Got fire?
Grand Wailea’s BBQ feast stokes flames, tastebuds at this year’s Fire It Up!
It’s a simple concept, really — put a little char on pretty much anything you’re going to eat and it is so much tastier. Brilliant whoever that first person was who thought to grill food.
Barbecuing has been around for so long, it’s easy to take it for granted and just throw some food on the grill, grab a brew and stoke the coals. Heck, just drive around Maui any weekend, and it’s inevitable that as you pass through neighborhoods or beach picnics tantalizing aromas will waft past your nose, kicking your salivary glands into overdrive.
Leave it to the Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort to not just recharge the idea of grilling, but to totally reinvent it and take the whole concept to the stratosphere. Back for the third year, its barbecue extravaganza, Fire It Up!, has expanded and offers two days of flame-fueled culinary pleasures next weekend, July 19 and 20, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
“Everyone loves a BBQ, especially when it’s oceanfront!” enthuses Grand Wailea Executive Chef Ryan Urig. “After attending food festivals and events all over the country, we realized that we had an opportunity to create something really special.
“We could combine all the things we love — great food cooked among friends, Hawaiian culture and musical entertainment, all in a family-friendly environment steps from the beach. Not to mention that we have the best wood in the world for BBQ-ing (kiawe)! Not only is Fire It Up! a blast for everyone involved, but it’s a fantastic opportunity for chefs from around the country to help us support the aina [land] and showcase Maui’s incredible farmers, ranchers and fishermen.”
“We’re proud we’ve purchased all our landbased meats from Maui’s 4-H program, so we can support the future of ranching and our multi-generational families,” notes Grand Wailea’s Director of Public Relations Chelsea Livit. “Additionally, almost all the fish comes from local fishermen and all the produce from Hawaii — with the majority from local Maui farms!”
Urig and Mike Lofaro, Grand Wailea’s executive sous chef, have cultivated relationships with talented chefs across the country. They invite those they feel embody the Aloha Spirit to take part in this event. The list of great chefs grows each year with many returning along with new participants.
The chefs are split over the two days with Friday’s “Sea to Fire” affair offering a smaller, upscale dining experience with a seafoodfocused menu. Delight in dishes such as kiawesmoked uni custard accompanied by Kona
abalone relish, ikura (red salmon roe) and ogo. Savor prawn and octopus zarandeado with chorizo, pork chicharon, mezcal and avocadocilantro-serrano crema and, rest assured, many more delectable plates await. And it wouldn’t be a feast on Maui without a fresh selection of sashimi, nigiri and maki created by Grand Wailea Sushi Chef Tadashi Yoshino.
To quench their thirst, guests will be treated to a special “Aloha Water” crafted by Urig and Lofaro, along with Veuve Cliquot, craft cocktails by Ocean Vodka, Kosta Browne’s award-winning Chardonnay and Pinot Noir along with a full bar and Maui Brewing Co. selections.
Saturday you just may want to bring a bib to protect your clothes (and maybe hand wipes) at
the livelier barbecue namesake event, “Fire It Up!” Mechadostyle ribeye served with Carolina golden rice, kiawe-smoked beef fajitas with Mexican tropical ceviche and smoked kalbi short ribs with Korean japche (fried noodles) just begin to touch on the selection of lipsmacking, finger-licking goodness awaiting attendees. Attending the imu pit will be Daniel Anthony and Christian Landford.
Guests will enjoy craft cocktails featuring Buffalo Trace bourbon and Pau Vodka, Maui Brewing will pour Grand Wailea’s exclusive Gose brew along with other selections, and award-winning wines from Bonterra and, for VIP guests, Kosta Browne Winery rounds out specialty drinks.
Returning Mainland chefs showcasing the diverse styles of barbecue include Justin Brunson, owner and executive chef of Denver’s Old Major, Masterpiece Deli and more; Sam Jones, pitmaster and owner of North Carolina’s Sam Jones Wood-Fired Whole Hog BBQ; Hubert Keller, chef and owner of Las Vegas restaurants Fleur and Burger Bar (also located in San Francisco); Chris Lilly, pitmaster and partner of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Alabama; Wayne Mueller, pitmaster and owner of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Texas; and John Tesar, executive chef and owner of Knife in Dallas.
