Hawaii Restaurant Association "Holiday For Heroes " Interview on KITV4


KITV Morning News Anchor/Reporter Lara Yamada, hosted a segment about “Holiday for Heroes” event, talking about the event was Hide Sakurai and Chef Masa Gushiken of Bread + Butter and Michael Miller with Tiki’s Grill & Bar.




The holidays are nearly upon us and the Hawaii Restaurant Association [HRA] executive team and its members cordially invite those in the restaurant and food service industry, their guests, and food-lovers everywhere to come celebrate at this year’s HRA holiday party.
“Holiday for Heroes” will recognize the outstanding achievements and commitments of individuals in the restaurant and food service industry and honor them for their invaluable contribution to the Hawaii community.

Friday, December 11th, 2015 from 5:30 pm till 9:30 pm join the HRA at the new
Bread + Butter Restaurant located at 1585 Kapiolani Blvd. next to Shokudo. With its open ambiance and must-experience menu options, Bread + Butter has quickly become the talk of the town for the foodie community. The evening promises to be a culinary experience to be remembered featuring the creations of Executive Chef Arnoldo “Masa” Gushiken. An array of other HRA member restaurants will add to the evening’s culinary lineup at food stations throughout the restaurant.

Festivities will include great bites with multiple food stations and wine options, cocktails, networking, live music by Son Caribe Band, and a canned food drive and raffle to benefit Aloha Harvest.

Prizes this year include apparel by Kit and Ace, gift certificates to The Moana Surfrider, Roy’s, Outback Steakhouse, and much more. The evening’s featured grand prize is an exclusive dinner experience at Fleetwood’s On Front Street in Maui including a special meet and greet with Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac, round trip airline transportation to Maui courtesy Island Air and a stay at The Royal Lahaina Resort.

Early presale is highly encouraged as tickets to this event are limited. Tickets include admission, food and two drink tickets.

The Hawaii Restaurant Association’s “Holiday For Heroes” Friday, December 11, 2015

5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Bread + Butter, 1585 Kapiolani Boulevard

$40 / HRA Members - $50 / General Admission
Limited Tickets Available Online at www.hawaiirestaurant.org Portion of Proceeds To Benefit: Hawaii Restaurant Association and Aloha Harvest


 About The Hawaii Restaurant Association:

The Hawaii Restaurant Association is the organization unifying, representing and supporting the Hawaii restaurant and food service industry since 1947. The HRA mission is to provide exceptional value through membership benefits, industry advocacy, community involvement, educational resources and networking opportunities.

For more information about the Hawaii Restaurant Association go to: http://hawaiirestaurant.org or call 808-944-9105.

About Aloha Harvest:

Aloha Harvest is a non-profit organization that rescues quality, donated food and delivers it “free of charge” to social service agencies feeding the hungry in Hawai‘i.

Aloha Harvest has collected and distributed over 15 million pounds of food, which now includes quality perishable and non-perishable foods, as well as beverages. The food has been donated by over 875 participating donors, of which 280 are currently active, such as restaurants, caterers, government facilities, hotels, food distributors, businesses and others.

For more information or make a donation to Aloha Harvest go to www.alohaharvest.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alohaharvest.

Student Group visit!

It was great to speak with the Hawaii Pacific University student's about Hospitality & Tourism Management. These college students are on an exchange program from Hiroshima, Japan. It was a pleasure to meet Dr. Takashi Ueda with Dr. Jerome Agrusa Chair/Professor, Hospitality & Tourism Management, College of Businessat Hawaii Pacific University


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Global Partnerships

The College of Business administration at HPU has many global partnerships.  Below is a list of institutions for international exchange and study abroad opportunities. Here is a PDF file with the List of Partner Institutions and their corresponding websites.

HPU Global Network

For more information, please contact the Study Aboard and International Exchange Program at HPU.

TAPPING THE TRADE AUGUST - August 2014 issue of the Hawaii Beverage Guide

Mahalo to Liane Fu and Christopher Teves for including me in August 2014 issue of the Hawaii Beverage Guide https://www.hawaiibevguide.com/

HAWAII BEVERAGE GUIDE AUGUST 2014

www.hawaiibevguide.com page 8

Tapping the Trade - By Liane Fu Tapping the Trade - By Liane Fu

Michael Miller, General Manager & Director of Marketing of Tiki’s in Waikiki, comes from a long line of seafarers. Six generations ago his forbears came to Hawaii from Massachusetts on whaling ships. He has family sprinkled all over the island chain. Michael was born and raised on Maui. Considering his family history, it is not surprising that Maui is where he grew up since Lahaina was once the capitol of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Before King Kamehameha the III, Kauikeaouli, moved the capitol city to Honolulu, Lahaina was the place to see and be seen. It was where the whaling industry was anchored. Seafaring is in Michael’s blood. He also owned and operated Happy Maui Diving and Tours for eight years in Lahaina. I suppose when you do what you love, it’s not so much work as it is passion.

