Word is spreading fast about the monthly Chef's Table at Tropica, the signature restaurant of the Westin Maui Resort & Spa, oceanfront on Kaanapali Beachwalk.
This month's experience will be held at 6 this evening, and it includes a four-course dinner and wines for those 21 and older. Live music, tiki torches and meandering streams and waterfalls add to the feel.
"Our Chef's Table encompasses the elements of taste, balance, presentation and service," says Tropica's Chef de Cuisine Rich Hinojosa. "When you put that right on Kaanapali Beach, it is a truly unique experience."
Article Photos
Westin Maui photo
Tropica’s Chef de Cuisine Rich Hinojosa (left) toasts to the new monthly Chef’s Table food-and-wine dinners with Restaurant Manager Alex Dreher.
That's right. Instead of sitting inside the kitchen like at most Chef's Tables, guests dine al fresco with sunset views, next to the exhibition kitchen. After each course, Chef Hinojosa will come out to talk about it as guests kick back, relax and enjoy the island tastes.
"We take the best available local products and incorporate them into a balanced progression of flavors and textures. Each course is perfectly paired with a wine," says Hinojosa, a finalist of Hawaii Hospitality magazine's Top Young Chefs.
The menu begins with poached New Caledonia prawns and chilled cauliflower potage (soup) and the wine is 2007 Lioco chardonnay from Sonoma. The second course is golden potato gnocchi with duck confit and fresh Hamakua mushrooms paired with 2007 Willamette Valley pinot noir from Oregon.
The entree is herb-roasted Australian lamb loin with Tuscan beans, Kapalua tomato, arugula and sherry vinegar paired with 2004 Atalays De Golban, Ribera del Duero, Spain.
Dessert is coconut-pineapple-vanilla brioche pudding served with 2007 Michele Chiarlo, "nivole," Moscato d'Asti, Italy. Cost is $59 per person, plus tax and tip. There are limited seats for this event.
In addition, throughout the months of July and August, Tropica will offer another special four-course menu in celebration of Westin's 10th Heavenly Anniversary worldwide. The menu may be served without wines for $45 or with for $65 per person.
For reservations, call 667-2525.
