Fresh Fine Dining

Fine dining is more than a matter of creative presentation. A terrific meal is a direct result of a brilliant chef and fresh—right off the farm—produce. In Hawaii, that combination is known as Hawaii Regional Cuisine, an idea cooked up by a coalition of some of the state's top chefs.

The key is freshness, which translates to homegrown, caught this morning, or produced on the island.

As restaurants work with local growers to supply ingredients from the garnish to the entree, the salad to the dessert, the island's agriculture industry has grown. Not only is dining out more satisfying, but growers are gaining recognition for their produce. Some restaurant menus include the farm's name next to the ingredients provided, just as some identify the catch of the day with the place where it was caught.

Hawaii Regional Cuisine combines the classical cuisines of Europe, the savvy, style and sophistication of American Regional Cuisine, and the exotic cuisines of the Pacific Rim. Its origins are found in imaginative and enthusiastic chefs, the influences of Hawaii's diverse ethnic heritage, and the abundant sunshine, rich volcanic soil, and magnanimous ocean that provide fresh fruits and vegetables, and some of the most succulent seafood on the planet.

Some Big Island farmers are conducting tours to better acquaint visitors with the produce that eventually finds its way to the menus of the island's best fine dining establishments. Merriman's Restaurant, in Waimea, offers a tour that features visits with farmers and concludes with a four-course dinner prepared from locally produced ingredients. Peter Merriman is one of the original group of Hawaii chefs who conceived the notion of Hawaii Regional Cuisine.

Anyone who opens a menu at a fine restaurant on the Big Island can be reasonably assured that the ingredients for the food they'll be served has been grown or caught nearby. Restaurants like Kenichi Pacific, in the Keauhou Shopping Center, are known as much for their fresh seafood and produce as they are for their good service and elegant decor.

The partnership between restaurants and farms on the Big Island is at the heart of fine dining. Expect great things.