During this year’s KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest on Sunday, amateurs, professionals and students from the Culinary Arts program at Hawaii Community College-Palamanui polished up their culinary and presentation skills to deliver tasty entries.
Sweet and savory recipe entries were judged on presentation, harmony of ingredients, craftsmanship and design, providing an opportunity for each contestant to present a recipe to the judges that sparks creativity and an appropriate 100 percent Kona coffee theme.
This year, the contest and Big Island Showcase took place at HCC-Palamanui in Kona. The culinary show kitchens worked like magic and the campus location served well for the many vendors at the Big Island Showcase, giving festival-goers an opportunity to shop local while waiting to taste the recipe contest entries.
Winners captured cash prizes, gift certificates and bragging rights as the winning recipes of the 2018 contest.
This year’s winners are:
• Professional: Angela Han, first place, for her A Cup of Kona entry.
• Amateur: Joseph Granto, first place, for his Kona Chino Cheesecake.
• College Culinary Student Sweet: Alice Petriyenko, first place, for her 3 Layer Coffee Cake.
• College Culinary Student Savory: Thomas Elarco, first place, for his Braised Coffee Beefshank with Autumn Vegetables
The Festival continues through Sunday (Nov. 18). A full schedule of events can be found at www.konacoffeefest.com. You also can follow the festival on social media @konacoffeefest.
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is recognized as the oldest and one of the most successful food festivals in Hawaii. The 2018 festival includes 10 days of events that promote Hawaii’s unique culture and diversity and supports the festival’s mission to preserve, perpetuate and promote Kona’s unique coffee heritage.