Intimate Dinner Series Returns to Andaz with “Career-Shaping Dishes”

Chef Isaac Bancaco, Winemaker Brett Miller and Chef Ritchard Cariaga, part of the Chef Bloc Series at Andaz Maui. Photo courtesy of Andaz Maui.

Chef Bloc Maui, the exclusive dinner series at Kaʻana Kitchen created by Andaz Maui executive chef Isaac Bancaco, returns on Saturday, Oct. 10 in Wailea. The six-course pairing dinner debuts Ritchard Cariaga, new chef de cuisine of Kaʻana Kitchen and highlights local winery, MauiWine.

The dinner’s theme will be “career-shaping dishes,” where Bancaco and Cariaga will share their favorite dishes from childhood that inspired them to pursue a path in culinary arts. The intimate dining experience is limited to only twelve guests to allow for a more personal interaction with both chefs and Brett Miller, winemaker for MauiWine, as they create and pair each dish.

“This dinner is different from the others because we are sharing treasured memories from our past,” says Bancaco. “When coming up with the theme for this dinner, Ritchard and I started talking about our childhood, our culture and experiences that made us passionate about food, cooking and feeding our family and friends. Food is very personal because it can transport you back to a special moment in time, so we decided to share these special memories with our guests.”

Aligned with Chef Bloc Maui’s primary goal of highlighting grown-on-Maui products, Bancaco and Cariaga reached out to MauiWine for the dinner’s wine pairings. As the largest winery in Hawai’i, the 23-acre vineyard in ʻUlupalakua grows six varietals of grapes and features pineapple, estate-grown and traditional-method sparkling wines.

“I believe great wine is grown, not made,” explains Miller. “It begins and ends with the farming, especially here in Maui, in such a unique environment for grape growing. We are farmers as much as we are winemakers. The chefs’ confidence in our wines to be paired with their dishes is the greatest compliment we can ask for; after all, wine is food.”

The “Career shaping dishes” pairings with MauiWine are:

First course:
Wagyu beef, nigiri, edamame, enoki, wasabi paired with Rose 2014

Second course:
Maitake, eggplant, bonito, pickled pearls, and oroshi paired with Viognier 2014

Third course:
Peking duck blown-up, persimmon, hoisin and scallion biscuits paired with Chenin Blanc 2014

Fourth course:
Kona lobster, garlic, black pepper, chermoula and sorghum paired with Syrah 2013

Fifth course:
Oxtail “kare-kare,” peanuts, XO and banana blossom paired with Malbec 2014

Sixth course:
Pisang goreng, coconut curd and goat’s milk caramel paired with Lehua74.

Lehua74 is a new cocktail created by Kaʻai Fong, mixologist at Kaʻana Kitchen, made from gin, macadamia nut orgeat, fresh lemon and pineapple juices and MauiWine’s famous Hula o Maui sparking wine garnished with a lemon twist. The name Lehua74 was inspired by the name of Andaz Maui’s bar, Lehua, and also the blossoms of the lehua trees grown on the same elevation of MauiWine’s ʻUlupalakua Vineyards. The 74 reflects back on the year 1974 when MauiWine was established.

The Chef Bloc Maui “Career Shaping Dishes” featuring MauiWine is $130 per person.  Guests should arrive for dinner at 5:30 p.m. Only twelve seats are available, reservations are required and can be made only by emailing Bancaco directly at isaac.bancaco@andaz.com.

Chef Bloc Maui at Kaʻana Kitchen is returning to its monthly schedule, every second Saturday of the month.