*Masks and social distancing are required for this event. All tables and seating will be outdoors and all local regulations for outdoor seating will be followed. Please DRESS WARM for after sunset.* 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. My connection to Hawaii is deeply personal and spans back to my grandparents' 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. During these summers I also developed tastes for local Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Native Hawaiian dishes from laulau, 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 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 memories 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 a 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 airs in 7 countries on the Lifestyle 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. Carlos Lorenzo Carlos Lorenzo is a wine professional and currently working with pop-ups around the East Bay. He attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York to pursue a career in the culinary field as a cook/chef then later transitioned to focus his work and studies in the hospitality and wine business. Before Carlos worked with us, he was a Cellar Manager and part of the team that set up Verve Wine in San Francisco. There, he worked alongside Eric Railsback and Master Sommelier Dustin Wilson wherein he honed his skills and knowledge with the wine business. Furthermore, he is studying for his certifications under the Court of Master Sommeliers.