“To Lahaina, With Love”

In times of natural disasters or catastrophic world events, not only do firefighters and paramedics immediately mobilize to help, but so do chefs, cooks, and others in the hospitality industry.
After all, they know better than anyone the power of food to comfort, nourish, and heal.
As I watched the news accounts of the gut-wrenching destruction wrought by the Southern California wildfires, it reminded me eerily of the 2023 firestorm that obliterated the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui.
In each case, restaurateurs and their employees — including some whose establishment or homes had been ravaged by flames — turned up in droves to cook meals for anyone in need, despite their own dire circumstances.
Wildfires may be growing more severe nowadays due to climate change. But it’s heartening to witness the indefatigable resilience, resourcefulness, and compassion of a community rising to meet it.

“To Lahaina, With Love” exemplifies that. Proceeds from this cookbook, which debuted last month, benefit Fresh Help Maui, a non-profit that provides meals and locally-caught fresh fish to those impacted by the Maui fires.
The book’s cover is as plain and simple as it gets. The pages inside, however, are filled with very personal recipes, as well as the uplifting tales of bravery, heroism, and selflessness of Maui chefs and food purveyors — some who lost everything in the fires — who banded together to provide sustenance to those in need.
There’s “Local Venison Chili” from Chef Alvin Savella of Coco Deck Lahaina Kitchen & Bar, who arrived to his former restaurant Duckine a few days after the fire, and loaded 1,500 pounds of frozen food in the still-functioning freezer to take to the University of Hawaii Maui College, where chefs were already making prepared meals for displaced residents. There’s “Island Ahi Poke” from Chef Luis Fuentes of Island Catering, who survived with others by jumping into the ocean, and treading water for hours until the flames subsided. There’s “Kohola Brewery Smash Burger” by Chef Isaac Bancaco, whose house and boat were obliterated, along with his restaurant, Pacific’o on the Beach, but who became an indispensable navigator at the college, running back and forth to ensure the chefs had all the supplies needed to keep cooking.
And there’s Chef Lee Anne Wong, whose Papa’Aina Restaurant in the historic Pioneer Inn, where I had the good fortune to enjoy brunch just five months earlier, was wiped out by the inferno. Wong, who thankfully still has her Koko Head Cafe in Honolulu, provided five recipes for the book. Each of them incorporates Blue Ocean Kanpachi, the open-ocean farmed amberjack produced by a company that has donated its fish for many Maui recovery fundraisers.

Her “Roasted Collar” is simple dish that utilizes an under-appreciated part of the fish.
While I couldn’t source the Blue Ocean brand, I did manage to get my hands on kampachi (same species, though, different spelling) collars from Panama ($9.95 per pound) via delivery from San Francisco’s Four Star Seafood.
If you’ve enjoyed hamachi collars before, just note that kampachi ones are smaller. If you’re serving this dish as a main with rice and veggies, you’ll probably want to plan on two kampachi collars per serving.
Make an easy ponzu sauce for dipping by combining shoyu, a small sheet of konbu, yuzu juice, sugar, and water. Let the flavors meld overnight before using. This recipe will easily make enough sauce for 8 collars.
Wong gives instructions for pan-frying the collars, deep-frying them, or roasting them. I went with the latter. Just salt and pepper the collars and roast for about 15 minutes.
Shower the collars with fresh herbs such as mint and cilantro, fried onions or shallots, or edible flowers. Serve with the citrusy ponzu sauce and lemon wedges.
Then, get down and dirty, tearing into the cartilage with chopsticks or your fingers to get at the flaky flesh with the buttery texture that will be so worth the effort.
After enjoying your dinner, show your appreciation by ordering a copy of “To Lahaina, With Love” ($69). The hardcover edition is expected to be available this spring. The soft-cover edition is available now at 20 percent off with the discount code: SALE20.

Roasted Collar
(Serve two collars per person)
For ponzu sauce:
1/4 cup shoyu or tamari
1-inch square konbu seaweed
3 tablespoons yuzu juice, or combination of fresh lemon or lime and orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons water
For the fish:
Kanpachi (or kampachi) collars
Salt and pepper
Fresh picked herbs: dill, mint, cilantro, parsley, chives or chives
Fried onions, fried shallots, or puffed rice (optional)
Edible flowers (optional)
Fresh citrus wedges, for garnish
Combine all the ingredients for your ponzu sauce and stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate overnight in a closed container.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Season the collars with salt and pepper; roast flesh side up on a baking tray for 13 to 15 minutes until cooked through. Alternatively, you can pan fry over medium heat in oil and butter, or coat in a light dredge of cornstarch and deep fry in hot oil at 350°F for 4 minutes.
Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with sea salt and serve flesh side up garnished with fresh herbs and a side of ponzu and fresh citrus.
Adapted from a recipe by Lee Anne Wong in “To Lahaina, With Love”
I’m so glad you posted this, Carolyn! The very best piece of fish I have ever put in my mouth was a collar at Papa’Aina. I’d never had that cut before, and the flavor of her preparation was out of this world. Disappointed the next time we went to find that it was not on the menu that day, but that one taste I had will live in my food memories forever. I will absolutely be sourcing some locally to give this a try, but of course the ambiance will never match the balmy relaxation at her Pioneer Inn location. Normally I would never consider spending that much for a cookbook, but it will be the perfect gift for my Maui loving son who enjoys preparing good food and will appreciate that it’s for such a worthy cause. If only there were magic wands included with which we could bring back that piece of paradise. (Sigh)
Correction: Come to think of it, the dish I am remembering so fondly was their Seared Ahi Belly. But clearly anything coming out of her kitchen would be Chef’s Kiss Ono!!!
Hi Carroll: You are lucky to have dined at Papa’Aina more than once. I was there only the one time for brunch, which I much enjoyed. Yes, this cookbook is more expensive than most, especially for a soft-cover edition. I actually paid for my copy; I did not get it as a free review copy. The proceeds go to a worthy cause, though, and to a community that has a long road ahead to rebuild. Definitely worth the purchase.