2019 Hawaii Food & Wine - Mahalo Reception

We recently had the honor of representing VerTerra Dinnerware at the Mahalo reception for the 2019 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. This was a private event held at Mariposa in Neiman Marcus at Ala Moana Shopping Center. It was our first experience with the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival and after the event we were asking ourselves...why haven't we participated sooner?!

The food made by the fantastic chefs Jennifer Chow from Nobu Honolulu, Colin Hazama from the Royal Hawaiian, Lawrence Nakamoto from Mariposa, Jason Ichiki Executive Chef from Roy's Honolulu, and of course chefs Alan Wong & Roy Yamaguchi themselves (who are the co-chairs of the Hawaii Food & Wine organization) along with the assistance of the KCC culinary institute of the Pacific students was absolutely on point. Super fresh, fantastic flavors in combination with amazing presentation; it was a feast for all the senses and just as expected for an event of this caliper.

"The Hawaii food & Wine Festival has become an internationally recognized world-class, epicurean event in the Pacific by supporting the farmers, students, chefs, and the people who call Hawaii home. It has significantly raised the bar for Hawaii as a culinary destination where visitors can come to experience some of the most unforgettable culinary experiences that reflect our island culture. Beyond just sun and surf, visitors now come to Hawaii for food, exploring the many new restaurants that reflect our amazing island culture and expanding chef talent pool. Operating as a non-profit organization, we are pleased to give back $413,580 to 28 local culinary, agricultural, and cultural communities in Hawaii from the 2019 HFWF bringing our total giving to nearly $3 million since 2011" - Aya Leslie, Director of Development & Operations for HFWF

We must not forget Denise Yamaguchi the founder & CEO of the event. Congratulations to her and her teams amazing dedication and work. We can't wait to see what 2020 brings and we look forward to working with the Hawaii Food & Wine for many years to come. Make sure you buy tickets to this years event and participate in Hawaii's premiere food event!

PAC RIM REPS #PACRIMREPSHI - Hawaii foodservice equipment & supply marketing representatives

Verterra Dinnerware - NEW!

Introducing VerTerra Dinnerware! They're not NEW to the market by any means. Many brands like it have come & gone but VerTerra has been making a big impact on the US market for over a decade with their PALM LEAF PLATES, Balsa wood bento boxes and so much more. Yes VerTerra is a disposable product but they use only renewable resources to manufacture their products. All products are made with left over materials not needed from other industries like the palm & milling industry. It's all natural, biodegradable materials with ZERO chemicals used in production. The palm leaf line is created solely from palm leaves and water. Really! There are no glues, plastics, lacquers, veneers, or toxins used in the process. Not to mention their factory recycles the water used during the manufacturing process and the leftover leaf bits are used as food for livestock such as cattle or turned into an organic compost.

Within the foodservice industry it's no secret that the high cost of doing business along with high demand for service & solutions leads to short cuts that affect our environment. In Hawaii the traditional plate lunch is served in styrofoam disposable containers which give the customer stability, sanitation, insulation & security that their takeout food will get to where it needs to go without making a mess. Let's not forget the low-cost which justifies the choice. But what's the real cost? Some say styrofoam takes a decade to decompose while others say many years longer. How many plate lunches have we had in our lifetime already? Too many to count & once it starts to break down, what does that do to our environment?

We support the plastics/disposable container ban Hawaii recently implemented but we know this presents challenges to our manufacturers to make drastic changes, our distributors who now have to find suitable replacements as well as the Hawaii market who worry about costs of doing business and are so used to using these products.

(read more on the plastic bag ban here)

(read more on the plastic container ban here)

There is no easy answer to making a plastic-free, biodegradable and an easy to see-through container that will be liquid-proof & durable. Business practices will have to adapt but for now, an easy swap for those styrofoam plates are the VerTerra Palmleaf plates! Not only is it an eco-friendly solution, the natural look to the plates instantly elevate your food presentation & its durable enough to support the weight of the food.

From pop-up events with tasting dishes, salad bowls, cheese platters, buffets & even compartment plates for luaus! Imagine eating your poi & kalua pig on a leaf plate? That would look absolutely amazing! Ditch the plastic shave ice bowls for the palm leaf bowls. It's the little touches that make the difference.

Take a cue from celebrity chefs at the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival who all love using VerTerra!

VerTerra is not only for the foodservice industry but for the entire hospitality industry in general. Let's not forget the packaging gift baskets or containers amenities come in and also your room service trays. VerTerra makes an absolutely stunning upgrade to these applications.

