Nadine Kam photos
A dessert flan bears the Y. Hata & Co. logo in white chocolate. The company is marking its centennial.

Y. Hata & Co. is marking its 100th anniversary as a wholesaler of dry, chilled and frozen food products, supplying Hawaii's food industry. As they put it, "Every time you quench your thirst at Jamba Juice of sit down to a meal at Zippy's, a burger at Teddy's or a sumptuous spread at Aulani, you're enjoying Y. Hata products."

Additionally, Y. Hata also supplies schools and military personnel daily.

To mark the occasion and in looking forward to the next 100 years, Y. Hata has undergone a 100th birthday renovation and refresh, with restyling by Cathy Lee Style, and held an open house April 3 with pau hana pupu and drinks showcasing some of the company's products.

Included in the revamp is third-generation chairman and CEO Russel Hata's gift to the company's 200 employees, a Google-inspired employee lounge constructed from a pair of shipping containers, and furnished with flat-screen television, game table, dart board and foosball table.

A peek into the new Lounge @ Y. Hata, an employee lounge constructed from two shipping containers and styled by Cathy Lee Designs.

Also foremost in the renovation is the prominent display of the company's core values: Partners first, continuous improvement, ohana empowerment, ohana pride, candid communications, and live aloha, give aloha.

It was nice to see a business with a philosophy of putting people first, and I'm sure a lot of companies could learn from the example. Quite a few guests, after getting the workplace tour, were ready to fill out job applications!

Y. Hata & Co. had humble Hilo origins, starting in Yoichi and Naeko Hata's garage, after the couple immigrated from Japan. The company continues to be run by family. Russell is the son of chairman emeritus Frank Hata, the youngest of Yoichi and Naeko's 10 children.

And the company continues to look forward in ways beneficial to the aina and community, as a supporter of Kapiolani Culinary Institute of the Pacific, sponsor of culinary scholarships and CIP's national teams, and as home to a green, rooftop photovoltaic system.

Also of interest to many people will be the fact that they operate a retail store where anyone can shop for bulk food items, catering-size pans for parties and events, professional knives and cookware.

Among the most popular items are bags of McCormick chicken seasoning ($11.99) for deep-fry chicken and pork, and marinated kalbi, great considerations for your next big back-yard celebration. The shop is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays at 285 Sand Island Access Road.

Congratulations for 100 years of success and the next 100 to come!

Y. Hata's third-generation chairman and CEO Russell Hata, with interior designer Cathy Lee.

Cathy said both genders were thrilled with the lounge, with the female employees immediately seeing it as a place for bridal and baby showers, and the men looking at it as a place to enjoy the Superbowl and other televised sports events.

A table for lunch or board games. All areas reflect Y. Hata corporate colors.

Employees can take a break for darts and board games, but they are never far from posters reflecting the company's mission and core values.

A dry erase board in the lounge provides a place for messages and brainstorming ideas. Outlets provide a place to plug in computers and other personal electronic devices.

A visitor entry also puts core values up front with retro and shoji-like touches reflecting Y. Hata's history and Japanese heritage.

Sitting area in one of the employee lunchrooms. Most of us wished we could live in such an environment.

A stairwell wallpaper poster offers encouragement in striving for the next 100 years of success.

On the menu prepared by Y. Hata executive chef Ernest Limcaco:

Braised Sterling Silver chuck flat jardiniere with roast baby potatoes. There was also
seared Russian scallops in shellfish oil on mesclun, but I guess I was so anxious to try it I forgot to snap a photo.

Confit of Sterling Silver pork belly with lilikoi-mango glaze on foccaccia. The pork was so delicious. In spite of all the TV commercials, I never tried it at Times Supermarket but will be looking for it now! The chuck was also amazingly tender.

Pil pil shrimp on sourdough crostini. It didn't start out spicy, but when someone else told the chef it wasn't spicy enough, they seemed to double up on the chili pepper flakes, so mine turned out to be extra spicy.

The company is also committed to bringing up the next generation of chefs, and among its interns from Assets School are Louie Coronado, left, and Croix Koenig.

