Chef Pasion and Lanai Tabura team up for culinary event at Fairmont Kea Lani

Tonight marks the second night of a two night collaboration with Kō’s Executive Chef Jonathan Pasion and Lanai Tabura at the Fairmont Kea Lani resort.

The series was launched in 2021 to showcase the talent and cultural heritage of Kō, and features partners from the community who share a desire to perpetuate Hawai‘i’s local culture through food.  

“We focus on creating excitement for our local community and visitors, sharing island food and talent.  Kō has always been centered around honoring the island’s culture from the plantation era,” said Fairmont Kea Lani Executive Chef Tylun Pang.  

For this collaboration, Kō Executive Chef Jonathan Pasion and Lanai Tabura, host of Cooking Hawaiian Style, designed a six-course menu around Hawaiian-style food.  The progressive dinner takes guests through the history of the islands beginning with the indigenous culture of Hawai‘i and highlighting each of the immigrant groups who have become the fabric of the islands today. 

Each course represents these layers to Hawaiian-style and Plantation-inspired food, beginning with an elegant presentation of fish and poi. Tabura adds to the chef’s presentation by talking story with the guests to weave them along a journey and sharing the influences each group contributed to Hawaiian-style cuisine. 

The culinary team at Kō worked alongside Chef Pasion to bring his menu to life including: George Agcolicol, Kō Sous Chef; Richard Ramirez, Fairmont Kea Lani Executive Sous Chef; Marilyn Mina, Fairmont Kea Lani Chief Steward; Tiffany Naughton, Fairmont Kea Lani Pastry Chef; and Jules Rodrigues, recipient of Fairmont Kea Laniʻs Tylun Pang Aspiring Chef Scholarship and student of University of Hawai‘i, Maui – Culinary Arts program.

Jonathan Pasion was born and raised on Maui and is a graduate of Maui High School. Pasion studied culinary arts at University of Hawaiʻi, Maui College. Pasion was one of the first recipients of the Tylun Pang Aspiring Chef Scholarship awards and worked as a young cook in the kitchen at Kō. Pasion continued his studies across the country at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island earning a Restaurant and Culinary Management degree.

His work took him from kitchens along the shores of Rhode Island back to the beaches of Maui where he worked progressive positions culminating as Chef de Cuisine at Kaʻana Kitchen, the signature restaurant for Andaz Wailea Maui Resort. In this role, he was lauded for his innovative menus by local and industry magazine awards alike. P

asion has garnered accolades including Hyatt Hotels’ Good Taste Series Culinary Competition winner in the regional and global finals. In 2019, he joined the opening team at Park Hyatt Auckland as Chef De Cuisine where he earned the signature restaurant Onemata Restaurant distinction in local press amongst the “Top 6 Best New Eateries in Auckland, NZ.”