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Puttin’ on the Swiss

Euro-centric party and Seed to Cup Festival both brewing on island

Kupa‘a Farms pickers Isabell Lafazanis (left) and Katie Villazor with ripe Kula coffee beans. Kupa‘a Farms will appear at the Seed to Cup Festival at Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu this Sunday with a booth and coffee products. GERRY ROSS photo

Want to go “Euro?” Brigit & Bernard’s Garden Cafe in Kahului will be puttin’ on the Swiss tonight with its annual party.

“We are celebrating the 728th Independence Day of Switzerland this year,” says the restaurant’s Owner-chef Bernard Weber. “We will have decorations as well as a mouthwatering buffet of traditional Swiss dishes. Enjoy live music by Dorfmusikanten — and the Yodel Contest and Swiss Trivia game are always fun, too.”

Savor bratwurst platters, raclette cheese, Aar Valley carrot soup, chicken Zueri and risotto Ticanese from the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. A $5 cover charge and desserts are extra. For further details, call 877-6000.

“Please note, Oktoberfest is only two months away,” adds Weber. “It’s a ‘must-experience’ event and our 20th celebration. We are also excited that we will be one of the food vendors at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center for both of the Paul Simon concerts on Aug. 13 and 14.”

Mulligans on the Blue is one of the other Paul Simon food vendors with fish tacos along with Just Put In serving classic Canadian poutine, Sea Salt Maui with cheeseburgers and seared fresh-catch sandwiches, Smoke & Spice with brisket, dry-rubbed chicken and pork plates and The Corn Project with gourmet roasted street corn. For MACC tickets, visit www.mauiarts.org.

On Saturday, Spago Maui in Wailea will uncork a wine-pairing dinner with California’s Joyce Vineyards of Monterey Bay and Vocal Vineyards of Santa Cruz. For $125 per person, diners may enjoy passed canapes at 6:30 p.m., followed by the five-course dinner at 7 p.m. Highlights are peaches and burrata with aged Balsamic and shiso; opakapaka mushroom persillade with fingerling potatoes and Snake River Farms New York steak with Armagnac peppercorn sauce, prepared by Executive Chef Peleg Miron. For reservations at Spago, call 879-2999.

The 12th annual Seed to Cup Festival will be brewing up pots of fun from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday at the Maui Tropical Plantation Village Area in Waikapu. Besides featuring some of the best coffees in the state to taste and buy, it will offer coffee-inspired food by The Mill House restaurant team at the plantation.

Executive Chef Taylor Ponte will make paella of Kauai prawns, clams and coffee currents, churros with coffee-spiced mole, espresso and almond cookies, beef sliders braised in coffee and coffee-roasted beets.

The Mill House will also be serving its creative menu from 11 a.m. to closing. In addition, the Barista Throwdown promotes local coffee shops on Maui with a free-pour latte art contest. Dave Douglas of Old Lahaina Coffee will be host. The Baking With Coffee Demo presented by Mill House Chef Koa Taylor will tempt dessert lovers with roasted white-chocolate cremeux. Taylor also runs the wildly popular Chef’s Table on Saturday nights at the Waikapu plantation. Growers such as Gerry Ross and Janet Simpson of Kupa’a Farms in Kula will man the coffee booths.

“For those interested in coffee and chocolate (that’s everybody right?) Kupa’a Farms now hosts coffee and chocolate tours with tastings of both, and made-on-the-spot ancient Mayan chocolate drinks,” says Ross.

Ann Tuomela, of the former Who Cut The Cheese, runs the tours. Book a “bean-to-bar” experience online at www.mauichocolatecoffeetours.com.

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