While at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, he was the Student Body Vice President. One of his friends in student government asked him to help with putting on an event, so he helped and started to become more involved in student government. They put together events and concerts and enriched student amenities by starting the Manoa Shuttle which picked up students from distant neighborhood parking locations and brought them back to campus. They also lobbied to build the Stan Sherriff Center on Campus. Both of which continues to this day. Amidst all this flurry of activity, he also found time to participate on the UH Sailing team.

Once out of college, he was the Manager of Gerard’s at the Plantation Inn. He also worked on the Independence Cruise Ship as well as being the public relations manager for the former Bobby McGee’s restaurant and night club. He was about to leave the restaurant industry and do pharmaceutical sales when Bill Tobin one of the Tiki’s owners who he knew from his student government days in college convinced him to work for Tiki’s instead. Michael's vision for Tiki's is to make it a place where you can be proud to bring friends and family.

A good place to start making Tiki’s a great place place to bring your friends and family is with the beverage program. They do a few signature craft cocktails but not so many where they would not be able to keep up with the volume. They also serve the expected cocktails in a bar that overlooks Waikiki beach. One of their best selling items is their foaming Mai Tai. They also have a great wine program with easily recognizable wines so that their clientele will feel at ease and comfortable when looking at the wine menu. For the past two years they’ve done Wine Wednesdays when every wine on their menu is half off, even their by the glass wines! They move a lot of wine on Wednesdays. 

With a great drink in hand and watching the sunset over Waikiki beach, one only needs live music to make the picture complete. A good number of Hawaiian entertainers who have gotten their start at Tiki’s have appeared at the Na Hoku Hanohano awards. Executive Chef Ronnie Nasuti was the Executive Chef at Roy’s Hawaii Kai before laying his knives at Tiki’s. Chef Ronnie changes the menu a couple of times a year. He also creates Winemaker Dinner Menus to which I can personally attest are spectacular! A perfect recipe for repeat visits. Just as Michael Miller lives his passion, so do the people at Tiki’s. ■

PLEASE SEND CORRESPONDENCE TO: LIANE FU, CERTIFIED SOMMELIER & GENERAL MANAGER OF THE WINE STOP: LIANE@HAWAIIBEVGUIDE.COM

You can find Liane Fu at the The Wine Stop at 1809 South King St. Phone: 808-946-3707 www.thewinestophawaii.com

Team Tikiʻs wins Hawaiian Airlines Legends Surf Classic 2015

After 4 years of competing in the "Hawaiian Airlines Legends Surf Classic", it was a charmed year for the Tiki's Grill & Bar surf team, consisting of: Hunter Lewis (yellow rashguard), Kevin Prior (white), Romulo Fonseca (green) and Rick Perez (blue), and their Surf Legend Team Rider Clark Abbey (red).


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This two-day competition at Kuhio Beach/Queens Surf at combines sponsored teams of amateur surfers with the sport’s legends in this pro-style surf meet featuring heats, judges, a public address announcer, and exhibit booths. Net proceeds raised benefit The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundationʻs scholarships and grants program.



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Duke's OceanFest is held each summer in Waikiki in honor of Hawaiian legend Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, who is fondly remembered as the greatest waterman who ever lived, and Hawaii’s ambassador of Aloha.

Besting a field of 22 teams from around Oahu and Kauai, the team got off to a great start on the first day of competition by scoring the highest score total of the event (126.4) with the next highest score being 15 points below that! The field of competitors saw surfers of all levels, including professional longboard surfers who compete regularly and are highly skilled. The scoring was lead by Hunter Lewis and Kevin Prior, who both brought in scores as high as 9.5 (10 being a perfect score). Romulo and Rick also surfed very well and supported the team with solid scores. Team Legend Clark Abbey added the icing on the cake by showing  his nose-riding skills - not bad for a Waimea Bay regular!


