COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE, UH-MANOA Kapiolani Community College students, above, prepared nori-wrapped mountain oysters at last year's Island Flavors.

KCC students treat
local fare with flair

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By Betty Shimabukuro
betty@starbulletin.com

The latest slowdown on the West Coast docks reminds us once again that, yes, this is an island, and when the ships don't sail, our shelves go lacking.

Timing couldn't be better for the Oct. 26 Island Flavors III, the annual collaboration between farmers and culinary students designed to get across the point that local agriculture can provide.

Fourteen food stations will offer dishes created by Kapiolani Community College students, based on ingredients selected by the farmers.

In this, the students don't get to be picky. "The farmers just say, 'We're going to send you beef liver or beef hearts or beef tongue,' " chef/instructor Grant Sato said.

"The ultimate goal of the event is to showcase underutilized products that the farmers would like the public to become familiar with."

COLLEGE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE, UH-MANOA Chef Grant Sato demonstrated slicing roast pork.

This year's bounty includes all the aforementioned body parts, along with nobody's favorite, mountain oysters (bull testicles). Last year, confronted with the same product, students marinated the oysters in teriyaki sauce, then wrapped them in nori, together with water chestnuts. Then the whole package was battered and fried.

Now, not everything at Island Flavors is of this earthy variety. Island-grown moi, ogo and shrimp are also likely to show up on the menu, as well as fruits and vegetables, from bananas and pineapples to kabocha pumpkins and beets.

A new Asian cream watermelon from Aloun Farms will be turned into a watermelon slush.

The idea is to underscore the point that we don't have to rely on out-of-state sources for these fresh foods, Sato said. "Things we normally go to the mainland for, our local farmers grow now."

Bottom line for diners: Buy local. Bottom line for students: Think local.

"This gets them familiar with these different off-grade cuts of meat or different types of vegetables," Sato said, "so when they get out into the industry they are familiar with the products and can also network with the farmers."

Island Flavors III Dinner is served: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26 Place: Kapiolani Community College O'hia Cafeteria Tickets: $30, to benefit the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and KCC's culinary programs. Call: Lori 734-9499

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