Festive Feast with Island Flair
Maui’s top kitchens blend local flavor with seasonal tradition
Bring home favorite recipes from Aipono Award winning restaurants
Story and Photographs by Chris Amundson with Ariella Nardizzi
In commemoration of the culinary excellence that defines Maui, four standout 2023 Aipono Award winners showcase the island’s diverse and dynamic dining scene.
Wailea’s Monkeypod Kitchen’s swept the best of bar and beverage categories with its celebrated handcrafted cocktails and vibrant happy hour.
The Alaloa Lounge within The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua took home the gold for Best Lobby Lounge, embodying the warm hospitality Maui is beloved for. The Ritz will also host the 2025 ‘Aipono Awards Gala on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
Kō at the Fairmont Kea Lani continues to redefine local flavors. Among their many awards include Best Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine and Most Innovative Menu, distinctly demonstrated through the restaurant’s Kauai prawn and tenderloin dish with hints of Hawaiian, Japanese and French influence.
Renowned for irresistible desserts, island staple at Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop in Olowalu clinched Gold for Best Dessert. Their pecan pie is just one goodie amidst a mouthwatering menu.
Each gem shared a signature dish straight from their kitchens, giving a taste of the artistry that earned them their place in last year’s Aipono Awards, marking Maui’s restaurant scene truly no ka oi.
Yuzu Brown Butter Spanish Octopus
Alaloa Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
Chef Naoto Matsumoto, a sushi specialist, has worked in the kitchen of the Alaloa Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua for over 20 years. His Yuzu Brown Butter Spanish Octopus blends flavors of the East with the spirit of the Pacific. The original recipe comes from an Argentinian co-worker who added a Spanish flair of romesco sauce to the unique dish.
Matsumoto was raised in Japan and draws on his two decades of experience on Maui to craft a dish that’s intimately local and distinctly global. In Japanese culture, tako (octopus) is preferably chewy. Matsumoto caters to American preference of a tender texture instead.
The chef sources larger octopi from Spain for this curated dish. He finds them to be more conducive to tenderizing, whereas smaller octopi are chewier.
He braises the octopus legs in a sake-water mixture for an hour and 20 minutes to tenderize the meat. Then, he fries them for a crisp exterior before finishing the octopi on the grill. This gives the meat a smoky depth that complements the subtlety of the tender flesh with a satisfying crunch.
To finish, a rich citrus brown butter is poured over the octopus. Matsumoto gives the romesco, a smoky Spanish tomato-based sauce, a Maui twist with the addition of sweet, local onions. The Marcona almonds add a silky, nutty profile.
“These steps will make your tako oishi,” Matsumoto said.
That’s Japanese for “delicious.”
For the octopus
2 octopus legs
2 cups sake
2 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
For romesco sauce
1 red bell pepper
1 tomato
1/2 white onion
1 oz garlic, peeled
1/2 oz Marcona almonds
1 oz olive oil
1 dry ancho chili
1/4 oz red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
For yuzu brown butter
4 oz unsalted butter
3 oz yuzu juice
For Marcona almond musse
5 oz Marcona almonds
5 oz water
Place octopus legs, sake and water in a deep pan and cover with plastic wrap. Steam for one hour and 20 minutes. Allow the octopus to cool. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a frying pan. Fry octopus in the pan until crispy. Remove, then grill octopus for 1 minute.
Cook red bell pepper, tomato, onion, garlic and almonds in the oven at 350° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grill ancho chili for 30 seconds. Remove seeds and soak the ancho chili in red wine vinegar for 1 hour. Then, blend all ingredients in a blender until combined. Add olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.
Add butter to a frying pan. Heat until butter is golden brown. Add yuzu juice and remove from heat.
Blend water and almonds together. Serve with octopus in yuzu brown butter and romesco sauce.
Serves 1
Carolina Pecan Pie
Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop
A group of Marine Corps sat around a booth in a diner in North Carolina every Sunday. It was the 1980s. Ivan Pahk ordered his usual – a slice of pecan pie, a gooey dessert he’d never tasted growing up in Hawai‘i.
The diner’s staff welcomed the troops in with open arms, filling their stomachs with soul food. “Every time I eat that pie, or I make that pie, it brings me back to that place where I, an 18-year-old boy moving from the island so far away, still felt welcome,” Pahk said.
Pahk still gets goosebumps, or “chicken skin” as he calls it, when he recollects this special memory. That’s why his delectable pecan pie, made with chopped nuts, dark corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, flaky crust and love, shows up on Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop menu every fall through the holiday season.
Leoda’s focuses on sourcing the freshest, sustainable ingredients. They put care into every pie they bake. Each pie is handmade with high quality products, a deep care that starts with Pahk.
Pahk’s mantra for baking the perfect pecan pie? Go for the wobble, not the jiggle. If the pie comes out of the oven with a jiggly middle, that’s a sure sign to cook it longer. But when the whole pie wobbles, it’s done. This strategy guarantees the thick, syrupy caramel won’t bleed out once the pie is cut.
“You want to eat a firm pecan pie. You don’t want to eat caramel sauce with nuts.” Pahk said with a laugh.
1½ cups chopped pecans
1 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 9-inch pie dough crust
Place chopped pecans in a 9-inch flaky crust and set aside. In a medium bowl, add dark corn syrup, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract and salt. Mix until smooth and incorporated. Pour mixture on top of pecans, allowing for nuts to float to the top of the pie.
