January 21, 2020 • 41 mins
Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners help revive traditions – including foods – that were almost lost during colonization. We speak with Kealoha Domingo about imu cooking, community, and how the best food is what’s on the table in front of you.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, and welcome to Savor Protection of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm an Aries and I'm Lauren voc Obam,
and today we wanted to present you with our first
full interview from Hawaii. Yes, and it's a good one.
We're very excited to share with you. Yes from Kila Domingo. Yes.
He is a native Hawaiian cultural practitioner who also cooks. Yes,
(00:29):
And because he is such a delight to listen to
and so well spoken, you'll probably recognize his voice from
several of the episodes we did in our Hawaii mini series. Yes. Absolutely,
we we we mind that one for many of its
amazing gems. Yeah, and the you'll hear in the background.
This one was really great because we got to experience
(00:51):
the atmosphere they're singing. There was a school union I
think there was, Yeah, so um. So we did this
interview at White or the the Y Y Collective, which
is this amazing organization that provides um workspace and learning
workshops and all all of this great stuff. Look it up.
(01:12):
It's it's a it's in this historic building in Honolulu,
and there was a high school reunion going on while
we were doing the interview, So we wound up like
kind of crammed into this little office space, like like
sitting on stuff. I think I left a donut there.
I'm really sorry. Yeah, I really hope like ants did
get it. Oh gosh. Um but yeah. So so in
(01:33):
the background, you're like you might hear some stuff going
on over the p A. They were singing their Alma
matter like theme song. It was really gorgeous. It really was. Uh,
We're so fortunate continuously. Absolutely. Yeah, and the space is
really amazing. If you're ever in Honolulu and have the
chance to go check out any of their exhibits or workshops, um,
(01:57):
I highly recommend it. It's it's it's it's a very
calming space. You go in and you take off your
shoes and there's turf and it's it's so nice. It is.
It's making me want to go back. Oh here we go,
we start already, let's go back to Hawaii. But we
do hope that you enjoy this interview. Absolutely, we'll get
(02:19):
right into it. Hello, how my cocko. My name is
Kelo Han Domingo. I'm from who Um, born and raised
in Hawaii and happy to be here today. Yeah, thank
you for thank you for joining us. Um, uh, you
are a chef and cultural practitioner here. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
(02:43):
a cultural practitioner who cooks. Um. You know, chef can
be a heavy, heavy word. Um comes a lot of responsibility.
You know, some people will call me chef, but I
definitely do UM associate myself with being uh Hawaiian cultural
practitioner and um, you know, proud of proud of that. Yeah.
(03:04):
How how did you wind up with with that? Is
your career and how did you focus it on on cooking? Well,
I mean, oddly enough, I've been juggling a lot of
different careers uh in the past twenty years, but cooking
has been a passion for me. And uh, you know,
it's something that we grew up with in Hawaii. You know,
(03:26):
I mean doing all their parties and doing big blue
walls and you know, family functions, and you know it
also helps that I have I have a lot of
family in the restaurant industry, so you know, it kind
of rubbed off a little bit. So it's a it's
a it's a delicious thing to have. Yeah. Yeah, I mean,
you know we're spoiled growing up. So could you could
(03:50):
you tell me about some of the some of the
foosid growing up, you know, living in Hawaii. Um. You know,
although I do um so shaped mainly with being of
Hawaiian descent, I'm also Chinese. We grew up eating a
lot of Chinese food, a lot of Japanese food. Um.
You know, Hawaii is such a great place to be
(04:11):
if you like eating. I mean, we got it all here.
I mean, you know, you name it. I mean I
really grew up eating simple food. You know, my parents, Um,
they grew up simply and in the country, and you know,
we ate things like startines out of the can and
you know spam. You know, I gotta say it, we
(04:31):
ate spam. You know, those are the things that we
grew up eating. You know. Well, of course, um, you
know a lot of poi. Yeah, we we all got
to This is our first time, all four of us
in Hawaii, and so we just got to try a
poi for the first time like two days ago. And
I think we're all a little bit obsessed. Okay, good good, good, good,
good good stuff. Yeah. We love a fermentation. Yeah. Um uh,
(04:56):
can you talk a little bit about some of the
local crops that you don't really get other places that
you're that you're working with in some of these food styles,
you know, I mean for us in Hawaii, for Hawaiians
in general, Um, Hawaiian people, I should say, Um, of
course you said, you tried the point that tarot is
is the the number one crop for us. It's our sustenance.
(05:19):
It's our it's our, it's our staple food. Um. I
mean we have others, we have uh hulu bread fruit. Um.
I mean that's that's fine worldwide as well. Um, but
you know, very prominent in Hawaii, Um, sweet potato wala.
You know, we were blessed with a nice variety of
great staples here in Hawaii. Yeah. And and uh, some
(05:46):
of those dishes that come out of that. Do you
have any do any favorites, have any favorites to show
off to people? Well, I mean it's really hard to
choose a favorite because you know, I mean, um, growing
up and and given more so in my adult life.
You know that whole mentality of mahalowy camello. Be happy
(06:09):
for what you have, be grateful for what you have. Um.
You know, the best food that we have is what's
on the table in front of us. You know, we're
so happy to be able to eat absolutely no, No. Food.
Food is very important. Um uh. You know, there's there's
(06:29):
there's a lot of subsistence and a lot of the
dishes um from here like like you were talking about
with the spam, you know, like it's a it's a
substenance eating, but but there's also a huge celebratory um
concept behind it. And I I feel like the places
that we've gone, even the most simple dish is being
(06:50):
presented to us with a sense of that celebration. Yeah,
um uh. And you have you have kids right right? Yeah?
How are how are you involving um? And or I
mean do they want to be involved in some of
the traditional stuff that you're talking about? You know, Um,
there's a thing that we went there'sn't There's a word
that we have called kuliana. Kuliana is responsibility. And it's
(07:14):
not just the responsibility as in, you know, you have
to do this for today, but kuliana is like a
birth a birth duty. It's your duty, it's your calling,
you know, and you may not want to do it,
it may not be your favorite thing to do, but
you know, in many families, the way we were brought up,
you know, it's the tradition and one way or another,
(07:38):
you're gonna end up doing it. So you know, it
depends on how much you embrace it. You know. I
hope that my children do realize that, you know, we
have a we have a we have an important role
to play. You know. Yeah, Um do you do you
still cook at home? I do still cook at home. UM.
I'm fortunate to live in a small a generational uh
(08:01):
compounds or to speak. Um, you know, my family property
has been you know, we've been We've been there for
generations and uh, it's you know, it's a it's a
several houses and UM, we kind of take turns cooking,
which is great. So um, you know it also creates
that family nucleus, that that sense of sharing food. So UM,
(08:28):
how how is uh how is a w who changed?
Um since you were growing up? Um? And uh living
living with with multiple generations? Um? Do the older generations
talk even more about how it's changed since they were
growing you know? Um, we we have been going through
(08:51):
a really interesting time. UM for the past let's say
thirty forty years. Um, we've been in in someone of
cultural renaissance and uh, you know our parents and their
parents they were taught to do things the colonized way
(09:11):
they were thought. You know, they were about being these
great American people. That right, exactly. Um. But what's exciting
is that in the past thirty years there's been this
resurgence of the traditional culture language, you know, um, bringing
(09:33):
back all traditions, things that we stopped doing for generations.
