Fil-Am food fest dazzles Maui

Mama Sita’s Pork Caldereta Empanada with Braising Salsa.

More than 2,000 people converged during the Maui Fil-Am Heritage Festival at the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center last 12 October to celebrate Fil-Am History Month.

The festivities — which were hosted by the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce — aimed to commemorate the contributions of Filipino-Americans in society, economy, government, and culture of both Hawai’i and the United States.

Master P-Noy Chef Competition, one of the festival highlights that started in 2011, was sponsored by Mama Sita’s, a staunch promoter of Filipino food heritage. Fil-Am chefs in Maui prepared and cooked their versions of Filipino food based on mystery ingredients.

Dennis Gazmen, Abby Ferrer and Rafael Rivera of Star Noodle display their winning platter.

The crowd favorite competition broke ground when executive chef Abby Ferrer of Star Noodle Restaurant became the first female contestant to take part in the cook-off challenge and won.

Chef Ferrer’s winning line-up of dishes were Mama Sita’s Pork Caldereta Empanada with Braising Salsa, Chilled Talbos ng Kamote and Local Maui Gulay Salad with Bagoong Vinaigrette, Mama Sita’s Pork BBQ Skewers with Spicy Vinegar Sawsawan, Mama Sita’s Sinigang Fried Rice, Grilled Pampano and Sinigang Broth, Champorado Takoyaki with Tuyo and Condensed Coconut Milk.

Once an informal occasion that started in 1988, Filipino-American History Month was the result of a landmark bill (HB 3343 HD1) passed by then-representative Joey Manahan to the State Legislature of Hawai’i.