I was going to entertain you with more food p0rn to celebrate the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival's finale. But after seeing what piqued people's interest on my Twitter feed last night, that all went out the window! I'll just give you a quick peek.

Sunday's breakfast of champions

We started the day with a workshop called "Day After Alchemy," in which sommeliers and chefs brought out their hangover helpers--using food, wine, and spirits. What a great theme! They fed us many salty, spicy, fatty, carby things that are key to battling hangovers.

It was still a lot of food, though. More than any alcohol, the amount of food was causing a severe case of Kanak Attack in everyone, requiring more frequent disco naps. We also found ourselves having to choose what to eat (or not), or leave portions unfinished. Even KGMB9's Steve Uyehara, who is known for his massive appetite, said, "If I eat anymore, I'll explode!"

With that, I had to (regrettably) bow out of the "Walla Walla and Cheese" workshop so I could save myself for the big Kapalua Seafood Festival in the evening. Candy Suiso went with KGMB9's Ramsay Wharton, and I had to experience the workshop vicariously through Candy's Twitter. Needless to say, they ate all the honey and all the cheese, especially the ones that tasted like pure butter. And I sat in my room and wept.

It was still a good decision on my part! The following photos are just a very small sampling of the many foods we tasted at the Seafood Festival.

Shrimp bites (left) and Souvi style pork on sushi rice (right)

Scallops and Kula corn (left) & ahi with taro, green papaya and coconut

I even got to meet renowned Chef Bev Gannon of Hali'imaile General Store. She made these fantastic crab canelonni, which were rich, creamy, rich, silky, and...oh yeah, rich. Candy and I inhaled two of these right away.

Just a small glimpse of the crowd. It was definitely a mix of Maui locals, local tourists (people like me), and tourists. It's a slightly dressier event than the others this weekend, but you could go in shorts if you wanted to.

These guys are from Wolfgang's Spago and are making spicy ahi in sesame "cones" with a miso dressing. They think I'm from TMZ and wanted to get in on my blog to be famous. Yes! I'm with TMZ! Pose! Now dance!

These four girls were hilarious. They set up camp next to me and Liane Thompson and were feeding us food, shoving martinis at us, and telling us all kinds of funny stories. They call themselves "the four hoochies" but I'm sure they don't live up to the hype. They were, however, my most popular Twitpic of the evening, more than any of my food pics.

Bombay Sapphire, one of the sponsors, had an entire bar sculpted from ice. It was a solid table with bottle holders and everything. VERY cool. Pardon the pun.

You can try as hard as you can, starve yourself all day, and wear elastic pants...but you will not be able to eat all the food they have to offer at the big Seafood Festival. It was a gluttonous, fantastic, fun-filled culinary journey for us and we're looking forward to attending next year. At the end of the night, Sonya, Candy and I toasted each other and congratulated ourselves on having a wonderful time.

I wanted to note that this was much more than a wine and food festival; it was also a huge networking event for various people--not just in the culinary industry. The atmosphere of the event was very conducive to socializing, especially with people who would not normally sit together under normal circumstances. If you're looking to enhance your career and contacts, this may be a good event for you to attend.

I hope to see you next year!

Kapalua Wine & Food Festival 2010
Kapalua Resort
June 24 - 27, 2010

One of the most anticipated workshops at the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival was the Organic Experience with Google Chef Scott Giambastiani. He specializes in using local, sustainable, and organic ingredients, all buzzwords in today's foodie society.

But wait!! Before I could enjoy the day's festivities, I had to pay penance for last night. The Kapalua Resort has a beautiful two-mile coastal trail, right outside my door. Most of it is like a trail run, but a short portion looks like this boardwalk. It's very scenic and you can see a lot of people on it throughout the day.

And now, back to our regular programming: Sonya Mendez took this photo of me & Candy Suiso as we eagerly awaited the lunch to start. Note how we got the Google logo in the photo to thank the sponsors?