And you know, it's it's exciting, you know, bringing things
back like pounding point by hand, like uh, you know,
cooking a pig in the in the emore, the on
the ground of it. You know, things like that. Not
(09:53):
everyone in Hawaii today was privileged to have that growing up,
but you know it's becoming more prevalent. You know, that
is wonderful. Can you describe for us the process of
email cooking? Well, the email is um, like I said,
it's a it's a very traditional thing. It's um it's
(10:14):
an underground oven. Um. It's basically a pit. It's this
really cool combination of of barbecue slash smoker slash pressure
cooker slash slow cooker. Um. We dig a big pit,
you know. Well, I mean it depends on what you're cooking.
(10:35):
Of course, if you're cooking a four pound pig or
you know or whatever else. That's a different, different process.
But I mean one example we're talking about, Um, I
was fortunate to be able to share the experience with
Rick Bayliss, who was you know, he was honored as
(10:55):
a ah culinary hero. Um. And uh so we dug
this bit and there was a we We brought in
a pig, live pig, whole pig, I should say, whole hog,
about two fifty pounds. So we dig a pit, fill
it up with firewood. Um, we loaded up with volcanic rocks,
(11:17):
porous volcanic rocks, set it on fire, let it burn
down for roughly three or four hours. Um. When the
embers start coming down and the rocks are glowing bright red. Um,
We're gonna lay down a bunch of shredded banana stumps
and that really gives it a unique flavoring. And because
(11:39):
of the moisture content and the stump, it creates a
steaming effect. Yeah. So, and we'll set our protein or
pork right on on top of it. Normally in a
in a wire basket. Um I grew up. We used
like chicken wire. Um, so it's wrap up in chicken wire,
placed it in on top of the anna stumps, covered
(12:01):
up with a bunch of banana leaves and tea leaves, UM.
And then we'll top that with a bunch of burlap
wet burlap bags, and then we'll cover it up. Today
we'll use a thick plastic sheeting, but traditionally they'll use
like um, a woven matt or a bark cloth something
(12:22):
similar to this um and covered up with dirt. So
and let it sit depending on your cooking time, you know,
anywhere from four or six eight hours. Sometimes we'll leave
in an overnight, pull it up in the morning and
opening that EMU, you know, it's like it's a big unveiling.
You know, it's like you get this wafting smell of
(12:44):
of park and and coals and that you know, that
distinct banana flavor. UM. It's just you know, growing up
with that, you can smell it, you know around the block,
you know, down the street a mile away. You know
somebody's doing you know, it's uh yeah, it's a And
(13:05):
then we pull this pig out of the emo. You know,
if everything went right, it's nice and golden brown, and
the skins just crispy, and it's sticking to the wire
and with like crack lands where you know, trying to
get a piece of that cracking up on the wire
and um, yeah, the generally the meat will be like
(13:31):
fork tender, you know, it's just kind of fall apart
ideally and just fall apart. So and it's it's it's
a really um it's a family affair, you know. It's
it's a it's a lengthy process. A lot of work
goes into it, you know, let alone digging a hole,
collecting firewood, collecting all these different resources. You know, many
(13:53):
times you have to process a pig. You don't have
to slaughter and clean and you know it's two three
days of work, you know, and you know it's it's
a family thing. You need twenty people there, you know.
And when it's done, you know, we get together and
some people are cleaning clean the pit. Some people are
(14:15):
you know, um, processing the pork, salting it, you know, um,
spreading it out, cooling it. It's really a family uffair.
It's it's it's a lot of work, but it is
it's really rewarding at the end of the day. You know,
I wouldn't want to do it every week, but you know,
(14:35):
maybe once a month. And these days, um, you know,
I make it a point to make sure all my
I have four sons, so you know, I make sure
that they're in there. You know, it's some capacity. And yeah,
I'm really happy to be a part of our tradition.
So I was fortunate to grow up with that, you know.
But it sounds ridiculous, it is, it's yeah, Okay, we
(15:03):
have a lot more of our interview, but first we
have a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Let's get back into
the can. Can I ask they were they were just, um,
(15:25):
there's like a group singing happening. Do you know do
you know what they were singing off the top of
your head. Oh, they were singing our high school Alma
maters so Comman schools. If you're on a freeway, you
can take a look. If you're in the uh Calihie area,
take a look up the hill will be a fairly
(15:45):
large campus. I mean obviously campus. It looks like a college,
but it's commit high school. Um, it's kindergarten through twelfth grade.
And it's a private school. That's um. It was built
on the legacy and the will of one of our
(16:06):
h one of the Royalty of our past Princess Bernie's
Poli Bishop and she left this this trust and this legacy,
and there's uh, you know, it's a very large school
and alumni. We're very proud when when it's Alumni Week
(16:28):
once a week, once a year, they have a one
week long celebration and uh yeah, it's it's just a
bunch of activities, one after another moment. So, um, do
do do a lot of people who grew up here
stay here. I I think that a lot of people,
(16:49):
ideally people will stay here, you know. I mean I
have a lot of friends that I grew up with
and the relatives that have moved away. I have a
brother that lives in Seattle. You know, it's sometimes not
the easiest place to live as far as um, you know,
making a living and uh, you know, our cost of
living is a little pricey. It's a pricey pay for
(17:12):
being in Paradise. But at the same time, you know,
it's really it's really dependent on what you want, you know.
So for myself, I'm I'm trying real hard to position
my children to be able to stay here, you know.
So it's I love visiting other states. I love visiting.
(17:32):
And I was just in l A last week and
you know, so much fun. But whenever I get home,
it's just I'm happy to be home. So was there
ever a moment where you were thinking about making some
place else at home? I wouldn't. How I will always
be my home no matter what, even if I had
to live in in Las Vegas or or or tim
(17:54):
Buck two for for twenty five years. Who he is
always my home. And I think about us why and
people were very connected to where we're from. That's that's
you know, inherent. So sure, um, I want I want
to go back to this, to this, to this evil
thing because it sounds so good. I'm a little bit
obsessed right now. What um, what kind of what kind
(18:17):
of other dishes go go along with that kind of thing?
While while I mean theol is not just it is
not just designed for pigs, I mean that's probably the
most common thing, but I mean, I mean, in contemporary times,
we put pretty much anything in there. I've I've cooked
uh anything from turkeys, two chickens, two ducks, to corn
beef to um, you know, briskets. Anything can be cooked
(18:41):
in there. Um, you know, we cook sweet potato taro,
all of the staples will cook in there. Um yeah,
pretty much anything I'm going there. Yeah, anything that will
work out in a in a slow cooker setting, you
know that's ideal and in parts that little smokiness and
you know that that really uh yeah, that really that
(19:04):
feel you can't get anywhere house that taste and texture
and you know that very unique. Yeah. Um uh. When
you bring um, you know, anyone, anyone from your average
tourists to someone like Rick Bayless and and show them
this kind of thing or any of your traditional preparation
(19:27):
methods for these traditional foods, what are you what are
you hoping that people will take away from that? Well?
