What do you get when you put an innovative entrepreneurs in a vacant kitchen in Kakaako?

You get something fresh and new on Oahu’s food scene — and something worth checking out.

On Saturday — just before the tsunami warning! — Auahi Street came alive with foodies and chefs celebrating the opening of TASTE, a food venue supported by a trio of young business collaborators interested in bringing something new to the streets of Kakaako.

TASTE — brought to you by Poni and Brandon Askew (the masterminds behind Eat the Street), Amanda Corby (Under My Umbrella) and Chef Mark “Gooch” Noguchi (Pili Hawaii) — isn’t a restaurant and it’s not really a pop-up. It’s being called a “venue,” a place where a mix of chefs, restauranteurs and food vendors will showcase their creations. It will feature a combination of in-house specials by Noguchi and “pop-up meals” by guest chefs. Everything — including furniture — will change.

But it’s more than just a venue offering food service. The long-term goal is to offer cooking classes, chef demonstrations, tastings and other workshops.

To be honest, I’m not sure what it’ll be like — but I’m pretty stoked about the new concept.

So on Saturday, TASTE opened its doors to eager eaters — at $45 per person — with chef Sean Priester (SOUL), The Pig and the Lady and Sweet Breads Hawaii dishing out some stellar nosh.

Oh, and did I mention Gooch cooked, too?

Here’s what the grand opening looked like:

Grand opening of TASTE

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TASTE, a new food venue in Kakaako, opened on Saturday with a food event that drew a hungry crowd to Kakaako. Little did we know, in two hours, this whole area would be evacuated for a tsunami warning.