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Celebrating all things Maui Onion

By Catherine Toth Fox • May 5, 2014 • #CatTravels, Food

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It’s a good thing I like onions.

I was invited to be a judge for the recipe contests at the 25th annual Maui Onion Festival at Whalers Village in Kaanapali on Maui.

I didn’t really know what to expect.

I figured there would be those sweet onions Maui is known for. But I didn’t expect the crowds of people clamoring for Maui onions in just about every form: sautéed, deep-fried, in sauces, in tacos, on pizzas. It was an onion frenzy!

This year’s festival featured the annual Maui onion-eating contests, food booths and cooking demonstrations by celebrated chefs like “Top Chef” alum Sheldon Simeon and Mark “Gooch” Noguchi of Pili Group (see below).

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Here’s Gooch with co-emcee Ramsay Wharton of Hawaii News Now cooking charred Maui onion with Kupa’a Farm potato and bacon jam (recipe in another post).

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And here’s Chris Kulis of Capische, The Market by Capische.

But I was here for the recipe contests — and I was ready!

The first contest featured dishes by chefs who work in Maui.

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Here’s the dish by Jared Krausen: onion-crusted ahi with an onion jam and a succotash featuring sweet onions, sweet corn, chives and more.

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Here’s one of four components made by Joey Macadangdang: a Maui onion consommé with foie gras.

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His savory onion bread pudding with pickled Maui onions was my hands-down favorite dish.

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Here’s the willing dish by Ryan Luckey: a South American-inspired dish with local yuma root steamed down in Maui onions and milk with yellow aji chile and a Maui onion cilantro chimichurri on flat iron steak.

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It was a gorgeous day on the Kaanapali Coast — and I managed to squeeze in a surf session between judging.

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We grabbed some freshly deep-fried Maui onions made by the students of the Maui Culinary Academy.

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There were food booths everywhere at Whalers Village. We sampled the kalua pig tacos.

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I got back just in time to judge the cocktail contests. These Maui bartenders — Robin Blumer, Dennis Day and Ross Steidel — were preparing interesting drinks using Maui onions.

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Here’s the winning cocktail by Day. It uses sugar cane juice, tequila and ginger beer with locally grown oranges, mint and, of course, Maui onions.

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Then there was the finale: the recipe contest featuring top chefs from all over the state. Here’s Gooch preparing his dish, which were all top secret to the judges. (I snuck in this photo!)

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And here’s Simeon putting the final touches on his plates.

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Here’s the first dish by Jojo Vasquez of The Plantation House Restaurant: Maui onion flan with balsamic onion, Kumu Farms organic beets, onion powder, rye-cumin soil and an edible flower garden. Truly loved this flan and presentation.

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Up next was the dish by Nick Mastrascusa of Kuki’o: pan-roasted Maui onions with braised oxtail and Maui onion hearts of palm puree. The oxtail was dynamite.

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The third dish was by Simeon: funn noodles made with Maui onions. Props for creativity. Loved this, too.

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The fourth — and winning — dish was by James McDonald of Aina Gourmet Market: smoked oysters with Maui onions, cucumber “noodles” and a soft egg with curry oil. Eggs and curry oil — a winning combo!

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And the final dish was by Gooch — a take on what he served earlier.

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And here’s the winner, accepting his onion trophy. But to be honest, we were all winners. I got to try every single dish, every single cocktail — and I didn’t even need to brush my teeth in between! Can’t wait for next year!

HawaiijudgeKaanapaliMauiMaui Onion FestivalWhalers Village
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Catherine Toth Fox

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5 Comments

  • Reply Annoddah Dave May 5, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    CAT: Did you ever find out what makes the Maui onion distinctive, if at all?

  • Reply M May 6, 2014 at 8:03 am

    Hello Cat, everything looks so ono.

  • Reply Ken May 6, 2014 at 10:59 am

    Would those standing nearby agree that you didn’t need to brush your teeth? 😉

  • Reply WildeOscar May 7, 2014 at 3:35 am

    It’s because you make it so, but Cat, you have a more adventurous and exciting diet than any other person I know of.

  • Reply Dennis May 12, 2014 at 6:43 am

    Another great blog! I was born on Lanai and feel like home in Maui and their tasty onions.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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