I know that in the in the case with Rick Bayless,
Chef Bayless, Um, you know, for me, it's really great
when there's someone who can connect on a different level,
you know, how they can relate. You know, for for
(19:49):
Chef Bayless, you know he related to the email because
there's underground cooking in in Mexican cuisines, and you know,
and there's underground cooking or above ground cook king in
Polynesian you know, across the board. Um, there's a lot
of indigenous indigenous cuisine in general, I mean I think
we we connect one way or another. We connect, Yeah,
(20:13):
and you know, we were mainly built on the same foundation,
and the foundation was the fact that we needed to
survive with what we had, you know. And you know,
it is a very unique thing to Hawaii, the emo itself.
And uh if I if I show it to people,
I mean it's basically so they can get an appreciation
(20:36):
for what goes into it. Because if you just go
to a restaurant um and order it. You know, that's
one thing um in all, in all honesty, if you
go to a restaurant these days, most of the time
it comes out of an oven um. But if you
go to a backyard lualla um, you know, first birthday
(20:58):
party or wedding or something, you know, family style, it's
the real deal. You know, that's it's just a whole
another level, you know. I mean, you know, Hawaii people,
I mean, I'm sure it's unlike you know, other other cultures,
but we connect to our food and in a little
higher level, a lot higher level than most people you know,
(21:20):
we have. I mean, you know, in traditional times, food
was was even more taboo than my wife hates when
I say this, but it was more taboo than sex.
And and that's that's the truth, because UM sustenance, you know,
sustenance is it's imperative. And the Hawaiian people, we truly
(21:47):
did worship our food. We view our food as a
physical manifestation of of our ancestral deities and um traditional gods,
the Tower, the Tarot planet itself, that's for us. You know,
I'll tell you the truth. In my day, I grew
up eating poi out of a plastic bag, um, and
(22:12):
I'm totally fine with that. But as time went on,
you know, I learned um more about traditional history and
culture and beliefs. And with this cultural renaissance, UM, we're
teaching our children what we've learned from the history books
that Taro is our ancestor. The tarot plant is literally
(22:37):
related to us. Yeah, we're descending from an Tario planet.
So we treat it as as our elder brother, as
our as our ancestor, as our copuna. And when the
tarot is on the table, whether in the form of
bowl of poi or whatever else it is, UM, we
behave accordingly. You know, you would speak harshly over it.
(23:02):
You wouldn't be scolding the kids. You wouldn't be saying,
you know, how terrible what day you had um? And
and that really that really lends to that whole family,
that positive vibe. You know, when you're around food, it's
about being grateful for what you have and about sustenance
and about you know, so I always say, we Hawaians,
(23:26):
we love our food. We love our food. So it's
not just about sticking into your mouth and and enjoying
the flavor, you know, which, don't get me wrong, you
know it's um definitely something that I love, but just
the fact that when you consume this food, it's really
(23:47):
partaking of the gods. So and it's as respect thing,
yeah I think, yeah, I think it's not. It is like, yeah,
it's gratitude exactly exactly. And like I said, I mean
I grew up eating out of a plastic bag and
that was that was you know point. A plastic bag
(24:07):
came about from commercialism, you know, came about from you know,
our people at one time, we're being steered to be
industrious and do things that we were not traditionally doing
and making POI kind of fell off the wayside, and
why are we gonna go and spend the day and
pound this POI with a with a with a stone
(24:30):
and the board, board and stone, when you could go
to the store and buy it out of a plastic bag,
you know. And about ten or fifteen years ago, you know,
I was, Um, I was asked by our friends and say,
what are you doing this evening? Let's get together, Um,
(24:51):
I have a friend. We're gonna try this thing out.
We're gonna pound POI. And I had never done it
in my life. And yeah, just that, that that simple
act of striking the tarot and making into a product
that I'm so happy to feed my family. You know,
(25:11):
it's it's yeah, there's no words to describe it. It's
like you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a spiritual
It's a spiritual affair, you know. Yeah. Uma, Well what
(25:33):
I was gonna say was that, because you know, we're
teaching our children this this this respect for food, you know,
and it's very important for us to set the example
for them. You know, we didn't grow up with it
came out of a plastic bag. Today we pound it fresh.
(25:54):
You know, they know where it comes from from. You know,
they know the varieties, they know that different meanings. So
I mean, there's a whole another level of understanding. So, um,
sustainability is kind of a buzzword right now, but but
it's you know, there's there's an aspect of it that's
(26:15):
very much what you're talking about, protecting those things valuable. Um,
could you talk a little bit about how, um, how
he is doing that? Yeah, well, I mean sustainability, like
you said, is a buzzword. It's I mean I do
find it kind of amusing at times, um, because you know,
(26:37):
it's nothing new. It's just that we didn't have a choice.
You know, we didn't have a choice. You need you
know today and you know, I mean, um, you know,
I have family and uh you know that have been
growing their own food for forever, you know until today.
(26:59):
You know, my father all they grew up on a
plantation and um, you know the only way they know
is to grow their own veggies, you know, their own
vegetables and they always had something, you know, and it's
not really it's not really uh daunting task if you
understand the importance of it. You know, um on a
(27:20):
wah who you know. Yeah, it's a buzzword. People are
becoming more and more aware of it. Local First has
been a strong model for you know, I want to say,
going fifteen years now, although there are so many times
when it's so much easier to use to go step
into Costco, you know, and it's right there at the fingertips.
But when you understand and you appreciate and you get
(27:44):
to know that farmer that grew that produce, when you
get to know that farmer that you know that he
put his his good energy, his money into the soil,
into the implements, into everything from from seed form from
uli which is the planting media for our tarot plant. Um.
(28:04):
You know, when you put that Julie in the ground,
it's you know, it's a part of you. And that
that sustainability, it just flows, it comes naturally. Um. And
I think the more the more people understand that, um,
the less likely we are to go to Costco. I mean,
(28:25):
you're still gonna see me there, um, you know, buying
two d worts of stuff when I just needed a
load of bread. But um, yeah, I mean Oahu Hawaii
in general, Um, you know, things are a little different
these days because you know, we don't have the same
(28:48):
access to land, same access to water. I mean we
have we have we have jobs and careers and bills,
and you know, it's not as easy to dedicate your
life too. But there are there are many more people
who are really stepping up to the plate and figuring
it out. Um. You know. And as we regain our
(29:11):
respect for the food, you know, it becomes less about
how much it costs, um and more about how it came,
about how it arrived at your door step, how it
arrived in your refrigerator, your kitchen. You know. Yeah. Yeah,
how can people who who are visiting, um, or even
(29:34):
who live here but are not native Hawaiians being more respectful? Yeah,
that's um, that's really a tricky one because you know,
Hawaiian people in general, we're we're loving people. We get
the aloha spirit. I means, you know, we share, We
open our door, you know, come inside, come and eat.
