Food & Beverage Focus is a short profile on a person in the food & Beverage industry in Hawaii in a question and answer format. Jo McGarry has been writing about food and wine for more than a decade in Hawaii. Former editor of Gusto Magazine she began working as restaurant specialist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin in 2001 and writing a food column for MidWeek the same year. She is the host of a long running lifestyle radio program, Table Talk, that airs Saturday mornings on KHVH 830 AM from 10 – 11AM. She is the author of The Hawaii Tailgate Cookbook and the 'voice' of tailgating on radio. Visit her website: WineAndDineHawaii.com
Below are the last 10 Food & Beverage Focus columns
Jay Kam
Friday - May 09, 2008
Age: 40
Title: President, Vintage Wine Cellar.
Your dad, Allen Kam, was a pioneer in bringing fine wines to Hawaii. Did you always want to follow in his footsteps?
(Laughs) No, not really. I got a degree in electrical engineering and then one in marketing.
Sergio Mitrotti
Friday - May 02, 2008
Title: Owner, Café Sistina.
Where were you born and raised? Turin, Italy.
What sparked your interest in the food and beverage industry?
My family all cooked - my mother, my grandmother and I have always loved food.
Read More >>James Ebreo
Friday - April 25, 2008
Title: Chef de Cuisine, Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong
Where were you born and raised? On the Big Island.
What started you on your culinary path?
I was raised in a plantation camp and I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted something different.
Mark Pomaski
Friday - April 18, 2008
Age: 30
Occupation: Sushi Chef, Roy’s Restaurant, Waikiki
Where were you born and raised? Hilo
First job in the industry?
A Japanese restaurant in Eugene, Ore. The chef there was really old school. He taught me traditional knife techniques that are becoming less and less common nowadays.
Jiva Segran
Friday - April 11, 2008
Age: 30
Occupation: Owner, India Café
Where were you born and raised? Waianae. I went to Saint Louis High School and graduated from UH.
You have a truly multi-cultural background, don’t you?
Jessica Golden
Friday - April 04, 2008
Age: 27
Occupation: Manager, waitress and bartender at Café Sistina
Where were you born and raised? Hawaii.
What started your interest in the food and beverage world?
I liked the idea of working and talking with all types of people. I enjoy the personal interaction and social aspect of the job.
Colin Nishida
Friday - March 28, 2008
Title: Chef/owner, Side Street Inn
What was your first industry job? In 1972 I worked as a dishwasher/cook at C’s Diner in Kalihi.
What ignited your interest in cooking? When I was growing up, the kids all had to take turns helping with dinner. First person home made the rice, next
Read More >>Mike Longworth
Friday - March 21, 2008
Mike Longworth is the executive chef at the busiest Macaroni Grill in the nation - Ala Moana.
Where did you go to school? I grew up south of Boston and went to school in a little town called Middleboro, Mass.
Read More >>Dena Selene Togafau
Friday - March 14, 2008
Age: 40
Occupation: Catering manager, Kakaako Kitchen
Where were you born and raised? Born in Huntington Beach, Calif., and raised in Carson, Calif.
What got you interested in the food and beverage industry?
I’d learned to cook at an early age, but
Read More >>Kaleo Schneider
Friday - March 07, 2008
Occupation: General manager, Buzz’s Steak House.
Where were you born and raised? On Oahu. I grew up here and then went to restaurant school in California.
Read More >>
