Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort Hosts Hawaii Food & Wine Festival’s Inaugural Pool Party

RELEASE NUMBER 78|18

HONOLULU – Award-winning chefs will be making a splash at Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort for the first-ever Hawaii Food & Wine Festival Pool Party. The Naughty or Nice brunch will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A limited amount of tickets at $115 per person are still available for purchase online at: HawaiiFoodandWineFestival.com.

Attendees can taste exquisite brunch items from six globally celebrated chefs – each contributing a deliciously “naughty” gluttonous dish together with an equally seductive “nice” vegan dish. The DIY Bloody Mary bar makes a comeback to make this brunch the best in Hawaii. Plus, guests can beat the heat by diving into the refreshing Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort pool – towels will be provided, just bring a favorite swim suit.

Live Hawaiian music pairs perfectly with the event, featuring performances from Kani Ka Pila Grille talent search champions: Ei Nei and Walea.

Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort is pleased to offer a VIP Hawaii Food & Wine Festival Package that includes the finest accommodations in Voyager 47 Club rooms or suites and two tickets to the Naughty or Nice Pool Party. The package includes access to the exclusive, oceanfront Voyager 47 Club Lounge offering complimentary sunset pupu and craft beer as well as premium breakfast bites. The VIP package starts at $609 for premium club category rooms and includes Wi-Fi, a souvenir tote bag and shopping and dining discounts. Offer good for stays from Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, 2018.

Participating talent at “Naughty or Nice” includes:

Chung Chow – NOREETUH – NEW YORK, NY: Chef de cuisine and co-owner of Noreetuh, Honolulu-raised Chow Chung is a classically French trained chef who has spent the majority of his career with the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in casual and fine dining operations, beginning at Bouchon Bistro in Yountville, California, and culminating at Per Se in New York City. After three years as the sous chef at Per Se, Chung left to assist chef Jonathan Benno in opening Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center.

Michael Lofaro – HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUAA – WAILEA, HI: Mike Lofaro, chef de cuisine of Humuhumunukunukuapuaa at Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, has earned the title of hottest chef on Maui, along with a Maui No Ka Oi Magazine ‘Aipono Award for Chef of the Year in 2016, and Best Resort Restaurant from Maui News in 2017. He is co-host of the Emmy Award–winning television series SEARCH Hawaii: Where Food Meets Culture. Nicknamed “The Waterman Chef,” Lofaro grew up on the East Coast’s Block Island and today is inspired by the Pacific Ocean and what he finds there.

Delia Romano – OUTRIGGER REEF WAIKIKI BEACH RESORT – HONOLULU, HI: To develop her culinary career, in 2016 New Jersey native Delia Romano relocated to Hawaii where she was part of the opening team of Michael Mina’s Stripsteak in Waikiki. In 2017, she joined the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort as executive sous chef. As a vegan, Delia is dedicated to creating innovative dishes for guests from all corners of the globe. Her mission is to show people how scrumptious food can be created without using animal products. But she can still cook a killer steak and has awesome dishes with all types of ingredients. Her versatility makes her the perfect chef to cook at the festival’s Naughty or Nice pool party, which will have participating talent each prepare a “nice” vegan dish and a decadent “naughty” dish.

Minaka Urquidi – ETHEL’S GRILL – HONOLULU, HI: Minaka Urquidi was raised in the kitchen of Ethel’s Grill, the unassuming Kalihi institution owned by her parents—and chefs’ go-to spot for local food. There was no question she would pursue a culinary career and she attended the Western Culinary Institute (later the Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts) in Portland. She started work at Sam Choy’s flagship Honolulu restaurant and moved on to positions at places such as the Four Season Seattle and Roy’s Rancho Mirage, where she became pastry chef. Roy’s then tapped her to be opening pastry chef for Roy’s Los Angeles in 2005. Then in 2007, she and her husband, Robert Urquidi, returned to Honolulu (they met working at Sam Choy’s) to take the helm of Ethel’s. Under their leadership the place is as popular as ever and celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019.

Michael Voltaggio – VOLTAGGIO BROTHERS’ STEAKHOUSE – WASHINGTON DC: Michael Voltaggio is the owner and chef of Los Angeles’ artisanal sandwich concept Sack Sandwiches with locations in West Hollywood and LAX’s Tom Bradley International. Michael is also the chef and partner in the Voltaggio Brothers Steak House at MGM National Harbor and the fast-casual concept STRFSH, showcasing grilled sustainable-fish sandwiches in Santa Monica. Celebrated for having reinterpreted a new class of finer dining at his now-closed restaurant ink.—which received the title of GQ’s Best New Restaurant in America 2011—Michael has been recognized as a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2013, won season six of Bravo’s Top Chef, and hosted the Travel Channel series Breaking Borders.

Lucas Woodden – BILLS HAWAII – HONOLULU, HI: Lucas Woodden has been the executive chef at bills Hawaii since 2015. bills Sydney is the famed farm-to-table, all-day eatery founded by Australian culinary superstar Bill Granger, with locations in Australia, Japan, Korea, the U.K., and Hawaii. Woodden helms the kitchen at the Waikiki restaurant and travels to other bills locations around the world throughout the year to learn about new menu items and to share, exchange and collaborate on ideas with Granger and his other chefs.

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