You will offer you the last bit of food that
(29:56):
we have. You know. That's that's the way it's in
our DNA. It's genetic, you know. Um. But in today's world,
there is a bit of cultural appropriation. Um. You know.
Great example is the pocket craze that's happening across worldwide,
(30:19):
I think, okay, is everywhere you know, Yeah, and it's
you know, it's it always be a debate, but you know,
to honor, to recognize, to respect the host culture. I
think that's something that, um, we really need to get
(30:41):
the message across to people. You know. That's why it's
important for people like myself to two, you know, share
what what I know and keep learning and you know,
encourage our our next generations to learn, you know, even
even deeper in the knowledge. You know, it's it's a
(31:02):
part of us. It's been a part of us for
generations upon generations upon generations. And uh, that's not something
you want to just you know, tossing the curb. So
I don't want I don't wanted to talk anyone, um,
But but can I can I ask you what you
(31:23):
what you think or feel about Hawaii regional cuisine. Well,
I definitely I'm not opposed to Hawaii regional cuisine. I mean,
like you know, like I said, we were brought up
in a in a multi ethnic society, um and not
necessarily right right, you know, I mean a Pacific regional
(31:47):
cuisine really, m you know, I mean it did put
away in the map, you know, so much respect to
two people like chef Rayamgucci and Allen Wong and the
pioneers who really took what Hawaii had and you know,
(32:08):
elevated in a sense where it was understandable and relatable
to the rest of the world. You know, for me,
I mean, I would hope that the rest of the
world would want to be more like us. You know,
that's just a personal thing. Um. We don't have to
we don't have to replicate um, you know, French cuisine,
(32:31):
and you know people don't have to do that. But
you know, I mean, at the same time, for myself,
with with this respect for ingredients, with respect for um,
for a traditional you know, traditional staples and and ingredients. UM,
(32:51):
you know, we should we should give it the respect
and put it up on a pedestal and and put
it in that most beautiful um bowls that you have
and put it in that you know, I mean, make
it beautiful, you know, but not to say that it's
it's you know, any better than the point that came
(33:12):
out of the bag. But nothing, it's not beautiful. Already
We've got a bit more for you, but first we're
going to take one more quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, and
(33:36):
back to the interview, could you tell us a little
bit about where we are? Thank you for asking that
because that's really important. So so we're in this spot UM.
It's called Collective UMI. Collective is um It's it's a
(33:56):
partnership entity, business social spot, UH spoil the cool kids
hang out UM it's uh. It was the brainchild of
three three friends of mine um Ni Lee Um. He's
known as the one of the founders of indigenous TV
(34:19):
production company called ov tv UM. Jamie Macasbe who is UH,
comes from the realm of of visual arts and design.
She has a company called Kiela Pico UM and she
does clothing, beautiful clothing h mahina uh paishandart. She's a
(34:40):
Hawaiian educator, cultural practitioner and and a businesswoman. And you know,
they had this opportunity to get together with Commandmal Schools.
They had this venue and you know they thought about
it and you know, how could we create a place
that would be just a place to hang out and
(35:01):
and have a cup of coffee, but a place where
it can be a hub for um. Different people from
different walks of of our community are law who we
where we could have these um deep conversations these meaningful conversations,
these difficult conversations, where we could have strategic planning, where
(35:24):
we could have you know, I think tanks and ideas
just mainly things for us to build upon our are law,
who we are, our Hawaiian people, and and our community
in general. You know. So there have been a lot
of great events here, um, everything from waitings to funerals,
to concerts to panel discussions, uh, lectures, just an amazing spot.
(35:52):
We've had birthday parties here. I mean, it's just a
really cool spot to hang out. And that moment when
you walk in the door, they actually remove your shoes.
You know, it's, uh, you're grounding yourself. Although this is
not you know, natural grass, but it does kind of,
you know, grow on you and it gives you like this,
(36:15):
I'm in a different zone here, and um yeah, it's
just the kids are welcome here. They play with the
pillows and have Philip flights and so it's it's in
this This place is is an extension of some of
the great um, great cultural sites that we've developed over
(36:36):
the years. What other what other projects or initiatives are
you working on or is the Greater Commity working on
right now? Well, I mean I just got back from
a really cool um trip to l a. Um. We
actually went up there because my son was invited to
be a part of film production called Alternative And what
(37:01):
they were doing in this PBS piece with they were
highlighting three indigenous chefs and um there were two Native
Americans and my son was a representative of Hawaii. Uh
and of course you know Daddy had a thing along.
But UM, but it was really cool because uh it
(37:21):
you know, we were talking about that that understanding of
indigenous to indigenous, you know that we have that little
secret wavelength. Um. It was really cool because you know,
we were coming from different walks of life, different areas
of the world. But when we got together to create
(37:42):
this meal, this this three chef collab, it was pretty
much on point. You know. It was um. You know,
they're in the process of doing the same thing that
we are. They're bringing back their traditional ingredients, bringing back
the um you know, that staple food and and that
style of cooking that you know, we don't need to
(38:05):
um emulate anyone else. You know, we just represent who
we are. And yeah, it's really got gotten me excited too.
You know, maybe build on this, uh indigenous cuisine, uh,
you know movement, and I think that you know, it's
(38:28):
a it's a great direction for us because you know,
it's about time we represent our true selves. You know.
We bring out the the unadulterated version, the pok without
the avocado and the sprinkles and whatever. But you know,
(38:51):
it's important for people to see what we're really about.
I think that once they get the proper message and understanding,
they'll really really really um have a deeper understanding. Yeah,
you know, I'm just really I'm really really excited and
honored to have two have had the privilege of being
(39:16):
associated with Hawaii Food and Wine since the first year. Um,
you know, like I said, I've never considered myself a
chef coming from perspective of traditional cuisine. I really feel
that it's a great thing that we're able to represent
traditional Hawaiian cuisine in some sort, you know, because who
(39:40):
wants to come to Hawaii and have food from around
the world when you know, you want to enjoy the
cuisine of the region, you know, and traditional Hawaiian food
is traditional Hawaiian food, you know. So I'm really grateful
to Hawaii Food and Wine. To Dennis Yamaguchi and and
Roy and Allen the founders for you know, being strong
(40:06):
supporters of of the Hawai cuisine in general, you know.
And yeah, I'm not saying that we have to be limited,
but definitely need to have the representative of the host
culture there. So so yeah, I really want to mallow
them for that. Yeah, we have now arrived at the
(40:28):
end of our interview. I'm almost sad that it's over.
I know, it's just such a calming, wonderful experience. And yeah,
and we are so grateful um to Kiloha for sharing
his his experience with us. Yes, and there's definitely some
craving happening right now. Yeah. Yeah, well it's almost dinner time.
(40:55):
It won't be as amazing as what he was talking about,
but something Yeah maybe barbecue, yes, maybe. In the meantime,
we would love to hear from any of you listeners.
If you want an email as you can or email
as hello at savor pod dot com. We're also on
social media. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and
(41:16):
Facebook at sabor pod and we do hope to hear
from you. Savor is a production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. To hear more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you so
much to Michelle McGowan, Rice of the White Food and
Wine Festival, for putting us in touch with kie loha Um.