I missed these desserts made from Albert Uster Imports mixes when Y. Hata participated in the recent Hawaii Foodbank "Great Chefs" event. At the time I was too full to sample, so was happy for this second chance. Included were a chocolate pots de creme topped with cubed haupia and toasted coconut, and panna cotta topped with champagne jelly.

Nadine Kam photos
Roy's Ko Olina executive chef Darryl Shinogi, right, and sous chef Randy Bangloy show their pipikaula-style Shinsato pork belly served in a cone over chirashi rice, with lomi Ho Farms tomatoes. Just one of the many dishes served up at The Hawaii Foodbank's "Great Chefs Fight Hunger" event.

The Hawaii Foodbank was host to "Great Chefs Fight Hunger," an event that brought together 33 restaurant and beverage companies, and hundreds of foodies to raise funds to feed the hungry.

The event took place March 23 at the Hawaii Foodbank Warehouse at 2611 Kilihau St., where guests got to see where the work of preventing more than 183,000 of Hawaii's population from going hungry continues throughout the year.

In addition to providing food for the event, 12 of the food and beverage purveyors, along with businesses and organizations including Bishop Museum, Hilo Hattie, Maui Divers Jewelry, Paul Brown Salon and Reyn Spooner, also donated culinary experiences during a silent auction that added to Hawaii Foodbank's coffers.

In addition volunteers were selling $15 keys (or 10 for $100) to unlock The Cellar Door, containing 60 fine wines contributed by Fujioka's Wine Times, JMD Beverages, Southern Wine and Spirits, and Young's Market Co.

Here's a look at some of the dishes presented during the event:

A closeup look at Darryl Shinogi's Shinsato pork belly.

We can usually expect a fish dish from Morimoto but a Korean-style pork belly lettuce wrap from Andy Reagan was a nice departure. With papaya and cabbage kim chee, apple mustard relish and fried gobo.

Gohan Da Hawaii Rice Guy greeted guests to the Hawaii Foodbank's Mapunapuna warehouse.

Hilton Hawaiian Village executive chef Jeffrey Vigilla always dresses up his booth.

With all the meat in evidence, Vigilla's offering was a refreshingly light furikake seared ahi taco with edamame hummus, pineapple Asian slaw and spicy chili pepper aioli. Very yum. And the lamp is an eco-friendly halved orange.

Guests swooned over Halekulani executive chef Vikram Garg's lobster bisque.

Independents like the Whole Ox and Pili Hawaii were right there with the big institutions. This is Whole Ox chef Robert McGee's bacon braunschweiger with whole grain aioli and house pickles.

Mark "Gooch" Noguchi of Pili Hawaii presented a soft egg with Ma'o greens, topped with pipikaula macadamia nut vinaigrette.

Pili Hawaii's display of whole mac nuts and the toasted ground nuts that went into the salad dressing.

Chef Rodney Uyehara of HASR Bistro with one of his fans, Kat Oshima.
Uyehara's contribution to the event, Harris Ranch Steak #11, over stroganoff egg noodles with brandy cream sauce. In this grab-and-go setting, he was trying to accommodate requests for doneness. Here, a perfect medium. (more...)

Nadine Kam photos
Judging the pork entries—and there were way more than this—at the 4th annual "Up in Smoke" smoked meat cook-off Aug. 18 at Aloha Stadium were 3660 on the Rise chef Russell Siu in the foreground, and Craig Nagano with his son Kyle.

I just couldn't say no when Fresh Catch asked me to be a judge in its 4th Annual Smoked Meat Cook-off  Aug. 18, inviting "backyard chefs" to bring their secret recipes to compete for cash and prizes including a grand prize of a Las Vegas vacation for two.

The event took place in the Aloha Stadium Salt Lake Blvd. parking lot, where there were a couple dozen tents devoted to all things smoked: beef, pork, tako, mouflon sheep, goat and macadamia nuts. I hadn't had mouflon since my days dating a hunter. Smoking the meat on site on the Big Island was necessary for preserving, moving and divvying up the game, and everyone's process is elevated to an artform. At home, it wasn't so mythical. Our diet also consisted of teriyaki dove meat from birds he shot in the backyard for practice.

