Jason Evans of SilverShark Media talks with Peter Merriman & Joey Macadangdang. In this podcast Peter talks about how he came to Hawaii in 1983 to be a cook, how he immediately fell in love with the local cuisine, what it was like opening his first restaurant, what brought him to Maui, the inspiration to open up Merriman’s Kapalua, the important connection of agriculture to his restaurants, why he takes staff to meet farmers, why he started Monkeypod Kitchen, what the past month has been like during the stay at home situation, how his restaurants are helping furloughed employees, how current stimulus programs like the Payment Protection Program didn’t fully consider the restaurant industry when distributing grants to businesses at this time, how an industry like airlines benefited substantially more than restaurant owners, and his outlook for the immediate future of the restaurant industry.
Jason also speaks with Chef/Owner Joey Macadangdang () on his early inspirations of cooking, how he moved from dishwasher to Executive Chef, the lessons he learned in the industry from his time at Roy’s, his confidence to open Joey’s Kitchen, the difference in his Ka’anapali location and his Napili location, how he’d define his flavors, how the Covid-19 situation has affected his business, why it’s important for the community to support local, what it was like to receive the Friends of Agriculture award in 2019 at the Maui No Ka Oi Magazine Aipono Awards, what his expectations are for restaurants in the near-future, and his hope to open a new dining concept/location in late 2020.
