THE DRIFTING CHEF
A Global Perspective.
Jennabelle and I have built our life around family, friendships and food. My work has taken me from family vacation homes to complex private estates, while travel and years in Asia continue to shape my cooking. Wherever I cook, the meal begins with understanding the people at the table.
Indigenous perspectives, especially the Native Hawaiian knowledge shared with me in Hawaiʻi, have profoundly shaped my love of food and the natural world.
Living in Hawaiʻi at a formative age introduced me to a wealth of knowledge about ecology, agriculture, and human culture. Listening to the stories of Hawaiian kūpuna and learning from kumu, alongside my studies in ethnobotany and Hawaiian language, deepened my understanding of the relationships between land, water, plants, and people. Meeting people from so many places expanded my sense of what food could teach us.
Those experiences set me on a lifelong journey. They continue to shape how I grow, source, cook, and learn, grounded in the belief that respect for nature, food, and culture is fundamental to a life well lived.
Slow Food, at the table.
Food should be delicious, grown with care and fair to the people who produce it. These Slow Food principles guide my sourcing in Kona and what we grow at home.
Hawaiʻi’s Ark of Taste.
Slow Food’s Ark of Taste records distinctive foods and traditions at risk of being lost. Hawaiʻi’s entries include Kona orange, Hawaiian ‘ulu and Manalauloa kalo. Keeping these crops in cultivation, and learning from the people who know them, matters to me.
From the garden.
I grew up in northern New York. My earliest memories are of fresh green beans and cherry tomatoes in my grandma’s backyard. At our childhood home, asparagus beds and blackberries along the fence line marked the seasons. Corn season meant picking rocks and planting seeds in my grandfather’s roadside garden.
At 17, I moved to Hawaiʻi, where I studied tropical horticulture and worked at the University of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural research farm. Back in New York, I studied botany, managed the greenhouse and started an organic farm on campus. A true plant nerd.
Today, we grow fruit, vegetables and herbs at home in Kona, for our own table and the meals I cook for guests.
Life in Northern Thailand.
I first went to Thailand at 21. It opened my perspective to Asia and to the possibilities of the wider world. What I miss most is the community: dinners and adventures with friends, and the ease of sharing food and conversation.
I traveled the country with BIOTHAI and foraged with chefs who now help shape Thailand’s dining scene. Trips to Isaan, Phetchaburi and small islands brought me closer to fishing traditions and particular food knowledge at risk of being lost.
Our charity dinners and Slow Food events paired food education with economic support for growers and community businesses. The friendships made through that work still shape my life and cooking.
Colorado.
Colorado was eight years of snowboarding, private dinners and learning the discipline of hospitality at Four Seasons in Vail.
Snowstorms could interrupt sourcing, and ingredients and extra hands were often difficult to find. Those conditions taught me to plan thoroughly, adapt quickly and cook well with the resources available.
In the off seasons, I returned to Thailand to study cookery, technique and sourcing, and to work with the Slow Food community.
Southern California.
In Beverly Hills and Rancho Santa Fe, I cooked in private homes and sourced from local markets, farms, fishermen and butchers.
Across my career, I have worked in small boutique operations and expansive private estates, and helped deliver weddings for 300 guests. Each setting calls for a different approach to planning and service.
Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas, I worked as an estate chef, planning menus around the family’s preferences and dietary needs. My experience includes complex households with multiple butlers, where careful coordination with estate managers and service teams is essential. Clear communication, timing and discretion allow the household to enjoy its meals without managing every detail.
Japan.
I visit Japan often, drawn to its food, craftsmanship and the care found in individual restaurants and businesses. Connections made on these travels have grown into lasting relationships.
When requested, we source pristine fish and seafood directly from Japan, selecting specific items from specific regions. Our omakase meals often reflect our travels, bringing the ingredients, techniques and discoveries of those journeys to your table.
Taiwan, a second home.
Taiwan is Jennabelle’s home and my second home. Family meals are part of our life there. Its calm and discipline also give me space to return to the fundamentals of cooking: ingredients, heat, timing and repetition.
Among deeply knowledgeable eaters, constructive criticism is part of the meal. It keeps me attentive and pushes my cooking forward.
Private dining in Kona.
Today, I bring that experience to private dinners and multi dinner packages in Kona, and to traveling chef bookings elsewhere. Menus are planned around your household, so you can spend your time with the people you came to see.
From local waters.
Local ahi, Kona Kanpachi, Kona abalone and Kauaʻi shrimp are part of the pleasure of cooking in Hawaiʻi. The menu follows what is available and at its best.
Hawaiʻi’s Deep 7.
These deep-water bottomfish include ʻōpakapaka, onaga, ehu, kalekale, gindai, lehi and hāpuʻupuʻu. Each brings its own character to the table.