(41:36):
Thanks to our super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way
Hello, and welcome to Savor Protection of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. I'm an Aries and I'm Lauren voc Obam,
and today we wanted to present you with our first
full interview from Hawaii. Yes, and it's a good one.
We're very excited to share with you. Yes from Kila Domingo. Yes.
He is a native Hawaiian cultural practitioner who also cooks. Yes,
(00:29):
And because he is such a delight to listen to
and so well spoken, you'll probably recognize his voice from
several of the episodes we did in our Hawaii mini series. Yes. Absolutely,
we we we mind that one for many of its
amazing gems. Yeah, and the you'll hear in the background.
This one was really great because we got to experience
(00:51):
the atmosphere they're singing. There was a school union I
think there was, Yeah, so um. So we did this
interview at White or the the Y Y Collective, which
is this amazing organization that provides um workspace and learning
workshops and all all of this great stuff. Look it up.
(01:12):
It's it's a it's in this historic building in Honolulu,
and there was a high school reunion going on while
we were doing the interview, So we wound up like
kind of crammed into this little office space, like like
sitting on stuff. I think I left a donut there.
I'm really sorry. Yeah, I really hope like ants did
get it. Oh gosh. Um but yeah. So so in
(01:33):
the background, you're like you might hear some stuff going
on over the p A. They were singing their Alma
matter like theme song. It was really gorgeous. It really was. Uh,
We're so fortunate continuously. Absolutely. Yeah, and the space is
really amazing. If you're ever in Honolulu and have the
chance to go check out any of their exhibits or workshops, um,
(01:57):
I highly recommend it. It's it's it's it's a very
calming space. You go in and you take off your
shoes and there's turf and it's it's so nice. It is.
It's making me want to go back. Oh here we go,
we start already, let's go back to Hawaii. But we
do hope that you enjoy this interview. Absolutely, we'll get
(02:19):
right into it. Hello, how my cocko. My name is
Kelo Han Domingo. I'm from who Um, born and raised
in Hawaii and happy to be here today. Yeah, thank
you for thank you for joining us. Um, uh, you
are a chef and cultural practitioner here. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
(02:43):
a cultural practitioner who cooks. Um. You know, chef can
be a heavy, heavy word. Um comes a lot of responsibility.
You know, some people will call me chef, but I
definitely do UM associate myself with being uh Hawaiian cultural
practitioner and um, you know, proud of proud of that. Yeah.
(03:04):
How how did you wind up with with that? Is
your career and how did you focus it on on cooking? Well,
I mean, oddly enough, I've been juggling a lot of
different careers uh in the past twenty years, but cooking
has been a passion for me. And uh, you know,
it's something that we grew up with in Hawaii. You know,
(03:26):
I mean doing all their parties and doing big blue
walls and you know, family functions, and you know it
also helps that I have I have a lot of
family in the restaurant industry, so you know, it kind
of rubbed off a little bit. So it's a it's
a it's a delicious thing to have. Yeah. Yeah, I mean,
you know we're spoiled growing up. So could you could
(03:50):
you tell me about some of the some of the
foosid growing up, you know, living in Hawaii. Um. You know,
although I do um so shaped mainly with being of
Hawaiian descent, I'm also Chinese. We grew up eating a
lot of Chinese food, a lot of Japanese food. Um.
You know, Hawaii is such a great place to be
(04:11):
if you like eating. I mean, we got it all here.
I mean, you know, you name it. I mean I
really grew up eating simple food. You know, my parents, Um,
they grew up simply and in the country, and you know,
we ate things like startines out of the can and
you know spam. You know, I gotta say it, we
(04:31):
ate spam. You know, those are the things that we
grew up eating. You know. Well, of course, um, you
know a lot of poi. Yeah, we we all got
to This is our first time, all four of us
in Hawaii, and so we just got to try a
poi for the first time like two days ago. And
I think we're all a little bit obsessed. Okay, good good, good, good,
good good stuff. Yeah. We love a fermentation. Yeah. Um uh,
(04:56):
can you talk a little bit about some of the
local crops that you don't really get other places that
you're that you're working with in some of these food styles,
you know, I mean for us in Hawaii, for Hawaiians
in general, Um, Hawaiian people, I should say, Um, of
course you said, you tried the point that tarot is
is the the number one crop for us. It's our sustenance.
(05:19):
It's our it's our, it's our staple food. Um. I
mean we have others, we have uh hulu bread fruit. Um.
I mean that's that's fine worldwide as well. Um, but
you know, very prominent in Hawaii, Um, sweet potato wala.
You know, we were blessed with a nice variety of
great staples here in Hawaii. Yeah. And and uh, some
(05:46):
of those dishes that come out of that. Do you
have any do any favorites, have any favorites to show
off to people? Well, I mean it's really hard to
choose a favorite because you know, I mean, um, growing
up and and given more so in my adult life.
You know that whole mentality of mahalowy camello. Be happy
(06:09):
for what you have, be grateful for what you have. Um.
You know, the best food that we have is what's
on the table in front of us. You know, we're
so happy to be able to eat absolutely no, No. Food.
Food is very important. Um uh. You know, there's there's
(06:29):
there's a lot of subsistence and a lot of the
dishes um from here like like you were talking about
with the spam, you know, like it's a it's a
substenance eating, but but there's also a huge celebratory um
concept behind it. And I I feel like the places
that we've gone, even the most simple dish is being
(06:50):
presented to us with a sense of that celebration. Yeah,
um uh. And you have you have kids right right? Yeah?
How are how are you involving um? And or I
mean do they want to be involved in some of
the traditional stuff that you're talking about? You know, Um,
there's a thing that we went there'sn't There's a word
that we have called kuliana. Kuliana is responsibility. And it's
(07:14):
not just the responsibility as in, you know, you have
to do this for today, but kuliana is like a
birth a birth duty. It's your duty, it's your calling,
you know, and you may not want to do it,
it may not be your favorite thing to do, but
you know, in many families, the way we were brought up,
you know, it's the tradition and one way or another,
(07:38):
you're gonna end up doing it. So you know, it
depends on how much you embrace it. You know. I
hope that my children do realize that, you know, we
have a we have a we have an important role
to play. You know. Yeah, Um do you do you
still cook at home? I do still cook at home. UM.
I'm fortunate to live in a small a generational uh
(08:01):
compounds or to speak. Um, you know, my family property
has been you know, we've been We've been there for
generations and uh, it's you know, it's a it's a
several houses and UM, we kind of take turns cooking,
which is great. So um, you know it also creates
that family nucleus, that that sense of sharing food. So UM,
(08:28):
how how is uh how is a w who changed?
Um since you were growing up? Um? And uh living
living with with multiple generations? Um? Do the older generations
talk even more about how it's changed since they were
growing you know? Um, we we have been going through
(08:51):
a really interesting time. UM for the past let's say
thirty forty years. Um, we've been in in someone of
cultural renaissance and uh, you know our parents and their
parents they were taught to do things the colonized way
(09:11):
they were thought. You know, they were about being these
great American people. That right, exactly. Um. But what's exciting
is that in the past thirty years there's been this
resurgence of the traditional culture language, you know, um, bringing
(09:33):
back all traditions, things that we stopped doing for generations.
