The culinary minds behind Senia, a popular and acclaimed Honolulu restaurant, are working on a new concept to open on Maui this fall.
Chefs Anthony Rush and Chris Kajioka were invited to serve as featured chefs at the James Beard House in New York last November, when they announced the launch of the new restaurant, Ondine at the Hotel Wailea.
Jonathan McManus, owner of the Hotel Wailea, is also a principal investor in Senia. Ondine will focus on three distinct features, a private interactive chef's kitchen with a tasting counter for small groups of six to 20 people, a garden terrace with a view overlooking the kitchen, and an intimate "treehouse," a private dining experience for groups as large as eight.
"Chefs Anthony and Chris are rare culinary talent with personal drive to match," McManus said in a statement. "Their extensive background cooking in Relais & Chateaux chef Thomas Keller's kitchens will break new ground for Maui beach-casual tasting dishes. This will be a very exciting culinary direction for Maui."
Senia, opened in the Chinatown district of Honolulu in December 2016, has been nominated for James Beard Awards and was dubbed "Hawaii's hottest new restaurant" by Food & Wine Magazine.
"To launch at Hotel Wailea, Maui, Hawaii's only Relais & Chateaux property, continues the momentum of what we've accomplished in Honolulu," Kajioka said in the statement.