had the same menu," he said, echoing my fears. "But gradually, a move developed to find the best in Hawaiian cooking and emphasize that," he said.

Marvo was one of a dozen or so chefs who got together in 1992 to discuss Hawaiian food and what direction it was going. That group has, more or less, continued to meet and discuss the island food. The 1992 meeting is generally considered the turning point in the development of Hawaiian food and the pairing of wine with that food.

"We started working with farmers, working with fishermen, to get the best we could find. Restaurants were buying fish from floating fish factories. The fish might have been caught two weeks before and 5,000 miles away. We have wonderful fish right here, it's just a matter of people learning about it."

Chef Marvo has been active in promoting vertical tastings of Hawaiian fish. The vertical in this case being how deep the fish swim in the ocean, not the year they were born. He presented a special dish at the Kapalua Seafood Festival and "Love the Fish You're With" seminar last year.

"It's such a waste," he said, visibly angry. "Everyone wants mahi and the fishermen just throw the other fish overboard. What a pity!"

What is one of the first things you think of when developing a recipe, I asked.

He thought for a moment. "Wine," he said, reflecting I'm sure his Provencal origins. "If a recipe doesn't work with wine, I forget about it. There are times when I can improve a recipe by thinking of what wine to pair with it."

Even Asian food, I asked? (Asian cuisine is at the heart of the new Hawaiian regional fare.)

"Of course. Wine is essential. When you have the right match, something special happens," he answered. "One thing I do, and not just to help wine matches but as part of my overall approach, is to keep the flavors simple. Don't muddle up the dish with too many ingredients. I like to have no more than three flavors on the dish. The important thing is learning what not to add."

At Four Seasons, there is a long wine-by-the-glass list and with some of the prefix dinners, there are suggested wines.

Will you keep the same kind of food/wine format on the menu for your new restaurant, I asked.

"No. For my restaurant, I will have no formal wine list. Each dish will be paired with a glass of wine. That is the wine that will be served with that dish," he said.