Place pie on the middle rack and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 340° and bake for 45 minutes, or until the middle of the pie isn’t jiggly to avoid caramel oozing out after slicing.
Cool on a rack for one hour, then chill and enjoy.
Serves 6-8
Mid-Winter Spritz
Monkeypod Kitchen
Winter on Maui may not bring frosty temperatures, but Jon Apostolides, bar manager at Monkeypod Kitchen in Wailea, sees the shift in seasons as an opportunity to usher in crisp, bright flavors chilled in a wine glass.
Mixology’s growing trend of low-alcohol drinks inspired the Mid Winter Spritz. Bartender Morgan Slaughter crafted it as a special cocktail last winter and it’s returned to the menu this holiday season as a fan favorite. “People are wanting to imbibe,” Apostolides said, “but they’re also wanting to maintain control and sensibility.”
The marriage of aromatic cinnamon-steeped simple syrup and amaro liqueur’s nutty, citrus flavor profile are what Apostolides feels “heightens and brightens” this drink beyond traditional holiday spirits.
A crisp, dry prosecco base boosts the warm, herbaceous spices for a light effervescence. Mia Perla is Apostolides’s preferred bottle of Italian sparkling wine. For those recreating this beverage at their own holiday table, any decent prosecco will do.
Like the monkeypod tree, Maui’s beloved symbol of life and balance, the Mid Winter Spritz nurtures the body with its low-ABV content and spirit – the holiday spirit, that is. This festive drink is refreshingly light, perfectly suited for the island’s version of winter.
3 oz prosecco
2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 oz soda water
1/2 oz cinnamon syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Fill a wine glass with prosecco, Amaro Montenegro liqueur, soda water, cinnamon-infused simple syrup and Angostura bitters. Top the cocktail with ice. Garnish with an orange twist and a flower.
For cinnamon-infused simple syrup
1½ qt water
6 cups granulated sugar
1½ cinnamon sticks
Bring all ingredients to a boil and let simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Strain. Store in airtight container; refrigerate. Makes 3 qt.
Serves 1
Garlic Herb Roasted Tenderloin with Kauai Prawns
Kō at Fairmont Kea Lani
EXECUTIVE Chef Aristotle Aurelio’s cuisine is a bridge between his childhood home in the Philippines and his life 5,000 miles across the Pacific on Maui. Growing up, Aurelio savored freshwater prawns in bowls of Sinigang, a pungent tamarind soup, and Dinengdeng, a hearty vegetable stew.
“Local prawns with tenderloin and a touch of yuzu cabernet bring me back to those flavors and textures that feel like home,” Aurelio said.
His recipe for garlic herb roasted tenderloin and Kauai prawns is a love letter to both of his island homes, blending the flavors of land and sea. The pristine waters of Kauai provide premium prawns, raised in saltwater without chemicals. The shrimp are served whole to elevate their sweet and tender flavor.
A rich, savory tenderloin roasted in garlic and herbs complements the prawns. Yuzu-infused cabernet glaze pools below the cut. This offers taste buds a citrusy contrast that cuts the beef’s depth and enhances the prawns’ saccharine flavor.
Local rainbow carrots round out the dish. A touch of fresh produce adds an earthy taste and a pop of color – aubergine, titian-red and golden. The recipe displays Kō’s commitment to multicultural cuisine through the dish’s Hawaiian-Japanese palate and French culinary techniques. He describes it as a “local twist to the classic ‘Surf and Turf’ concept.”
Aurelio cooks the prawns for no more than three minutes to maintain their sweet tenderness. When they change from translucent to solid white, he removes them from heat. “Focus on sourcing the freshest ingredients – this truly makes a difference in flavor,” Aurelio said. This intimate attention to each component is what Chef Aris believes coaxes out nō ka ‘oi in each ingredient.
For the tenderloin
1 15-oz tenderloin
5 oz Yukon Gold potatoes
2½ cups beef stock
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp Italian parsley
Braise Yukon Gold potato with beef stock in a pan for 30 minutes on medium heat, then set aside. Dip tenderloin into a mixture of olive oil, thyme, rosemary and parsley. Sear tenderloin in a pan on both sides for 3 minutes. Finish in the oven at 350° for 8 minutes until beef is at 125°.
For the prawns
3 oz Kauai prawns
1 oz butter, melted
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp thyme
Remove the shells from the prawns and butterfly them by carefully slicing down the back with sharp knife. Add parsley and thyme to melted butter. Coat prawns in the herb butter mixture and roast in oven 3-4 minutes at 400°.
For the vegetables
2 oz rainbow carrots
2 oz broccolini
1 oz red onion
1 cherry tomato
Blanch carrots, broccolini and cherry tomato in a pot for 3 minutes. Roast red onion for 5 minutes in a small sauté pan.
For the glaze
½ cup cabernet
1bay leaf
1tsp black pepper
1cup prepared demi-glace
4 oz butter, cold
1 Tbsp yuzu
salt and pepper, to taste
In a small sauce pot bring wine, bay leaf and black pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the contents reduce by half. Add in demi-glace and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, then cold butter and yuzu. Assemble a plate with vegetables, potatoes and prawns. Finish with the yuzu cabernet glaze, tenderloin and cherry tomato.
Serves 1
