For this meal, we will dive into the rich history of Hawaiian-style cuisine. From 1852 to the present, Hawaii has encountered four major waves of immigration - each wave bringing new dishes and culinary influences to the islands. As sugar plantations imported labor across the Pacific from China, Japan, Korea, and The Philippines with the intent to diversify and divide plantation laborers, cultures converged. Hawaiian Pidgin (a creole language made up of Hawaiian, Japanese, English, Portuguese, and Cantonese) developed between laborers and new food emerged on the Hawaiian culinary landscape.. Thus, we have the inspiration for our pop-up series – Hawaii: A Culinary Crossroads. A portion of proceeds from this dinner will benefit Pride for PI. My connection to Hawaii is deeply personal and spans back to my grandparens' migrating to Hawaii from the Philippines before and after World War II. Growing up, I spent nearly every summer with my grandparents in Hawaii. It was there I got my start in cooking by shadowing my grandparents in the kitchen. Under their wing I learned to make traditional Filipino dishes from my grandparents’ provinces. The fourth course on this menu, Pinakbet, is a dish I learned from my grandmother. During these summers I also developed tastes for local Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Native Hawaiian dishes from lau lau, chicken katsu, to meat jhun, and to cold ginger chicken (just to name a few). I’ve spent my life making and personalizing these dishes, at first to eat, and then as the years went by, to share. We are honored to have Lanai Tabura as part of the event. As we present each course, he will be sharing the detailed history of the the different cultural influences that the immigrants had on Hawaiian-style food. With this special pop-up series, we invite you to continue a tradition of sharing culture and memory at the dinner table. Please join us for a sentimental meal, libations, and great company. About Lanai (http://www.lanaitabura.com/) Hailing from the tiny island of Lanai Hawaii, and graduate of Lanai High School, this DJ, Comedian, TV host and Actor has done it all! Currently Lanai host’s Cooking Hawaiian Style in its 6th season, a tv show that air’s in 7 countries on the Lifetstyle Network, Direct TV and Time Warner cable. Lanai is no stranger to international and local TV shows Food Networks Great Food Truck Race, co-host with Anthony Bourdain’s NO Reservations, Jake and the Fat Man, Da Braddah’s, Baywatch Hawaii, and commercials such as: Meadow Gold, Zippys, Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union and more. Most recently he played Jake in season 6 of Hawaii 5-0. He has been touring the mainland doing stand up comedy openings for Henry Kapono , Andy Bumatai, Augie Tulba, Wayne Brady and Damon Wayans to name a few. As a 25- year radio veteran, Lanai co-created the Island 98.5 radio station, and currently is on air in Tokyo and Fukuoka Japan The Vision of #Pride 4 PI The vision created by Lanai Tabura, Beverly Desuasido and MAMA EARTH is to bring leaders from a collection of nonprofit organizations, corporations, government officials and international celebrities to work together cooperatively for the good of our earth while sharing the spirit of ALOHA with the world. Many diverse organizations are fighting to repair and protect our earth, and we strive to help coordinate their efforts for maximum benefit. In Hawaiian, this is “laulima” ~ working together to ensure success.