“Participating in Fire It Up! is what I would call ‘experience amazing,’ ” excitedly relates Keller, who marks his third appearance. “It is an unparalleled culinary event! For me, it becomes a tradition now, and I cannot think of a better place than Maui to get together with all my friends, chefs, pit masters, winemakers and volunteers year after year.”
Tesar, who joined the inaugural event but missed last year, agrees.
“It is always such an honor to be invited back each year to the Grand Wailea. As a chef and surfer, Maui is such a spiritual and special place for me. To be able to share my craft and spend time with some great friends, it is truly a memorable experience.”
“I love being part of this event — it is such a beautiful island, the people are so warm and inviting,” remarks Brunson, also enjoying his third trip to this event. “We have created a truly one-of-a-kind foodie event on Maui.”
Experiencing Fire It Up! for the first time, a warm aloha goes out to Mainland chefs Jiyeon Lee and Cody Taylor, pitmasters and owners of Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta; Xavier Salomon, executive chef at Montage Los Cabos from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Miguel Vidal, pitmaster and co-owner of Austin, Texas’ Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ; brothers Michael and Bryan Voltaggio, executive chefs of Estuary Restaurant & Bar in Washinton, D.C., along with several of their own individual establishments; and Jonathan Waxman, chef and owner of famed New York eatery, Barbuto.
“Maui is my favorite place on the planet!” notes Waxman. “And the Grand Wailea is the epicenter of my Maui experience. I love the location, the staff and most of all my culinary buddies in the Grand Wailea kitchen.”
Oahu chefs Ed Kenney, chef and owner of hot spot Town among others, and Mark Noguchi, executive chef and co-owner of Pili Group, also mark their inaugural appearance at this event.
Beside Urig and Lofaro, Grand Wailea’s Executive Pastry Chef Fabrice Benezit returns to provide desserts certain to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth including Friday night’s selections of KOI Fish Ice Cream Cones with kiawe ice cream and ube sweet chips, squid ink macaroons with blueberry ocean jam and sweet uni with mango and lilikoi curd, whipped cream and pineapple foam.
Saturday night, Benezit tempts guests with smoke s’mores, maple chocolate bacon banana, chimney cake with pistachio ice cream and Kona coffee gelato, and a refreshing coconut lilikoi mousse.
Appearing for the first time is Grand Wailea’s new Humuhumunukunukuapua‘a Chef de Cuisine, Alvin Savella, Bistro Molokini Chef de Cuisine Jo Soeung and Sushi Chef Yoshino.
Maui’s Sheldon Simeon, executive chef and owner of Tin Roof and Lineage, returns for his third time ready to grill.
“There’s nothing like cooking over the fire, especially here on Maui with such fresh local ingredients,” marvels Simeon. “To get to do this and pay tribute to Hawaii alongside such incredible industry talent is an honor.”
Now, a party isn’t a party without musical entertainment, and the Grand doesn’t disappoint. Internationally acclaimed slack key guitarist, singer, composer and social change activist Makana will be accompanied by Jacy Higa dancing hula for guests at Friday’s event.
Not surprisingly, the music kicks it up a bit on Saturday with multi-award-winning Eric Gilliom who has put together a special group of the best of Hawaii’s musicians to party the night away, including Marcus Johnson on bass, Indio on percussion, Jerry Kovarsky on keys and HAPA’s Barry Flanagan.
One aspect of this event that makes it so unique is the acknowledgement by all involved in the appreciation of the host Hawaiian culture. In honor of that culture, both evenings begin with an oli, or chant, which will speak to the land district of Honua‘ula and the surrounding sacred places.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of event it is, if it’s in Hawaii there needs to be a cultural component,” asserts Grand Wailea’s Hawaiian Cultural Ambassador Kainoa Horcajo. “Often this can just be an acknowledgement of place and the native peoples of the land.”
Further showing their respect of the land, Grand Wailea has partnered with Maui Huliau Green Events to set up zero-waste stations around the event grounds for both evenings. This includes the selection of glassware and plateware with fully compostable plates and utensils at each event.
“Our modern lives can get very busy, very complicated, and we can always use a reminder about the basic necessities of life,” reflects Horcajo. “Cooking with fire is one of those things. Friendship and family is one of those things. We wanted to find a way to combine it all — cooking local meat with friends and family over fire in the place we call home — that’s Fire It Up! It just so happens our friends are the best chefs and pitmasters in the world, and our home is Maui!”