VerTerra bento boxes & platters are perfect for pool-side service or hotel meal delivery services in general. Don't forget to add the balsa wood cutlery to go along with that box!

From front of the house, hot stations to amenities and gifts - VerTerra has a solution for you. Did we mention they can also LOGO your items? What a great instagrammable moment!

We at PAC RIM REPS are so excited to have added such a forward thinking manufacturer to our product line up. We look forward to getting more of this product here to the Hawaii market. It's only one of many changes we can make in our efforts to become more socially responsible to help protect our aina for our children & the future of our planet.

Cross Contamination Solutions - Sani Station by Carlisle & San Jamar

From Prep to Plate - Food Safety within Reach with the Sani Station

Cross-Contamination is the ugly word hushed about behind the scenes in many foodservice establishments. It's a real problem from a health and safety stand point all the way to a food preference issue. It's also a real pain point for many foodservice operators who have good intentions of bringing all their customers, no matter their preferences, good tasting quality food rather than stomach discomfort.

Cross-Contamination can occur in any part of the foodservice process from the field where the food is grown, back of the house prep, storage & handling, cooking to garnishing & finishing a plate. Everyone needs to be careful to follow all food safety procedures recommended by the Hawaii Department of Health to prevent Cross-Contamination of allergens, Lactose, Biofilm and bacterias like E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Staph Aureus. But there are some procedures that find themselves in that 'gray area' where there was never a good solution for. Such as that infamous dirty white towel left on the line to wipe tools between uses - it's not practical to wash the knife or grab a new towel after every use! That crock of standing water at the waiters station to keep the tools like ice cream scoops or rice paddles 'clean' between uses. That chef knife stuck between the lid of the refrigerated prep-table, shoved into the crack between the wall or stuck back on the knife magnet still soiled with food debris. Also cooking utensils such as tongs hanging on oven handles or in dirty crocks on the cooking line. Chefs don't often think twice about cleaning the cooking tool when switching between raw & cooked products let along between proteins and vegetables for people with food preferences or sensitivities. Also did you know that airport restaurants past the TSA entry point are required to tie their knives to the wall? How can you wash a knife you can't legally remove from the wall? Not only this, how long is the right amount of time to use a tool before the oils & food debris on the tool start to spoil? All kinds of variables such as the type of debris, saturation, time and temperature change all play a part a role in determining this. All this 'gray area' and no reasonable solution - until now!

George Barlow - inventor of the Sani Station worked closely with operator SUBWAY SANDWICHES to figure out a solution for gray-areas such as these. They too had the infamous dirty white towel on the prep line to wipe their knives between cutting sandwiches. Growing up, I didn't think twice about that rag, I thought it was 'just the way things were done' in a restaurant and just blindly trusted that it had to be clean. Now Sani Stations are a permanent fixture in all Subway stores across the country!

The Sani Station not only eliminated Cross-contamination, it also eliminates excessive tools on the cooking line. Instead of a billion different colored tongs for different food applications, you can cut it down to a few because you're cleaning & sanitizing as you go. Or in an off-site pop-up event situation where you don't have access to a 3 compartment sink, you don't have to lug around barrels of sanitizer solution to soak your tools. All you need is the Sani Station and you're good to go! The rows of brushes inside the soaking bin scrub the tool of food debris and the solution is a no-rinse food safe soap & sanitizer mix that takes care of the rest for you. Leave it in the solution for a minimum of 60 seconds and go right back into using it or set it into the drying bin ready for the next use. Get rid of those sanitizer tubs taking up valuable counter or prep space - Less tools to wash, store and buy!

Also food preferences and allergies are another pain point in many foodservice operations. For example many operators have separate tools or even stations dedicated to peanut butter applications or separate colored tools for different proteins & vegetables to ensure there is no Cross-contamination. The Sani Station sanitizer packs eliminates this worry - you can clean a peanut butter tool in the same water as a non-peanut butter tool without worry of cross contamination.

The Sani Station is available in 3 sizes - the size you choose depends on the length of your utensil. There are also different mounting brackets depending on where you want your station situated in your cooking line up.

Want to know more? Contact us PAC RIM REPS your Hawaii representative for more info or to see a demo in your kitchen!

Sani Station by Carlisle & San Jamar - Click here!

You Had me at CLEAN: Sani Station Vide - Click here!