[ MAUKA-MAKAI ]
WHEN ALL is said and done, Oliver Altherr may be remembered as the man who brought furikake to Switzerland. Hoku’s star shines
high in EuropeCHEW ON THIS
By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-BulletinThat roasted seaweed sprinkle -- "Nobody knows what it is in Zurich, and they love it," says the expatriate Hawaii chef who now rides herd over 154 restaurants in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and London.
At wok stations, guests are invited to pile items onto their plates and offer them up for stir-frying -- a downsized version of Mongolian barbecue. In the end they pick up a bowl of steamed white rice. Altherr says the condiment of choice is furikake.
This presented an economic challenge. Furikake is prohibitively expensive when purchased from Japanese markets in Switzerland, so Altherr's kitchens make their own -- roasting and chopping the seaweed, mixing in spices and sesame seeds.
It certainly is a world away, this place where Altherr moved after a brief but highly influential stay on Oahu. He opened Hoku's for the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, building it into an award-winning restaurant noted for its wok-fired specialties and Asia-Pacific fusion. In 1998, Food and Wine magazine named him to its list of "Top 10 Best New Chefs."
Winez & Grindz: Chef Steven Ariel presents a wine dinner, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Pineapple Room, Liberty House Ala Moana. The menu: Crab Sticks with Togarashi Remoulade, Shrimp Custard with Ginger Pesto, Char Siu and Won Ton Salad, Beef Tenderloin with Miso Black Cod, plus dessert sampler. Cost is $49, or $64 with wines. Call 945-8881. SPECIAL EVENTS
Musical interlude: Gail Mack and George Street perform at 3660 on the Rise, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday. Soak up the music along with cocktails and pupu, a full dinner or dessert and coffee. Call 737-1177.
Jazzy meals: The Wild Mushroom at Cafe Laniakea at the YWCA, 1040 Richards St., offers live jazz on Sundays. Today, Ginai sings 3 to 6 p.m. for Mother's Day. Coming up at brunch (10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) are Shoji Ledward on May 20 and the James Kraft Trio with Lisa-Maria, May 27. Call 524-8789.
But he left soon afterward, for Movenpick Gastronomy International, where he is now chief operations officer, overseeing restaurants from casual coffee shops to fine-dining havens that earn $600 million collectively each year. Company materials describe his "virtually obsessive attention to detail balanced by a wonderful Schwabish temperament."
He returned to Hawaii for a few days last week to prepare a private dinner and for one public appearance, serving a special menu at Bali by the Sea in the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It was a good time to catch up with a chef whose aura is still sensed on the local restaurant scene.
So he sits, after serving 135 dinners at Bali, and orders a Coors Light, "with some ice -- Hawaiian style." Can't do that back home, in the motherland of beer purists.
He says it was the challenge of running an operation on the scale of Movenpick's that lured him from Hawaii. That, plus the promise he could generate real change. Last year, he says, he oversaw the renovation of 25 restaurants.
But he does miss this place, especially the quality of the produce. He recalls making several phone calls on this day to Nalo Farms, ordering items for the dinner. It all arrived "fresher than fresh."
He has instituted touches of Hawaii at Movenpick. His menus reflect some Hoku's influence -- wok-fried fish (snapper) with stir-fried vegetables, for example.
And he brought chef D.K. Kodama to Lucerne to open a sushi bar, the first outside of hard-core Japanese restaurants that cater mainly to Japanese visitors.
His sushi bar deals mainly in sushi rolls using smoked salmon and trout, or vegetables. "Sushi for beginners," Altherr calls it. "You don't need to start with the real stuff, like natto. ... Why should I give them sashimi and poke? They won't eat it."
He's adding a Zurich sushi bar this year.
The nature of his responsibilities makes him more of an administrator, less of a hands-on chef, Altherr says, but he refuses to give up at least a partial role in the kitchen.
"The thing for me that is very important -- I don't want to lose the skill," he says. "My passion, my joy, my heart is cooking."
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