And you know, it's it's exciting, you know, bringing things
back like pounding point by hand, like uh, you know,
cooking a pig in the in the emore, the on
the ground of it. You know, things like that. Not
(09:53):
everyone in Hawaii today was privileged to have that growing up,
but you know it's becoming more prevalent. You know, that
is wonderful. Can you describe for us the process of
email cooking? Well, the email is um, like I said,
it's a it's a very traditional thing. It's um it's
(10:14):
an underground oven. Um. It's basically a pit. It's this
really cool combination of of barbecue slash smoker slash pressure
cooker slash slow cooker. Um. We dig a big pit,
you know. Well, I mean it depends on what you're cooking.
(10:35):
Of course, if you're cooking a four pound pig or
you know or whatever else. That's a different, different process.
But I mean one example we're talking about, Um, I
was fortunate to be able to share the experience with
Rick Bayliss, who was you know, he was honored as
(10:55):
a ah culinary hero. Um. And uh so we dug
this bit and there was a we We brought in
a pig, live pig, whole pig, I should say, whole hog,
about two fifty pounds. So we dig a pit, fill
it up with firewood. Um, we loaded up with volcanic rocks,
(11:17):
porous volcanic rocks, set it on fire, let it burn
down for roughly three or four hours. Um. When the
embers start coming down and the rocks are glowing bright red. Um,
We're gonna lay down a bunch of shredded banana stumps
and that really gives it a unique flavoring. And because
(11:39):
of the moisture content and the stump, it creates a
steaming effect. Yeah. So, and we'll set our protein or
pork right on on top of it. Normally in a
in a wire basket. Um I grew up. We used
like chicken wire. Um, so it's wrap up in chicken wire,
placed it in on top of the anna stumps, covered
(12:01):
up with a bunch of banana leaves and tea leaves, UM.
And then we'll top that with a bunch of burlap
wet burlap bags, and then we'll cover it up. Today
we'll use a thick plastic sheeting, but traditionally they'll use
like um, a woven matt or a bark cloth something
(12:22):
similar to this um and covered up with dirt. So
and let it sit depending on your cooking time, you know,
anywhere from four or six eight hours. Sometimes we'll leave
in an overnight, pull it up in the morning and
opening that EMU, you know, it's like it's a big unveiling.
You know, it's like you get this wafting smell of
(12:44):
of park and and coals and that you know, that
distinct banana flavor. UM. It's just you know, growing up
with that, you can smell it, you know around the block,
you know, down the street a mile away. You know
somebody's doing you know, it's uh yeah, it's a And
(13:05):
then we pull this pig out of the emo. You know,
if everything went right, it's nice and golden brown, and
the skins just crispy, and it's sticking to the wire
and with like crack lands where you know, trying to
get a piece of that cracking up on the wire
and um, yeah, the generally the meat will be like
(13:31):
fork tender, you know, it's just kind of fall apart
ideally and just fall apart. So and it's it's it's
a really um it's a family affair, you know. It's
it's a it's a lengthy process. A lot of work
goes into it, you know, let alone digging a hole,
collecting firewood, collecting all these different resources. You know, many
(13:53):
times you have to process a pig. You don't have
to slaughter and clean and you know it's two three
days of work, you know, and you know it's it's
a family thing. You need twenty people there, you know.
And when it's done, you know, we get together and
some people are cleaning clean the pit. Some people are
(14:15):
you know, um, processing the pork, salting it, you know, um,
spreading it out, cooling it. It's really a family uffair.
It's it's it's a lot of work, but it is
it's really rewarding at the end of the day. You know,
I wouldn't want to do it every week, but you know,
(14:35):
maybe once a month. And these days, um, you know,
I make it a point to make sure all my
I have four sons, so you know, I make sure
that they're in there. You know, it's some capacity. And yeah,
I'm really happy to be a part of our tradition.
So I was fortunate to grow up with that, you know.
But it sounds ridiculous, it is, it's yeah, Okay, we
(15:03):
have a lot more of our interview, but first we
have a quick break for a word from our sponsor,
and we're back. Thank you sponsor. Let's get back into
the can. Can I ask they were they were just, um,
(15:25):
there's like a group singing happening. Do you know do
you know what they were singing off the top of
your head. Oh, they were singing our high school Alma
maters so Comman schools. If you're on a freeway, you
can take a look. If you're in the uh Calihie area,
take a look up the hill will be a fairly
(15:45):
large campus. I mean obviously campus. It looks like a college,
but it's commit high school. Um, it's kindergarten through twelfth grade.
And it's a private school. That's um. It was built
on the legacy and the will of one of our
(16:06):
h one of the Royalty of our past Princess Bernie's
Poli Bishop and she left this this trust and this legacy,
and there's uh, you know, it's a very large school
and alumni. We're very proud when when it's Alumni Week
(16:28):
once a week, once a year, they have a one
week long celebration and uh yeah, it's it's just a
bunch of activities, one after another moment. So, um, do
do do a lot of people who grew up here
stay here. I I think that a lot of people,
(16:49):
ideally people will stay here, you know. I mean I
have a lot of friends that I grew up with
and the relatives that have moved away. I have a
brother that lives in Seattle. You know, it's sometimes not
the easiest place to live as far as um, you know,
making a living and uh, you know, our cost of
living is a little pricey. It's a pricey pay for
(17:12):
being in Paradise. But at the same time, you know,
it's really it's really dependent on what you want, you know.
So for myself, I'm I'm trying real hard to position
my children to be able to stay here, you know.
So it's I love visiting other states. I love visiting.
(17:32):
And I was just in l A last week and
you know, so much fun. But whenever I get home,
it's just I'm happy to be home. So was there
ever a moment where you were thinking about making some
place else at home? I wouldn't. How I will always
be my home no matter what, even if I had
to live in in Las Vegas or or or tim
(17:54):
Buck two for for twenty five years. Who he is
always my home. And I think about us why and
people were very connected to where we're from. That's that's
you know, inherent. So sure, um, I want I want
to go back to this, to this, to this evil
thing because it sounds so good. I'm a little bit
obsessed right now. What um, what kind of what kind
(18:17):
of other dishes go go along with that kind of thing?
While while I mean theol is not just it is
not just designed for pigs, I mean that's probably the
most common thing, but I mean, I mean, in contemporary times,
we put pretty much anything in there. I've I've cooked
uh anything from turkeys, two chickens, two ducks, to corn
beef to um, you know, briskets. Anything can be cooked
(18:41):
in there. Um, you know, we cook sweet potato taro,
all of the staples will cook in there. Um yeah,
pretty much anything I'm going there. Yeah, anything that will
work out in a in a slow cooker setting, you
know that's ideal and in parts that little smokiness and
you know that that really uh yeah, that really that
(19:04):
feel you can't get anywhere house that taste and texture
and you know that very unique. Yeah. Um uh. When
you bring um, you know, anyone, anyone from your average
tourists to someone like Rick Bayless and and show them
this kind of thing or any of your traditional preparation
(19:27):
methods for these traditional foods, what are you what are
you hoping that people will take away from that? Well?