I was told I would be judging smoked fish, but when I got there and saw all the pork samplings, I couldn't resist. When judging, there's always the fear you'll fill up before your work is done, but given the 1/2-inch to 1-inch sampling portions of the delectable smoked meat, I figured I could get away with tasting some of it before the contest started.

A handful ofntries in the Smoked Beef and Anything Goes categories.

When Fresh Catch chef/owner Reno Henriques started the competition four years ago to honor the work of hunting friends, judges had to try all the entries. Now it's divided into more manageable beef, pork, fish and "anything goes" categories. Based on my sampling at the tents, I would say the pork is the most difficult category to judge because of the range of flavors involved. Some of the marinades used were more soy based, some sweeter, some very spicy, yet each was so smoky delicious, the winner just had to come down to personal preference after all the other criterion had been met. Entries were judged for flavor, tenderness and appearance, with 75 percent of the vote weighted toward judge's picks, and 25 percent for people's choice.

One of the smoked salmon entries. Judging was blind so we weren't able to match teams with their entries.

The 1st place Pork category winner and 1st place People's Choice would then compete in the "Up In Smoke" throw down challenge with the Vacations Hawaii Las Vegas Getaway Vacation grand prize, valued at $3,500-plus.

It came down to the judge's pick, Guava Smoked, and People's Choice winner Souza's Smokehouse who did their best with pork supplied by Choyce Products and other food items and seasonings provided by Fresh Catch.  The contestants had an hour to prepare their entries, and Souza's took home the grand prize.

While waiting for contest results, attendees could grab a bite from Fresh Catch and other vendors, as well as ogle the more than 70 classic, street rods and vintage cars that were part of the concurrent "Nobody Cares" car show. A portion of the funds raised from the event will be donated to the Hawaii Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation.

A couple of the best fish entries. Loved the Guava Smoked salmon belly on the right, enough to be able to find them at the Farmers Markets. It was the second choice of the other judge, who deemed it "too easy." The salmon bellies sell for $12 a pound. Guava Smoked's winning smoked pork sells for $10 per pound.

I also liked this dynamite-style salmon dish topped with smoky mushroom, surimi and lup cheong, but I'm afraid the salmon itself wasn't smoky enough for a smoke challenge.

Hunters were well represented.

Below is the winners list. Alas, because of the backyard nature of the offerings, you can't easily find most of these, although some people do offer their specialties by the pound. For instance, you can find 1st place Pork winner Guava Smoked at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market on Tuesdays, and at the Blasidell Farmers Market on Wednesdays.
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Contact Fresh Catch for more information.
Fresh Catch Kaimuki is at 3109 Waialae Ave.; 735-POKE (7653)
Fresh Catch Kaneohe is at 45-1118 Kamehameha Hwy.; 235-POKE (7653)
For more information, visit www.upinsmokehawaii.com or www.freshcatchhawaii.com.

GRAND PRIZE and People's Choice winner: Souza's Smokehouse

SMOKED PORK
1st place: Guava Smoked, $1,000 cash award and trophy
2nd place: All Game, $ 500
3rd place: Giggles, $100
4th place: VRM Pit Crew, $50
5th place: Smokin Tiki's, $25
Honorable mentions: FBI Smoked, Hard to Beat Smokemeat, BK Smokers, Simply Smoked ABCDE, and Foundation Smokers; $25 gift card each

SMOKED FISH
1st place: DeeDee's, $250 and trophy
2nd place: Guava Smoked, $100
3rd place: Team Nixon, $50
4th place: Flamin' 7's, $25
Honorable mention: Green Bottle, $25 gift card

SMOKED CHICKEN
1st place: VRM Pit Crew, $250 and trophy
2nd place: Guava Smoked, $100
3rd place: Shiggy Smokers, $50
4th place: Capt. Smokey, $25

SMOKED BEEF
1st place: Prime Time Smoker, $250 and trophy
2nd place: VRM Pit Crew, $100
3rd place: DeeDee's, $50
4th place: Smokin Tiki's, $25
Honorable mentions: Buck Wild, and Smokey; $25 gift card each

ANYTHING GOES
1st place: Souza's Smokehouse, $250 and trophy
2nd place: Guava Smoked, $100
3rd place: Peterson & Sons, $50
4th place: Koa Alii, $25
5th place: Smokin Tiki's, $25
Honorable mentions: Lani's Cattle Co., and Action Smokers; $25 gift card

Judge Steve Akana checks out the Smokin Tiki's booth, one of the only ones to offer smoked tako, below.

