COMING UP

Isle cook in finals of national burger contest

Kristine Snyder, Hawaii's recipe-contest maven, is up for the $50,000 top prize in Saturday's Sutter Home Build a Better Burger National Recipe Contest and Cook-Off.

On the Net:                 » For the finalists' recipes, buildabetterburger.com

Out of about 9,000 recipes received, Snyder won one of 10 finalists' spots for her Hawaii Da Kine Burgers with Sweet Chili Glaze, Ginger Goat Cheese Spread and Hot Watercress Salad.

The Sutter Home cook-off is among the top recipe contests in the nation in terms of prize money. Snyder won the competition in 2001, when the prize was $20,000, for a salmon burger. Because that was in the category of “;alternative burgers,”; Snyder was eligible to enter this year in the beef category. The cook-off takes place at Sutter Home Winery in Napa Valley, Calif.

MORSELS

Local writers to sign book

Contributors to the anthology “;We Go Eat: A Mixed Plate From Hawai'i's Food Culture”; will read from their essays and sign copies of the book from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana.

“;We Go Eat”; (Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, $14.95) is a collection of articles, short stories and poetry about the foods that define us, published in connection with the touring Smithsonian Institute exhibition “;Key Ingredients: America by Food,”; now showing at Kapolei Public Library.

Of the 31 contributors, those appearing Sunday are Catherine Toth, Betty Shimabukuro, Lee Siegel, Peter Adler, Thelma Chang and editor Sue Yim.

Their appearance will be part of the store's Book Fair, which begins at 9 a.m.

Festival features healthy cooking

HMSA's Island Scene Festival will feature five chefs hosting cooking demonstrations featuring particularly nutritious dishes, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Kakaako Gateway Park in Honolulu.

Firing up the gas grills will be Frank Chun and Alan Cabebe of Xpress Chefs, Michelle Yamaguchi of Umeke Market Natural Foods & Deli, Sharon Kobayashi of the Kapiolani Community College culinary program and Jiva Segaran of India Cafe. Samples will be served and recipes distributed.

The festival will also feature a farmers' market, food booths, a watermelon-eating contest, a petting zoo, Keiki Pavilion and the TumbleBus.

Admission is free; proceeds from the sale of food and drinks will go toward Lanakila Pacific's Meals on Wheels program.