Hawaiian Moli'i Fishpond

I traveled to Hawaii for the Les Dames d'Escoffier International Annual Conference. It proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One of our first stops on Oahu was a tour of Kualoa, a place where visitors can get a taste of Hawaiian agriculture and fishing.
The Moli‘i fishpond dates back 800 years. Over 100 acres in size, it once provided the Hawaiian royalty with bounties of fish. Small openings allowed little fish in the pond and once the fish grew, they were too large to return to the open water.
We toured the pond by a flat-bottomed boat; we were told that if we fell out, just stand up because the water is only 4 to 5 feet deep.

Guavas on Oahu

These guavas are still soaking up sun on the west side of the island of Oahu. At a glance, I thought they were limes. The closest I normally get to a fresh guava is in a jelly jar. This was the first time I had ever seen the fruit on a tree.

Honolulu Fish Auction

We were lucky enough to take a tour of the Honolulu Fish Auction. It was amazing! There are only 2 auctions of its kind in the world. Fish were being brought off the boats at daybreak and we were able to see the live auction where the fish were sold to wholesalers and restaurants.

These pictures show Ahi tuna, some nearing 125 pounds. The flesh is cut and placed on small pieces of paper for the purpose of setting the starting bid. The darker red flesh brings a higher price.

Cooking at Blackhawk

I taught a class this weekend in a beautiful kitchen with a perk unlike any other class. The Soquee River was winding through the trees right outside the window. When we fired up the grill, the sound of the water moving downstream was heavenly.

Check out Blackhawk (it's a fly fishing stream with a cooking school) to see what I saw. Sadly, there was no time to fish after we left the kitchen. I'll definitely go back again for a trout of my own.