Hello, lover! That salmon medallion in the upper left corner was fabulous. We wished we could have eaten a whole filet instead of just a medallion, but...such is life. I could have eaten that duck breast bacon all day. And the goat cheese ice cream was a unique and delicious contrast to the zesty berry gazpacho. Heaven!

After lunch, we got to meet wine grape grower Gary Pisoni, "the new face of American Pinot Noir." He is quite a wild man and essential to any wine festival.

To clear our palate, we went on a wine "tour" but ended up staying at only one tour station! These ladies remembered us from the Grand Tasting last night, where they saw us gorging ourselves shamelessly on the brie. They didn't say those exact words, but mentioned the brie. Ooops!

I love blends. Vintner Greg La Follette of Tandem Winery makes some nice ones, and after tasting his wine I got to talk story with him. Cool!!

From there, Candy & I went to a workshop called "Raising Reislings from the Dead," in which we tasted six different reislings from around the world. My favorite, as always, is the honey-flavored Kabinett Reisling and Spaltlese, both from Germany. They did have some off-dry Reislings that were almost chardonnay-like. This is a great way to dispel preconceived notions about reislings and think about new ways to pair them.

After a quick disco nap, Candy & I went to a special media dinner at the Banyan House at the Ritz Carlton. However, the lighting was not conducive to food photos, so I can't share dinner with you here. Just take my word for it, it was fabulous!

We found the crew from KGMB9 on their own table. These guys can eat! I don't know if I saw them with wine glasses in hand, but I always, always saw them with a plate of something good.

Next: The seafood extravaganza.

Local avocado and shrimp martini at the Kapalua at sunset

Yes, yes...I'm sorry I didn't tell my Maui readers I'd be coming to Kapalua earlier, but this was kind of a spontaneous thing. I'm here on Maui this weekend for the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival. I've never been to this event before, so I have no idea what to expect!

I have to wake up to this view!

First things first: I think a lot of people were already staying at the Ritz Carlton, so the Kapalua Resort kindly offered me the Villas. If you haven't stayed at the Kapalua Villas before, these are a lot like the townhomes at Princeville. The most important thing is that they have high-speed wireless internet available so I can blog.

I attended a special reception tonight for what seemed like winemakers, sommeliers, and media--kind of a sneak preview of the foods and wines that are to come. The people pouring were quite knowledgeable and were great at telling me what to pair with the pupus the Kapalua Resort had.

At left is a Kona kampachi tower with mango ceviche. One of the layers is a whipped creme fraiche, and I think I had at least two! It was excellent! I was already drinking a Mt. Eden Chardonnay to go with the crab cakes, but the wine went very well with this, too. Actually, Mt. Eden would have stood well on its own, if you are looking to buy it for yourself.

There were actually a few different food stations at this event, with some exceptional items. The Local avocado and shrimp martini featured at the top of this entry was unique in that kaffir lime leaves were in the broth that cooked the shrimp. You got a zesty, spicy, creamy sensation when eating this and then this mysterious lime flavor that is impossible to trace. I think I had at least two of those, as well!

Judy and Emily

This was also a great opportunity to meet some interesting people. Left, Judy Tallant is a pastry chef in Seattle. Her daughter Emily, right, is a sommelier (the beverage director for Kimpton Hotels in San Francisco) and is doing a workshop on Saturday. Emily brought her mom as a birthday gift.

I don't know who this guy is, but I wonder if he's giving the "Raising Reislings from the Dead" workshop? I was too shame to ask, if you can believe it.

I asked him if it was a real tattoo and he winked, just saying that it was about as much commitment as he could give it. Um, yeah.

The event ended early so we could go back to our rooms and get ready for the big weekend. We'll be learning about rare wines, food pairings, cooking with local & organic products, and...hmmm I guess checking out the new Kapalua spa! Can't wait. I'll share my photos with you here, and on my Twitter feed, so keep reading.

Tonight's sunset, brought to you by the Kapalua Resort