Returning for the first time since 2019, book your flights ASAP to join Maui’s premier food and wine fest with chefs Wolfgang Puck, Sheldon Simeon, and more.
There are countlessreasons to visit Maui justly now , from retentive stretches of o.k. - backbone beaches to sweet seafood and tropical fruits , to the treacherous Road to Hana . portion out quad on that list isFour Seasons Maui , an oceanfront resort tucked against 15 Acre of Wailea Coast . Luxury amenities are a dedicate — include an adults - only infinity pool that looks out over endless Pacific Ocean wave and an award - winning health spa with treatments rate from Ozone therapy to Hangover four in quislingism with Next|Health . However , it ’s the resort ’s culinary program that stands out as one of the biggest draws , with an annualFood & Wine Classic — back after a three - year pandemic intermission over Labor Day weekend from September 2 to September 4 — that ’s deserving planning your trip around .
Home to three of Hawaii ’s most celebrated restaurants , includingFerraro ’s Bar e Ristorante , Spago Maui , andDUO Steak and Seafood , it ’s no surprise that FS Maui ’s dedication to fine dining spills over to the refuge ’s broader programming . A comparative freshman from LA ’s seasonally inspiredCara Restaurant , Executive Chef Michael Patria make breathing in from the island ’s rich bounty of produce , making it a point to work with local manufacturer likeOko’aandONO Farms — guests can even locomote with the chef to ONO Farms as part of the resort’sA Taste of Island Lifeexperience , which includes a individual spell and exotic fruit foraging with the farm ’s founders and culminates in a meal crafted by Patria using component picked during the experience .
“ Coming from a family that was very dependent on keep from the residential district for our local farm , it ’s very significant to me that we support Hawaiian producers , ” Patria says . “ We utilise local farm and fishermen when possible , really focusing on burnished , neat foods that fit the environment that we ’re in . ”
Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Maui
Similarly , theFire & Wineexperience offer a luck to meet Yeshua Goodman , a local fisher , proprietor ofKiawe Outdoor , and advanced sommelier who will plunk and spear up for your dinner before falsify it over an open flame and guiding you through a unsighted wine pairing . Also include in that experience is a private tour ofHaiku Housethat ’s only available to resort guests , offer the chance to search the 20 - Akka former sugar cane plantation turned botanical museum with an expert .
“ One of the most beautiful things about food is that it ’s a natural mode to learn about other cultures and it ’s also one of the easiest piece of a refinement to share , ” says Patria .
That ’s the design for this year ’s Food & Wine Classic , named “ Best of the Best New Wine Festival ” by Robb Report when it debuted in 2019 . This edition promises to be even more grandiose and over - the - top , partnering with “ wine healer to the stars ” andWally ’s Wine & Spiritspresident Christian Navarro to bring together a diverse lineup of chefs across part and generations .
Fire & Wine dinner|Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Maui
“ In addition to add in Michelin Star chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Josiah Citrin , we ’ve invited chef Rashida Holmes , who is bringing a Caribbean spin to things , and we also have chef Sheldon Simeon , who ’s a local front-runner around here . We ’ve put together a group of people who are all going to learn from one another while present a large paste of unlike cuisines , panache , and types of foods for our guests . ”
As Patria explains , the stress on California - based chef is coinciding , but meet . “ Wolfgang Puck is obviously a overlord at fusing California cuisine with the Pacific Rim , plus he ’s got Spago here on property , so that work out really well . California culinary art really lends itself to so many different influences , and I feel like that ’s something the state has in common with Hawaii . We ’ve got all these dissimilar cuisines and beautiful local farms that produce fresh element and great products — things that California chefs bank on to a great extent . The cuisines just conflate together highly well . ”
Between activities that drift from lunch withBridgetown Rotiowner Rashida Holmes to an elegant champagne brunch where Patria and executive pastry chef Alexadre Chersouly will offer up opulent brunch classics with a pull , your day of the month card will be stacked over Labor Day weekend . But if there ’s one event to highlight and underscore in your calendar , it ’s the opening night gala on Friday , September 2 , an internal eve and grand relishing on the resort ’s oceanfront lawn where guests will amalgamate with chef and vintners .
Opening night gala|Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Maui
“ We ’ll be foreground our pastry chef , myself , and all of our celebrity chefs and wine merchant who are coming in . You ’ll get to prove all of the different food offerings and all the amazing wine we ’re die to have . It ’s going to be a delightful sampling of all the neat experiences you ’ll get to have throughout the weekend , ” Patria divulges .
Summer is flying by ( no doubt due to ourplanet ’s faster pace ) , so do n’t delay on book your stay at Four season Maui for the yearly Food & Wine Classic . Who knows , you might stop up on a flight of steps with Hawaiian aboriginal Jason Momoa .
