Instead of fully canceling the 10th installment of the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival, the Aloha State's largest annual culinary event, organizers are planning a limited schedule of dining experiences while adhering to emergency orders designed to combat the spread of Covid-19.
From Nov. 6 to 21, the festival will hold nine exclusive dinners, including a night dedicated to innovative Vietnamese cuisine with Honolulu's chef Andrew Le of the Pig and the Lady and chef Charles Phan of San Francisco's the Slanted Door on Nov. 19. The series will close on Nov. 21 with "Let the Good Times Roll," a dinner featuring numerous award-winning chefs, including festival founders Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong.
Past Food and Wine festivals had more than double the events and far more special guests and invited chefs. Restrictions such as only family members or members of the same household may be seated at a table, but each event will have different limits and restrictions. Visitors are encouraged to visit the website to find out more.
"As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we considered canceling our events but decided to proceed with exclusive dining experiences because the local restaurants as well as our visitor industry and other small businesses need the community's support to survive now more than ever," a statement on the festival website states.
All proceeds from this year's festival will go to benefit Hawaii's agricultural, restaurant, food service and hospitality industries, and their employees.