After giving up the bright lights of big cities to take a job as executive chef of the isolated but luxurious Hotel Hana-Maui in Hawaii, David Patterson now finds his nights are illuminated in large part by the moon and stars.
Since being lured to the property by hotel management Passport Hotels, Patterson has settled into a low-key lifestyle at the resort, which is tucked away on the far eastern side of one of Hawaii’s idyllic islands and reachable only by plane or the twisty, legendary Road to Hana.
He previously was executive sous chef at Maisonette, a long-running French restaurant in Cincinnati that later closed. There he worked with chef Bertrand Bouquin, one of his mentors. He also names chef Terence Feury, for whom he worked at Striped Bass in Philadelphia, as influential. Patterson says he especially liked working with fish and seafood at Striped Bass, which proved an ideal foundation for his current position at an island resort.
He recently made the approximately 5,000-mile trip to New York to cook at the James Beard House and previously earned a merit scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. His worldwide travels, interpreted with local ingredients, are reflected on his daily-changing menu at Ka‘uiki, the resort’s flagship restaurant. He also oversees back-of-the-house operations in the casual Paniolo Lounge, the nearby casual dinnerhouse Hana Ranch Restaurant, room service and occasional luaus on the beach.
Why did you accept this position?
When I came out to interview, I was amazed by the opportunity in Hana with the farming community and the fishing community. To have the opportunity to take part in something like that was very exciting.
BIOGRAPHY Title: executive chef, Hotel Hana-Maui Birth date: Jan. 25, 1977 Hometown: Louisville, Ky. Education: associate’s degree, New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt.; bachelor’s degree in sociology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky. Career highlights: Being invited to present “A Taste of Maui” at the James Beard House last December; winning the first annual Friends of Agriculture Award from Maui County and the state of Hawaii in 2006; hosting the first annual “Hana—A Reflection of Place” event in 2006 with guest chefs; being hired in 2005 as executive chef at Hotel Hana-Maui
How much of your ingredients come from Maui or the neighboring islands?
All of the produce, 100 percent, is from Maui or the neighboring islands, and the same with our fish, beef and game. As much [product] as we can source and find is from here.
Do you miss the urban bustle of the cities where you formerly worked?
It can be hard for transplants here. [Living in Hawaii] takes a certain kind of personality. As with any rofession, you’re committed to your profession, whether you’re in Hana or a thriving metropolis. Lifestyle is important to me.
How did your wife feel about making such a drastic move?
She’s happy here. She works at the hotel as the wedding and event coordinator.
What are the demographics of your guests?
They understand cuisine and what we’re trying to do out here from an economic and health standpoint, and they appreciate it to a large degree. Hana is a little off the beaten path, so people know what to expect here. We get a lot of repeat guests. Our peak business is in the summer and the winter holidays. We see a lot of honeymooners and couples for two months in the spring and fall when the resort is for adults only.
Why do you change the menu every night?
That enables us to buy any quantity from the local community and utilize things when they are at their best. If someone has a tangerine tree, we’re able to buy 10 pounds of great tangerines and use them that night, and they are gone tomorrow.
CHEF’S TIPS When working with fresh fish, put the whole fish or portioned pieces in an empty pan inside a larger pan filled with ice to keep the fish cold. Invest in good knives.
Do you ever run out of a listed dish?
It doesn’t happen very much. We plan so carefully. Occasionally, everyone wants mahi, and we have only 15 or 20 orders, but usually it works out pretty well.
Are fish from the waters off Hana usually available?
In Hana, it’s all day boats and less than 25 fishermen. They are not fishing on the scale that the big boats do. If the water is rough, they don’t go out. This is one of the most difficult channels in the Pacific to fish and to navigate. When there aren’t enough fish from Hana, we use purveyors from the other side of the island.
Do you emphasize organic products?
A lot of farmers grow organically, but being certified is kind of daunting for a husband-and-wife team. Maybe 50 percent are, and the other half make environmentally sound decisions. They aren’t spraying their crops with Roundup [herbicide] or something like that.
How do you get deliveries from the farms on the rest of Maui?
All of my farmers can drop off product in Kahului [about two-and-a-half hours away] at a central drop-off point, and our truck goes to pick it up three times a week.
Did you have any trouble finding staff?
There’s some ebb and flow. The local community and crew members I brought in from the outside make a strong team.
Where does the Hawaii Cuisine movement that started in the 1980s stand today?
The movement that Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi and others started, a sort of pan-Pacific fusion, still exists, but it continues to evolve. Now, all the products we are using come from the islands.
What do you do in your free time?
I go to the beach or for a hike or enjoy the ocean in some way. It’s common for me to go to the Hana Airport and be in Honolulu or some other Hawaiian city in 15 minutes.
What are your long-range career plans?
We don’t have a 5- or 10-year plan. I don’t plan to leave and open my own restaurant any time soon. I want to see the culinary program through and iron out this system and the relationships and make everything come together. Eventually, we will be in a position where it will all flow a little better and easier.
