CHEF ‘ŌLELO PA‘A FAITH OGAWA

11/18/2009

An Evolution of Cuisine and Spirit

Kohala Coast, Hawai‘i’s Big Island – ‘Ōlelo pa‘a Faith Ogawa is one of the most sought-after private chefs in Hawai‘i. The key ingredients behind her business, Dining by Faith, are the vibrant Hawaiian flavors she concocts for her repeat clientele of Fortune 500 executives and families, but also a personal evolution.

Born Faith Ogawa on O‘ahu, this local girl literally had a sweet childhood. She was born and raised on the Waipahu sugar plantation where her multi-generational family worked. Her grandmother was a farmer, and the family grew vegetables and traded for island fish, in the spirit of old Hawai‘i.

“We ate foods like Okinawan spinach, cabbages, fresh fish, lilikoi, soy beans, guava, taro, sweet potatoes and their leaves, and mangoes” she said. “Back then, we didn’t call it Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine, we called it dinner.”

Today, she uses some of these same healthy ingredients, carefully selecting flavorful, sustainable products from local farmers then adding her creative spin – a style she calls “Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine.” Lunch might start with a spicy Hawaiian-style Caesar salad, featuring tender, crisp baby romaine lettuce grown exclusively at Hirabara Farms, then sprinkled with toasted macadamia nuts and tossed with a hint of Hawaiian chili pepper. Next, a sautéed filet of fresh mahimahi could be served with a vine-ripened tomato and Maui onion confit, alongside a creamy sauce of coconut and wilted taro leaves – a vegetable dish so delicious, it makes spinach green with envy. She’s introduced exotic Hāmākua mushrooms, wild ohelo berries, hoi‘o (fiddlehead fern), ogo (seaweed), and farm-raised omega-3-laden Kona Kampachi fish, to the palates of her clientele. But there are no set menus. Every client is different, and her sense of knowing what each one will enjoy is the result of years of experience.

In the 1970s, Ogawa completed the culinary program at an O‘ahu college. She was one of few women pursuing food arts, and continued her education after graduation. Her career is laced with tasty assignments in Hawai‘i and beyond. She’s also a founding member of the Hawai‘i chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International.

But the hardest job of them all? Being a single parent.

Ogawa put her promising career on the back burner two decades ago, choosing instead to focus on raising her son, Kahlil. Somewhere along the way, she felt she lost touch with herself.

In 1999, Ogawa enrolled in Self-Identity Ho‘oponopono Training (www.hooponopono.org) on Hawai‘i’s Big Island.

“It was a process of learning to be myself. After years of putting myself last, I had stopped being myself,” she said. “It also taught me how we impact everything around us through our thoughts, words and actions.”

Her inter-personal training marked a new beginning, and a new name. In the process of becoming herself again, ‘Ōlelo pa‘a, as she now prefers to be called, connected with the Hawaiian belief that names are sacred. A beloved Hawaiian mentor bestowed her with the name of ‘Ōlelo pa‘a, explaining that the kauna, or underlying meaning, of her name is “forever, the very spark of existence.”

Since rediscovering herself as ‘Ōlelo pa‘a, her career is hotter than ever. While most of her clients reside on or visit the Big Island’s alluring Kohala Coast, a client recently flew her and her Dining By Faith team to California to create a healthful, innovative lū‘au for his 50th birthday bash. Then it was off to Honolulu, where she starred as guest chef at Ho‘okipa 2007, a lavish annual fundraiser for Kapiolani Community College’s culinary arts programs. She’s launched her own line of specialty coffee, tea and honey called “Glow Hawai‘i.” She writes “Pono Ono,” a quarterly food column for Hawaiian Style magazine, and she can be seen describing Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine in a fun, fluid webisode at www.hawaiianstylemagazine.com, where her column also appears. She is heard on the “Aloha Evening World” Japanese-language radio program in Honolulu on 101.1 FM. And ‘Ōlelo pa‘a recently was inducted into the Hawai‘i Culinary and Hospitality Hall of Fame.

But best of all? Her son is a happy, healthy young adult with deep love and appreciation for his mother. When ‘Ōlelo pa‘a was inducted into the Hawai‘i Culinary and Hospitality Hall of Fame in May 2006, Kahlil was by his mother’s side, sharing her joy and beaming with pride—a mother’s greatest reward.

Chef ‘Ōlelo pa‘a is a private chef on Hawai‘i’s Big Island who shares the flavors of Hawai‘i through her distinct Conscious Hawaiian Cuisine™, cooking demonstrations, magazine column, and Glow Hawai‘i Products. Visit www.glowhawaii.com

Contact: Jessica Ferracane
Irondog Communications
T: (808) 895-5740
E: Jessica@irondogpr.com