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ISLAND BUZZ . . . Word is spreading like wildfire that Bev Gannon Restaurants has picked up a couple of managing partners of the exceptional kind.
Acclaimed Maui chef/restaurateur Bev Gannon wants to spend more time hanging out on the beaches of France, rather than slaving over a hot stove.
So she has hired Four Seasons Resort Maui’s Executive Chef Roger Stettler (who will start on March 1) and Greg Shepherd, Stettler’s partner in Maui’s new gastro pub, Cow Pig Bun bourbon and burgers, tucked away at the Maui Research & Technology Park in Kihei.
“I’m excited about the energy and the new ideas these two younger Maui talents bring to the table,” says Bev.
“I’m not retiring, I just don’t want to work so hard. I’ve been doing this for 30 years now and that’s a long time. I’ll be 66 this year. I don’t want to worry about who’s sick and who’s not coming to work. Or what’s broken and what needs to be fixed. I just only want to focus on building up the catering business.”
Bev and husband Joe Gannon founded and operate the Hali’imaile General Store Upcountry, and both Joe’s and Gannon’s in Wailea, as well as Celebrations Catering & Events. She was also a corporate chef for Hawaiian Airlines.
Joe’s is targeted to be renovated at the end of February and then will morph into a fun, nuevo Latino restaurant with a full tequila-mezcal bar.
“It will be a mix of foods from Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Mexico,” says Stettler. “It’s a work in progress,” adds Bev.
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AROUND THE TOWN . . . Bev will cater the food for the Yo-Yo Ma concert Jan. 22, but it’s sold out. . . . However, I hear master cellist and all-around hilarious performer Rushad Eggelston will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday in ‘ami ‘ami Bar & Grill’s Plumeria Room at the Maui Coast Hotel in Kihei, and the cover is only $15, a far cry from Yo-Yo prices.
‘ami ‘ami is the newest restaurant in Cafe O’Lei’s family, and it will have its full menu and bar drinks available. Phil and Angela Benoit will perform from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for pre-show fun.
Dig into artichoke-bottom dip, ahi-poke tacos, crab and shrimp sugar cane pops, crisp fried green beans, truffle tater tots and braised pork belly. You may sip margaritas and mojitos, yuzu cocktails and sparkling pomegranate drinks.
Brewing interest in The Shops at Wailea from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday is the Grown on Maui Coffee Festival. Sip estate brews by member coffee farms in Maui County, watch on-site roasting demos and listen to music by Ainoa and other Hawaiian entertainers.
By the way, the three-day cleanses I wrote about in last week’s column are all produced Upcountry at the joy’s place LIVE! kitchen in Pukalani and not at the Kihei restaurant. Pickup is at 81 Makawao Ave. Pukalani. Call 633-6658. Sorry about the mistake and I apologize for the error.
The Leis Family Class Act restaurant at UH-Maui College will reopen for the spring semester on Jan. 23 and will run the same American-influenced menu Jan. 28 and 30. It’s open only for lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, and the menu rotates with different ethnic dishes on a weekly basis. Call 984-3280.