The "Nobody Cares" auto show was also going on.

A grill inspired by the autos.

The man who started it all, Reno Henriques, with his wife Mahea.

Smoked mac nuts.

Attendees check out the pork and fish offerings from Guava Smoked, which won the pork prize and placed in fish, chicken and anything goes categories.

"FBI" stands for "From Big Island," where owner Cisco Cordero Jr., pictured, is from.

All Game took second place in the pork category.

The beef entries looked great, so after judging the fish, I wanted to sample the best of the beef. I asked a judge in the beef and anything goes categories which is the best ... and she passed over this chicken. I was disappointed to see the barbecue-sauce slathered chicken, but she was right. It was really, really good and spicy. The beef all looked delicious but didn't measure up.

Goat meat is pretty tough.

From the Kumuloa Foundation, the smoked pork was combined with onions and herbs.

Weapons of choice, a cache of kiawe and below, apple and hickory chips.

Nadine Kam photos
At The Green Table, a farm-to-table restaurant in Chelsea Market, I enjoyed melt-in-your-mouth candied pork belly with strawberry relish served over rhubarb and cress.

Every time I visit New York, I stay in a different hotel in a different part of the city as a way of getting intimate with each neighborhood.

This time around, I booked the Dream Downtown in Chelsea, close to the Meatpacking District and Chelsea Market, which gave me more time to explore the market's many casual eateries. It's also close to a crosstown metro line and crosstown bus that put me in a straight line toward Union Square, home to the four-day-a-week Union Square Greenmarket and Whole Foods Market.

Lucky you live Hawaii. "The Beach" at Dream Downtown is a mere 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep. Even so, people will gravitate to any water.

The Dream lobby.

My little home away from home. The design isn't very calming and I find a lot of these more style than substance hotels to be impractical in their bathroom setups, especially shallow square sinks that splash back.

Also at The Green Table, a beet salad topped with shaved fennel.

In the window at Ruthy's Bakery & Cafe were some of their 3D special occasion cakes, including examples for kids and fashionable adults.

Here's one example of a photo cake from Ruthy's web site: Ruthys.com

I can't leave New York without having a lobster roll. I wanted to return to Luke's Lobster, but settled for this one at The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, which was just meh. I prefer Luke's minimalist approach with just a swipe of mayo on the buttered, toasted bun, or no mayo if you request it. Luke's lobster is also nice and bouncy, not chewy and overcooked. In the background is a root beer float from nearby Ronnybrook Dairy.

I could have followed everyone else's lead and stood in line for a dinner of whole lobster.

D.I.Y. diners could also shop for fresh shellfish at The Lobster Place.

Across town, the fish displays were impressive at Whole Foods at Union Square.

The Union Square Greenmarket was up and running, even on Memorial Day.

At the market you could pick up honey, jams and jellies from the Berkshires, which I visited later, as well as greens, cheeses and cage-free duck eggs.

Nadine Kam photos
The Whole Ox Deli's BBK smoked pork sandwich.

The Whole Ox Deli officially opened this morning at 327 Keawe St. and the foodies were out in droves to see, and taste, firsthand, what Robert McGee has in store for us.

Most of us have been waiting for this since November, when McGee finished the last of his Plancha pop-up dinners to prepare for this endeavor.

And, he didn't disappoint. The BBK smoked pork sandwich I had was delicious, and there are beet, caprese and tossed green salads for lesser cavemen.

Of course, because it was packed with foodies, sandwiches were slow to materialize. For whatever reason, restaurants that are overnight successes never anticipate being among the overnight successes, so they're never prepared to be swamped, when, from my side, it's always seems to be a no-brainer. Especially when The Whole Ox rates a whole 10 on a scale of how much I want to eat there.

People ate at picnic tables in the dining room.

Not only guys like smoked meat. There were plenty of women there too.

Opening day lunch menu.

Beet salad, at $7 per pound.

Caprese salad.