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The second day was a little more challenging, with the surf dropping and the judges being a little more frugal with the big scores, but once again Kevin and Hunter brought their A-game and the rest of the team followed suit. At the end of the day, when the totals were tallied, Team Tiki's was in the final against Duke’s Kauai, led by surf legend Tony Moniz. The 25 minute final heat brought less waves than earlier in the day, but Team Tiki's managed to score a respectable 91 in the finals. When both teams were brought to the podium for award presentations, the score for the Duke's Kauai team was not posted, to add to the suspense. When the total score of 89 for Duke's Kauai was read out loud, our team was overwhelmed with emotion and pride.


After four years of third and second place finishes, our boys finally have their elusive win. I'm sure the team is already looking forward to defending their win next year. A Hui Ho guys, and great job!


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The annual Duke's OceanFest features a variety of ocean sports that were close to Duke Kahanamoku's heart, including Longboard Surfing, Paddleboard Racing, Swimming, Tandem Surfing, Surf Polo, Beach Volleyball, and Stand-Up Paddling.

The festival is held each summer in honor of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, remembered as Hawaii’s ambassador of Aloha and the greatest waterman who ever lived. Among his many accomplishments, Duke Kahanamoku was an Olympic gold medal swimmer, a surfer, an esteemed canoe steersman, a Hollywood actor, and the Sheriff of Honolulu.

The festivities commence with a lei draping ceremony at Duke's statue. Duke’s birthday celebration is on August 24th, and festivities continue with the KINE Luau and Waterman’s Awards.  The festival celebrates Duke Kahanamoku’s life, his athletic contributions, and of course, his spirit that still lives on. The festival also includes a number of surfing events, including a Keiki Surf Competition, a Wahine Longboard Competition, a Kane Longboard Competition, and tandem events. There are also opportunities for the endurance athletes interested in a swim, paddle, and/or run event.

Chef Ronnie had fun cooking for Hawaii News Now​ Team! Labor Day Weekend BBQs

Chef Ronnie offered up some great grilling tips for those Labor Day Weekend BBQs and demonstrate three of his favorite recipes on the grill:
-Hawaiian Salt Steak Rubbed Ribeye Steak(This Is The Most Simple & Best Steak For Grilling Ever)
-My Korean Mother In Laws Kal-Bi Short Ribs
-Caesar Dressing Slathered & Grilled Portabello Mushrooms (My Mom Makes Sandwiches From This)


Chef Ronnie had fun cooking for Hawaii News Now Team! Always fun to share with this team! Dan Cooke , Lacy Deniz , Howard Dicus , Grace Lee , Billy V on Sunrise , and Sunny ! #tikisgrill #sunnyinhawaii #hnnsunrise 

 

Red Bull Wave Party event

To see more photos from © Zak Noyle and a video of the event go to: http://www.redbull.com/us/en/surfing/stories/1331735356635/red-bull-party-wave-takes-over-waikiki


SURF: Queens of Queens win Red Bull Wave Party event

Red Bull Wave Party con­test of­fers up a touch of Mardi Gras in Waikiki

  • By Gor­don Y.K. Pang gor­don­pang@starad­ver­tiser.com
BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARAD­VER­TISE R.COM
The “Gil­li­gan’s Is­land”-in­spired team from Tiki’s Grill and Bar tries to catch a wave. Mariah White was Mary Ann, Amanda Nizza was Lovey How­ell, Lind­sey Wong was Ginger, Kevin Prior played the part of Gil­li­gan and Rick Perez was the Skip­per for the Red Bull Party Wave event.

Honolulu Star-Ad­ver­tiser in­ter­view while still in Hulk Ho­gan char­ac­ter. “We’re all chil­dren of the ’80s, and we love our­selves some WWF! And we came up with Gnarl Ma­nia!”

The same crew called them­selves the Gnarly No­mads last year and won the in­au­gu­ral con­test with its “Ore­gon Trail” en­try, net­ting its six mem­bers a free trip to Las Ve­gas.

Hun­singer said he didn’t even know what the top prize was this year.

Hun­singer said he didn’t even know what the top prize was this year.

“We don’t think about the prize; we just fight for glo­reeee,” he growled, still in Hulk mode.

Gnarl Ma­nia wasn’t the only team to not be able to surf a wave with its ves­sel.

Also fail­ing to score points in the wave cat­e­gory was Shark Bait, a crew of Tiki Grill and Bar em­ploy­ees who dressed them­selves up as the seven-mem­ber crew from the old TV show “Gil­li­gan’s Is­land.”

Also fail­ing to score points in the wave cat­e­gory was Shark Bait, a crew of Tiki Grill and Bar em­ploy­ees who dressed them­selves up as the seven-mem­ber crew from the old TV show “Gil­li­gan’s Is­land.”

