Culinary TV Series with Hawai‘i Chef Premieres on PBS

Every dish has a story, and every family has a dish.

Family Ingredients is a new culinary travel TV series that tells these unique stories by tracing the origins of a Hawai‘i dish to its roots around the world. Not quite a documentary, not quite a cooking show, Family Ingredients is a joyful ode to farmers, food producers and families.

Hosted by acclaimed O‘ahu chef and sustainability hero Ed Kenney, the story begins in the Hawaiian Islands, where big things are happening in the state’s dynamic culinary scene. Beautifully filmed, Family Ingredients showcases Hawai‘i’s small town communities, diverse cultures, and exhilarating experiences that cross the Pacific Ocean.

Engaging, authentic, funny, even a bit quirky, Kenney is the perfect host to trace these dishes around the globe. He takes off with guests to explore Okinawa, Tahiti, California, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the Hawaiian Islands, showcasing how cuisine can profoundly unite cultures, communities and families.

“The show started out as a culinary adventure based on what I do daily as a chef – telling stories through food,” said Kenney. “I never realized that it would have such a strong impact on me.”

Chef Ed Kenney, host of new culinary travel series Family Ingredients. Courtesy photo.

Family Ingredients host Ed Kenney in Japan. Courtesy photo.

Chef Ed Kenney, host of Family Ingredients, in a taro patch on Kauai. Courtesy photo.

Chef Ed Kenney with his mother Beverly Noa. Courtesy photo.

Chef and TV host Ed Kenney in Tahiti. Courtesy photo.

Crew of Family Ingredients, premiering on PBS June 22. Courtesy photo.

Soki Soba in Okinawa, featured on Family Ingredients. Courtesy photo.

Sun Noodle’s Hisae Uki with chef Ed Kenney in Okinawa.
Courtesy photo.

Kenney is a successful restaurateur in Hawai‘i, committed to supporting local farms and showcasing local ingredients and traditional Hawaiian canoe crops, like kalo (taro) and ‘ulu (breadfruit) on his menus. For the past decade, he has been a respected leader in the local food community and has helped propel Hawai‘i cuisine back into the national spotlight.

With a strong commitment to farm-to-table cooking, he opened his first restaurant, Town, in 2005 to rave reviews. Today, his four O‘ahu restaurants – Town, Kaimuki Superette, Mud Hen Water, and the newly opened Mahina & Sun’s – are lively gathering places guided by the mantra “local first, organic whenever possible, with aloha always.”

Family Ingredients is co-produced by Rock Salt Media Inc. and Pacific Islanders in Communications under director Ty Sanga and producers Heather H. Giugni, Renea Veneri Stewart and Dan Nakasone.

The Emmy Award-winning show is scheduled to premiere on PBS Hawai‘i on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, and became available on general release to PBS stations nationwide as of June 16, 2016. Check local listings.

Visit the Family Ingredients website for information on the show, or follow its social channels on Facebook or Instagram @FamilyIngredients.