Hawaii Community College’s culinary students were so fortunate, thanks to the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation, to have Michelle and Wade Ueoka of MW Restaurant in Honolulu come talk to them about how the couple came to own their own restaurant.
Hawaii Community College’s culinary students were so fortunate, thanks to the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation, to have Michelle and Wade Ueoka of MW Restaurant in Honolulu come talk to them about how the couple came to own their own restaurant.
Wade started by telling the students he knew he did not want a career behind a desk. After graduating from Mid-Pacific School and Kapiolani Community College, his first job was as a fry cook at Zippy’s. After two years, he landed a job as a prep cook at Alan Wong’s Honolulu and seven years later became the chef de cuisine. He helped Alan Wong open the Pineapple Room in Ala Moana Shopping Center. He has staged at The French Laundry under chef Thomas Keller in Las Vegas.
Michelle Karr-Ueoka graduated from Punahou School and obtained a degree in travel industry management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. When she graduated, she had a choice of becoming a manager of a hotel or a restaurant. She choose a restaurant. This sparked her interest in cooking, although at that time she did not know how to even turn on a stove. She did an externship at Alan Wong’s Honolulu, then furthered her culinary training at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She completed a stage at Daniel there and then wanted to do an externship at The French Laundry with Keller. However, everyone told Michelle that there will be hundreds of applications for one opening at The French Laundry. So, she sent a toothbrush with her application with a note saying if she were selected, she would use the toothbrush to clean the kitchen and toilets.
An envelope arrived from Keller. It was a thin envelope. She thought, like an acceptance letter from a job or college, there would be lots of applications to fill out if she got the job, so she told her mother she probably did not get the job. Her mother told her to open the envelope anyway. She did and in it was a note from Keller. “See you in two weeks. Thomas Keller,” it said. Michelle worked six months at The French Laundry. She then returned to Alan Wong’s as a pastry chef.
Michelle’s dream was to receive a James Beard Award. In 2014, she was nominated for the award of “Outstanding Pastry Chef.”
In 2013, Wade and Michelle opened MW Restaurant and in February 2014, the James Beard Foundation nominated MW Restaurant for “Best New Restaurant.”
Chef Wade said it is very important to support island farmers and fishermen. He talked about how much fresher produce, seafood or even eggs are when you buy here.
MW Restaurant buys two whole pigs every two weeks from David Wong of Waianae, Oahu. Wong practices Korean natural farming, where microorganisms are used to produce fertile soils.
He grows moringa, or marungay trees, and feeds his pigs the leaves. He also dries the leaves and makes moringa powder.
The pork loin chef Wade roasted was clean tasting and like another pig farmer told me, the taste will be what they are fed. A gravy made with truffle butter from Naked Cow Dairy and sliced truffles was made for the loin.
Michelle made stovetop brulee. She likes the texture of the crust of a creme brulee, so she made a tuile that was torched; she likes tapioca, so she added that in the middle of the brulee; she also loves halo-halo, so she added some pieces of fruit to accomplish that texture. She turned a basic creme brulee into a “wow” dish with added textures and flavors.
MW Restaurant’s philosophy is go back to basics, respect your elders and keep with the traditions you grew up with.
Chef Wade’s cuisine has a local and Asian flavor, as he remembers growing up and helping his mother cook, but with a twist.
He and Michelle accomplish this by what they call “slot in/slot out.” If you have a basic recipe, they would replace an ingredient or two to come up with a dish that is theirs.
I will have two recipes, one from chef Wade and a dessert from chef Michelle in my column next week.
Foodie bites
• The Cafeteria and The Café at Hawaii Community College is open 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. today through Friday. Call The Cafeteria at 934-2559 or The Café at 934-2591 for takeout orders.
• Last week I wrote about Poke Market LLC on Waianuenue Avenue. The day I went to interview chef Ernie, they were closed as they were packing up to go to the Waikoloa Marriott to compete in the 10th annual Hawaii Island Festival. Poke Market won first place in the Poke Fusion, Professional Division. Congratulations to chef Ernie and the Poke Market Team.
• The 19th annual Taste of Hilo is slated for 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, at Sangha Hall in Hilo. There will be 35 chefs, with proceeds going to Hawaii Community College. The event is sponsored by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce &Industry, with Kai‘u Kimura and Randy Kurohara as co-chairmen. Tickets can be obtained by calling the chamber office at 934-0177 or emailing jccih@jccih.org. The cost for advance tickets is $55, or $70 at the door.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
