After poring over inventive pineapple-infused recipe entries from across the US, Maui Pineapple Store announced the winner of its first-ever Maui Gold® Recipe Contest — Los Angeles-based Chef Charles Voudouris.

Voudouris, executive chef at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, won the contest’s top prize with his ʻono (tasty) recipe for jumbo lump crab cakes with grilled Maui Gold Pineapple salsa and dill tartar sauce. His recipe pairs fresh-made crab cakes and a dill tartar sauce with a bright, aromatic homemade salsa infused with fresh ingredients such as red onion, red bell pepper, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, lime juice and a generous amount of diced grilled Maui Gold pineapple lending caramelized sweetness.

With nearly 50 recipes in the running and following two rounds of judging by the Maui Gold Pineapple team, the chef’s pineapple-inspired culinary creation earned him the much-deserved honor of being named Maui Gold Recipe Contest’s first winner.

“We were extremely excited to read all of the entries and appreciated everyone’s submissions. Chef Charles’ Maui Gold Pineapple recipe stood out for its island-inspired creativity balancing flavors from the land and sea,” said Kiana Smith, Hawai‘i Farm Project director of sales and marketing.  “We’re very proud to have his creation as the first winner of our Maui Gold Recipe Contest. Congratulations, Chef Charles.”

Voudouris’ career culinary journey spans time in world-renowned kitchens in Denmark, Australia and New York, where he has cooked for celebrities, led kitchen teams at luxury resorts and even served as personal chef to actor Robert Downey Jr. 

“The heart of my cuisine has always been my insistence on utilizing high-quality, local ingredients,” said Voudouris. “It was so fun and inspiring to create a recipe that highlights how versatile Maui Gold pineapples are.”  

As the contest’s winner, Voudouris will receive the ultimate grand prize of a one-year subscription of 25 cases of Maui Gold pineapples. In addition to this sweet prize, his recipe will be featured on Maui Gold’s social media channels and Maui Pineapple Store’s website so pineapple enthusiasts around the world can recreate his contest-winning recipe at home. Learn more at www.mauipineapplestore.com/pages/pineapple-crab-cake.

To purchase Maui Gold Pineapples for all of your delicious recipes, visit www.mauipineapplestore.com.