I know that in the in the case with Rick Bayless,
Chef Bayless, Um, you know, for me, it's really great
when there's someone who can connect on a different level,
you know, how they can relate. You know, for for
(19:49):
Chef Bayless, you know he related to the email because
there's underground cooking in in Mexican cuisines, and you know,
and there's underground cooking or above ground cook king in
Polynesian you know, across the board. Um, there's a lot
of indigenous indigenous cuisine in general, I mean I think
we we connect one way or another. We connect, Yeah,
(20:13):
and you know, we were mainly built on the same foundation,
and the foundation was the fact that we needed to
survive with what we had, you know. And you know,
it is a very unique thing to Hawaii, the emo itself.
And uh if I if I show it to people,
I mean it's basically so they can get an appreciation
(20:36):
for what goes into it. Because if you just go
to a restaurant um and order it. You know, that's
one thing um in all, in all honesty, if you
go to a restaurant these days, most of the time
it comes out of an oven um. But if you
go to a backyard lualla um, you know, first birthday
(20:58):
party or wedding or something, you know, family style, it's
the real deal. You know, that's it's just a whole
another level, you know. I mean, you know, Hawaii people,
I mean, I'm sure it's unlike you know, other other cultures,
but we connect to our food and in a little
higher level, a lot higher level than most people you know,
(21:20):
we have. I mean, you know, in traditional times, food
was was even more taboo than my wife hates when
I say this, but it was more taboo than sex.
And and that's that's the truth, because UM sustenance, you know,
sustenance is it's imperative. And the Hawaiian people, we truly
(21:47):
did worship our food. We view our food as a
physical manifestation of of our ancestral deities and um traditional gods,
the Tower, the Tarot planet itself, that's for us. You know,
I'll tell you the truth. In my day, I grew
up eating poi out of a plastic bag, um, and
(22:12):
I'm totally fine with that. But as time went on,
you know, I learned um more about traditional history and
culture and beliefs. And with this cultural renaissance, UM, we're
teaching our children what we've learned from the history books
that Taro is our ancestor. The tarot plant is literally
(22:37):
related to us. Yeah, we're descending from an Tario planet.
So we treat it as as our elder brother, as
our as our ancestor, as our copuna. And when the
tarot is on the table, whether in the form of
bowl of poi or whatever else it is, UM, we
behave accordingly. You know, you would speak harshly over it.
(23:02):
You wouldn't be scolding the kids. You wouldn't be saying,
you know, how terrible what day you had um? And
and that really that really lends to that whole family,
that positive vibe. You know, when you're around food, it's
about being grateful for what you have and about sustenance
and about you know, so I always say, we Hawaians,
(23:26):
we love our food. We love our food. So it's
not just about sticking into your mouth and and enjoying
the flavor, you know, which, don't get me wrong, you
know it's um definitely something that I love, but just
the fact that when you consume this food, it's really
(23:47):
partaking of the gods. So and it's as respect thing,
yeah I think, yeah, I think it's not. It is like, yeah,
it's gratitude exactly exactly. And like I said, I mean
I grew up eating out of a plastic bag and
that was that was you know point. A plastic bag
(24:07):
came about from commercialism, you know, came about from you know,
our people at one time, we're being steered to be
industrious and do things that we were not traditionally doing
and making POI kind of fell off the wayside, and
why are we gonna go and spend the day and
pound this POI with a with a with a stone
(24:30):
and the board, board and stone, when you could go
to the store and buy it out of a plastic bag,
you know. And about ten or fifteen years ago, you know,
I was, Um, I was asked by our friends and say,
what are you doing this evening? Let's get together, Um,
(24:51):
I have a friend. We're gonna try this thing out.
We're gonna pound POI. And I had never done it
in my life. And yeah, just that, that that simple
act of striking the tarot and making into a product
that I'm so happy to feed my family. You know,
(25:11):
it's it's yeah, there's no words to describe it. It's
like you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a spiritual
It's a spiritual affair, you know. Yeah. Uma, Well what
(25:33):
I was gonna say was that, because you know, we're
teaching our children this this this respect for food, you know,
and it's very important for us to set the example
for them. You know, we didn't grow up with it
came out of a plastic bag. Today we pound it fresh.
(25:54):
You know, they know where it comes from from. You know,
they know the varieties, they know that different meanings. So
I mean, there's a whole another level of understanding. So, um,
sustainability is kind of a buzzword right now, but but
it's you know, there's there's an aspect of it that's
(26:15):
very much what you're talking about, protecting those things valuable. Um,
could you talk a little bit about how, um, how
he is doing that? Yeah, well, I mean sustainability, like
you said, is a buzzword. It's I mean I do
find it kind of amusing at times, um, because you know,
(26:37):
it's nothing new. It's just that we didn't have a choice.
You know, we didn't have a choice. You need you
know today and you know, I mean, um, you know,
I have family and uh you know that have been
growing their own food for forever, you know until today.
(26:59):
You know, my father all they grew up on a
plantation and um, you know the only way they know
is to grow their own veggies, you know, their own
vegetables and they always had something, you know, and it's
not really it's not really uh daunting task if you
understand the importance of it. You know, um on a
(27:20):
wah who you know. Yeah, it's a buzzword. People are
becoming more and more aware of it. Local First has
been a strong model for you know, I want to say,
going fifteen years now, although there are so many times
when it's so much easier to use to go step
into Costco, you know, and it's right there at the fingertips.
But when you understand and you appreciate and you get
(27:44):
to know that farmer that grew that produce, when you
get to know that farmer that you know that he
put his his good energy, his money into the soil,
into the implements, into everything from from seed form from
uli which is the planting media for our tarot plant. Um.
(28:04):
You know, when you put that Julie in the ground,
it's you know, it's a part of you. And that
that sustainability, it just flows, it comes naturally. Um. And
I think the more the more people understand that, um,
the less likely we are to go to Costco. I mean,
(28:25):
you're still gonna see me there, um, you know, buying
two d worts of stuff when I just needed a
load of bread. But um, yeah, I mean Oahu Hawaii
in general, Um, you know, things are a little different
these days because you know, we don't have the same
(28:48):
access to land, same access to water. I mean we
have we have we have jobs and careers and bills,
and you know, it's not as easy to dedicate your
life too. But there are there are many more people
who are really stepping up to the plate and figuring
it out. Um. You know. And as we regain our
(29:11):
respect for the food, you know, it becomes less about
how much it costs, um and more about how it came,
about how it arrived at your door step, how it
arrived in your refrigerator, your kitchen. You know. Yeah. Yeah,
how can people who who are visiting, um, or even
(29:34):
who live here but are not native Hawaiians being more respectful? Yeah,
that's um, that's really a tricky one because you know,
Hawaiian people in general, we're we're loving people. We get
the aloha spirit. I means, you know, we share, We
open our door, you know, come inside, come and eat.
You will offer you the last bit of food that
(29:56):
we have. You know. That's that's the way it's in
our DNA. It's genetic, you know. Um. But in today's world,
there is a bit of cultural appropriation. Um. You know.
