Guided by kaizen, Chef Taylor Ponte shapes Aurum Maui’s first year.
Inside Aurum Maui, the bustle of the Shops at Wailea gives way to a quieter room. Seating and lighting curve through the space – no sharp edges interrupt the flow of servers moving between tables as diners linger over meals. Behind the bar, neatly lined bottles glow as bartenders work the counter. Foliage breaks up the dark grays and light tans of the open-air room.
Chef Taylor Ponte Builds a Maui Menu
The restaurant feels settled despite its recent arrival on Maui. Aurum Maui opened in July 2025 as the latest outpost of a Colorado-based brand founded in 2014. Run by Destination Hospitality Group, Aurum built its reputation as an American bistro in resort markets.
When CEO and founder Phillips Armstrong first visited Maui in 2022, he noticed restaurants packed with diners and staff who stayed for years. While eating at Lahaina Grill, he heard a server mention they had “only” been working there for 10 years.
“At that time, in our seasonal resort markets in Colorado, we were lucky to hold on to a server for six months,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong began exploring locations on Maui. The initial plan was to bring his model west – mainland staff, familiar systems and an established menu framework. Then he met Chef Taylor Ponte and his wife Natasha, and the plan shifted. Ponte, a two-time Maui Nō Ka ʻOi ʻAipono Awards Chef of the Year (2020 and 2022), brought deep ties to Maui’s culinary community.
“They felt so much more authentic than the original plan,” Armstrong said.
The Pontes were clear about what opening on Maui would require. The restaurant needed to be Maui-driven, grounded in the local culinary community and staffed by people who understood the island’s values.
For Armstrong, that meant approaching the project differently from how business often operates on the mainland. “I’ve learned the importance of how you come into a space – being mindful of your energy, being grateful, being humble,” he said.
In the kitchen, Ponte starts with culture. Each day begins with a “shake-in,” when he checks in with cooks as they arrive. At the end of service comes the “shake-out,” when cooks ask for advice or talk through challenges. Camaraderie and trust come first.
Ponte shaped his approach through mentors at University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, early career hustle and his time as executive chef at The Mill House.
“When I started cooking, chef culture wasn’t the greatest,” he said. “From it, I took the good, put it into my repertoire, built myself up and pushed out the bad.”
Years of long hours sharpened his standards in the kitchen. Now he encourages cooks to seek balance where he did not – to travel, to step away when needed and to return sharper. His goal is to train cooks to surpass him, giving them opportunities he did not have and room to make mistakes.
A guiding principle in his kitchen is kaizen, the Japanese concept of becoming one percent better each day.
“Not only does it make you better, but it makes the team better,” Ponte said.
For Ponte, the pursuit is constant.
“The fact that cooking can never be perfect, but you’re always trying to make it perfect is really good for me because my brain runs at a million miles an hour, so it keeps me in the game.”
That philosophy extends beyond the kitchen. Students from the UH Maui Culinary Arts program and Job Corps visit Aurum Maui to experience service. Ponte hired one cook from Job Corps who is now enrolled in the culinary arts program.
He also returns to his alma mater, King Kekaulike High School, to talk about his path. For a student who once had no clear plan or money for college, returning to his old campus to talk with students about cooking and career closes the loop.
More than feeding the community, Ponte ensures he and Aurum are embedded in it, and his menu reflects that intention. Ponte’s cooking maintains the brand’s modern American foundation while drawing on childhood memories, his Japanese and Portuguese heritage and techniques learned from mentors.
Local farms and fishermen help drive the menu, including Lapaʻau Farm and Kona Kampachi. Produce arrives daily, and the kitchen adjusts constantly to what is available.
Several dishes show that philosophy on the plate. The Smoked Hawaiian Fish Dip draws on Ponte’s childhood and is designed for sharing. Crispy Kampachi Collars highlight a cut once treated as excess, served with a truffle ponzu he refuses to kick from his repertoire. Apple Banana Cake turns a familiar local fruit into a light dessert.
“Looking at the little things within the plate keeps me motivated because it’s the small things that add up to the path of excellence,” Ponte said.
A Restaurant for Maui
Aurum Maui sits inside a high-traffic resort center of South Maui, but Ponte sees opportunity in the setting. Hotel employees stop in after work. During the holidays, he walks around the center with his family. In the offseason, locals fill the dining room. The menu stays approachable, with something for everyone.
“Although we’re located in this touristy mall where it doesn’t feel like it has a lot of grounding to the island or to anything authentic to Maui, a lot of the island provides for us,” Armstrong said.
Opening the restaurant required more than planning alone. Ponte worked three months straight without a day off, determined to build the right structure from the beginning.
“It was hard, but if I had to do it again, I would probably do it in the same exact manner,” he said.
Fire recovery and shifting economic realities added pressure. Yet both Armstrong and Ponte point to the team as a measure of success. During the first round of employee evaluations, Ponte heard staff describe feeling supported and proud of their work.
Armstrong had a similar moment. One evening, a friend overheard an Aurum Maui employee at another restaurant talking about their job. Later, that friend told Armstrong the staff member was gushing about Aurum Maui, its leadership and the brand.
For Armstrong, it confirmed the culture they were building at the restaurant.
Aurum Maui feels established not because it arrived fully formed, but because it took shape on Maui.
Recipes from Aurum Maui
Crispy Fish Collars
Fish collars are prized for their crisp skin and juicy meat, often considered the best bite on the fish. Fried until golden and served with sauce and lime, they’re perfect for sharing around the table. Chef Ponte serves them simply fried and paired with a bright ponzu, letting the fish speak for itself.
Ponzu
- 1 cup tamari
- 7 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Korean chilies
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- 1½ Tbsp real truffle oil
Fish
- Fish collars (any fresh collars)
- Salt
- Rice flour, for dredging
- Fry oil
For the ponzu, combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the fish.
Pat the fish collars completely dry with paper towels, season generously with salt, then lightly dredge in rice flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil to 360° and fry the collars for 4-6 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain well and season immediately with a little more salt.
Serve over fresh greens with a drizzle of ponzu, lime wedges for squeezing and Kewpie mayo or spicy mayo on the side.
Serves 4-6
Smoked Fish Dip
Chef Ponte grew up in a household where smoked fish dip was a staple – eaten on its own, tucked into grilled cheese sandwiches or stuffed into meats and grilled.
- 2½ cups smoked fish (tuna preferred; smoked salmon also works), chopped
- 1¾ cups cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp roasted garlic, minced
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth and well combined. Taste and adjust lemon juice or salt if needed.
Serve in a bowl and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh chopped herbs and chopped pickles or pickled onions for crunch and tang. Offer crackers, crostini, taro chips or toasted bread alongside.
Serves 6-8
Apple Banana Cake
Apple bananas are a staple in many Maui kitchens, and this cake reflects the island’s tradition of baking with very ripe fruit. Butter and brown sugar give the crumb richness while the bananas keep it moist, creating a comforting dessert that isn’t overly sweet.
- 2 cups cake flour, sifted
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1¼ tsp fine salt
- 12 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 packed cup brown sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1¾ cups mashed apple banana (ripe)
Whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter on low speed until smooth and creamy, then add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated, then stir in the vanilla.
Add half of the dry ingredients on low speed until incorporated, then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the sour cream and mashed apple banana gently, taking care not to overmix, then pour the batter into a lightly oiled baking dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 450°. Place the cake in the oven, immediately reduce the temperature to 325° and bake until the center reaches 190°, about 35-38 minutes depending on pan size. Cool completely before slicing, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream, caramel and crushed cookies if desired.
Serves 10
