
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

Wanida Tienchai
Job Title: Owner, Blue Ocean Thai Restaurant
What are some of your favorite dishes? Chicken with Thai basil is a favorite.
Favorite dish there? Kimchee stew.
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Job Title: Executive Assistant to Roy Yamaguchi
Anyone leave a lasting impression? I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the finest chefs, from Charlie Trotter to Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai.
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Job Title: Executive Chef, Bali By The Sea, Hilton Hawaiian Village
I had the best abalone of my life at the Anuenue Room in 1999. (laughs) I was there! I’m doing abalone here now on the menu.
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Title: CEO Desert Island Restaurants
That must have been satisfying. It was kind of neat. I was a busboy, waiter, captain, assistant manager and then I went to open Raffles at Wailea for Westin, then came back to run Nick’s Fishmarket.
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Robert BauerJob Title: Restaurant Manager, Kani Ka Pila Grille, Outrigger Reef on the Beach Waikiki.
Who’d you most like to see come to Kani Ka Pila Grille? Jack Johnson. We have some great musicians here every night. We have a great venue.
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Title: General Manager, Ruth’s Chris Steak House at Restaurant Row
What’s your favorite dish on the menu at Ruth’s Chris? The Cowboy Ribeye.
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Job Title: Sous chef, Michel’s At The Colony Surf
What started your interest in food and beverage? My parents always liked to cook. We have a small store back home in Hilo, Itsu’s Fishing and Supply store.
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Title: General Manager, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Ala Moana Center
Bubba Gump’s is unusual in that it emerged because of a movie. What’s the full story behind the restaurant? Paramount Pictures was looking for great restaurant ideas.
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Job Title: Mixologist, Southern Wines and Spirits, Hawaii.
What inspired your interest in the food and beverage industry? I started working at Kincaid’s when I was 15, as a hostess, and I absolutely loved the industry from the beginning.
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Job Title: Co-owner, The Counter, Kahala
How did your interest in food and beverage start? It grew out of my career field of choice in the Air Force. I was in food service, and I got to do a lot of great things and gained lots of experience.
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