Great example is the pocket craze that's happening across worldwide,
(30:19):
I think, okay, is everywhere you know, Yeah, and it's
you know, it's it always be a debate, but you know,
to honor, to recognize, to respect the host culture. I
think that's something that, um, we really need to get
(30:41):
the message across to people. You know. That's why it's
important for people like myself to two, you know, share
what what I know and keep learning and you know,
encourage our our next generations to learn, you know, even
even deeper in the knowledge. You know, it's it's a
(31:02):
part of us. It's been a part of us for
generations upon generations upon generations. And uh, that's not something
you want to just you know, tossing the curb. So
I don't want I don't wanted to talk anyone, um,
But but can I can I ask you what you
(31:23):
what you think or feel about Hawaii regional cuisine. Well,
I definitely I'm not opposed to Hawaii regional cuisine. I mean,
like you know, like I said, we were brought up
in a in a multi ethnic society, um and not
necessarily right right, you know, I mean a Pacific regional
(31:47):
cuisine really, m you know, I mean it did put
away in the map, you know, so much respect to
two people like chef Rayamgucci and Allen Wong and the
pioneers who really took what Hawaii had and you know,
(32:08):
elevated in a sense where it was understandable and relatable
to the rest of the world. You know, for me,
I mean, I would hope that the rest of the
world would want to be more like us. You know,
that's just a personal thing. Um. We don't have to
we don't have to replicate um, you know, French cuisine,
(32:31):
and you know people don't have to do that. But
you know, I mean, at the same time, for myself,
with with this respect for ingredients, with respect for um,
for a traditional you know, traditional staples and and ingredients. UM,
(32:51):
you know, we should we should give it the respect
and put it up on a pedestal and and put
it in that most beautiful um bowls that you have
and put it in that you know, I mean, make
it beautiful, you know, but not to say that it's
it's you know, any better than the point that came
(33:12):
out of the bag. But nothing, it's not beautiful. Already
We've got a bit more for you, but first we're
going to take one more quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, and
(33:36):
back to the interview, could you tell us a little
bit about where we are? Thank you for asking that
because that's really important. So so we're in this spot UM.
It's called Collective UMI. Collective is um It's it's a
(33:56):
partnership entity, business social spot, UH spoil the cool kids
hang out UM it's uh. It was the brainchild of
three three friends of mine um Ni Lee Um. He's
known as the one of the founders of indigenous TV
(34:19):
production company called ov tv UM. Jamie Macasbe who is UH,
comes from the realm of of visual arts and design.
She has a company called Kiela Pico UM and she
does clothing, beautiful clothing h mahina uh paishandart. She's a
(34:40):
Hawaiian educator, cultural practitioner and and a businesswoman. And you know,
they had this opportunity to get together with Commandmal Schools.
They had this venue and you know they thought about
it and you know, how could we create a place
that would be just a place to hang out and
(35:01):
and have a cup of coffee, but a place where
it can be a hub for um. Different people from
different walks of of our community are law who we
where we could have these um deep conversations these meaningful conversations,
these difficult conversations, where we could have strategic planning, where
(35:24):
we could have you know, I think tanks and ideas
just mainly things for us to build upon our are law,
who we are, our Hawaiian people, and and our community
in general. You know. So there have been a lot
of great events here, um, everything from waitings to funerals,
to concerts to panel discussions, uh, lectures, just an amazing spot.
(35:52):
We've had birthday parties here. I mean, it's just a
really cool spot to hang out. And that moment when
you walk in the door, they actually remove your shoes.
You know, it's, uh, you're grounding yourself. Although this is
not you know, natural grass, but it does kind of,
you know, grow on you and it gives you like this,
(36:15):
I'm in a different zone here, and um yeah, it's
just the kids are welcome here. They play with the
pillows and have Philip flights and so it's it's in
this This place is is an extension of some of
the great um, great cultural sites that we've developed over
(36:36):
the years. What other what other projects or initiatives are
you working on or is the Greater Commity working on
right now? Well, I mean I just got back from
a really cool um trip to l a. Um. We
actually went up there because my son was invited to
be a part of film production called Alternative And what
(37:01):
they were doing in this PBS piece with they were
highlighting three indigenous chefs and um there were two Native
Americans and my son was a representative of Hawaii. Uh
and of course you know Daddy had a thing along.
But UM, but it was really cool because uh it
(37:21):
you know, we were talking about that that understanding of
indigenous to indigenous, you know that we have that little
secret wavelength. Um. It was really cool because you know,
we were coming from different walks of life, different areas
of the world. But when we got together to create
(37:42):
this meal, this this three chef collab, it was pretty
much on point. You know. It was um. You know,
they're in the process of doing the same thing that
we are. They're bringing back their traditional ingredients, bringing back
the um you know, that staple food and and that
style of cooking that you know, we don't need to
(38:05):
um emulate anyone else. You know, we just represent who
we are. And yeah, it's really got gotten me excited too.
You know, maybe build on this, uh indigenous cuisine, uh,
you know movement, and I think that you know, it's
(38:28):
a it's a great direction for us because you know,
it's about time we represent our true selves. You know.
We bring out the the unadulterated version, the pok without
the avocado and the sprinkles and whatever. But you know,
(38:51):
it's important for people to see what we're really about.
I think that once they get the proper message and understanding,
they'll really really really um have a deeper understanding. Yeah,
you know, I'm just really I'm really really excited and
honored to have two have had the privilege of being
(39:16):
associated with Hawaii Food and Wine since the first year. Um,
you know, like I said, I've never considered myself a
chef coming from perspective of traditional cuisine. I really feel
that it's a great thing that we're able to represent
traditional Hawaiian cuisine in some sort, you know, because who
(39:40):
wants to come to Hawaii and have food from around
the world when you know, you want to enjoy the
cuisine of the region, you know, and traditional Hawaiian food
is traditional Hawaiian food, you know. So I'm really grateful
to Hawaii Food and Wine. To Dennis Yamaguchi and and
Roy and Allen the founders for you know, being strong
(40:06):
supporters of of the Hawai cuisine in general, you know.
And yeah, I'm not saying that we have to be limited,
but definitely need to have the representative of the host
culture there. So so yeah, I really want to mallow
them for that. Yeah, we have now arrived at the
(40:28):
end of our interview. I'm almost sad that it's over.
I know, it's just such a calming, wonderful experience. And yeah,
and we are so grateful um to Kiloha for sharing
his his experience with us. Yes, and there's definitely some
craving happening right now. Yeah. Yeah, well it's almost dinner time.
(40:55):
It won't be as amazing as what he was talking about,
but something Yeah maybe barbecue, yes, maybe. In the meantime,
we would love to hear from any of you listeners.
If you want an email as you can or email
as hello at savor pod dot com. We're also on
social media. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and
(41:16):
Facebook at sabor pod and we do hope to hear
from you. Savor is a production of I Heart Radio
and Stuff Media. To hear more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you so
much to Michelle McGowan, Rice of the White Food and
Wine Festival, for putting us in touch with kie loha Um.
(41:36):
Thanks to our super producers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way
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Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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