Barista/mer­chan­diser Mariah White, also known as Mary Ann, said the Gil­li­gan theme seemed like it would be a good fit.

Barista/mer­chan­diser Mariah White, also known as Mary Ann, said the Gil­li­gan theme seemed like it would be a good fit.

“They left from Honolulu for a three-hour tour,” she said. “I just thought it would be a good con­cept.”

Bar­tenders Kevin Prior and Rick Perez, also known as Gil­li­gan and Skip­per, re­spec­tively, de­signed the raft­like ves­sel.

Alas, at the end of the day, nei­ther Gnarl Ma­nia or Shark Bait won.

The cham­pi­onship went to Queens of Queens, com­prised of vol­un­teers from the non­profit Sus­tain­able Coast­lines Hawaii, which fo­cuses on re­duc­ing waste and is best known for its week­end beach cleanup ef­forts.

While the or­ga­ni­za­tion has a se­ri­ous mes­sage, Sun­day was about pay­ing homage to the col­or­ful his­tory of Queen’s Surf and “try­ing to catch the best waves that we could,” said Kahi Pacarro, leader of the cross­dress­ing crew and Sus­tain­able Coast­lines ex­ec­u­tive di­rec­tor.

Team mem­ber Roscoe “The Wizard” Fowler, a con­struc­tion worker by day, picked up scrap wood from con­struc­tion sites and pieced them to­gether with sin­gle-use plas­tic wa­ter bot­tles “for buoy­ancy” to come up with this year’s win­ning wa­ter­craft, Pacarro said.

Team mem­ber Roscoe “The Wizard” Fowler, a con­struc­tion worker by day, picked up scrap wood from con­struc­tion sites and pieced them to­gether with sin­gle-use plas­tic wa­ter bot­tles “for buoy­ancy” to come up with this year’s win­ning wa­ter­craft, Pacarro said.

The top prize this year is the op­por­tu­nity to sky­dive with the renowned, squir­rel-suited Red Bull sky­div­ing team. While most of the Queens of Queens team is look­ing for­ward to it, “two of the guys are scared out of their minds.”

The big­ger win­ners, how­ever, may have been the Red Bull folks whose hash­tag #RBPar­tyWave be­came the fifth most tweeted topic in Hawaii early Sun­day af­ter­noon as de­ter­mined by the na­tional sur­vey­ing group Trend­ing Topics USA.


    DATE15 July 2015AUTHORAlex Herrmann

    On a normal day, the shores of Waikiki are serene. Vacationers fill the white sand beaches to kick back, relax and — if they're feeling really adventurous — maybe even boogie board. 

    All of that changes when Red Bull Party Wave hits the beach. Sunbathers are replaced by pirates, wrestlers and men in bikinis, all ready to surf the legendary Queens break in style.

    Tiki’s Needs YOUR Vote in the 2016 Hale ‘Aina Awards!

     

    If you think Tiki’s Grill & Bar is the Best Place to Take Visitors, then vote for us in the 2016 Hale ‘Aina Awards! The Hale ‘Ainas have come to be the most prestigious dining awards in the Islands. They act as a guide to readers about where to eat, and they bolster a restaurant’s reputation, locally and abroad. Here at Tiki’s, we pride ourselves on making memorable experiences for all of our guests. We love to see locals coming in for pau hana week after week, enjoying the food, drinks, atmosphere, and free valet parking! But what really makes us proud is when locals share these experiences with their out of town friends. When our guests bring in their visitors to dine with us, that means that they trust us to show their friends and family a great time, and to show off all that’s great about Hawaii!


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    So please show everyone how much you love Tiki’s, and cast your vote for us to be THE Best Place to Take Visitors in the 2016 Hale ‘Aina Awards! *please note that each unique IP address counts as one vote - so if someone in your office or home already voted, your vote may not count! Please use your smart phone or home computer if possible. Mahalo nui loa, and we look forward to seeing you at Tiki’s in the near future!


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    Tiki's Grill & Bar Rated As One Of The Top Daytime Hot Spots |

    Top 50 Rated Daytime Hot Spots Powered By Yelp Announced 


    Nightclub & Bar Media partnered with Yelp to analyze and pore over their database of daytime hot spots. Revealing great insights into trends in The Top 50 Rated Daytime Hot Spots. Tiki's Grill & Bar also made it into the TOP 10 most reviewed businesses list!
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    Nightclub & Bar Media Group releases the first-ever Top 50 Rated Daytime Hot Spots, powered by Yelp, Inc. The list, a hotbed of user-generated information, reveals great insights into consumer behavior, small business trends and local businesses recommended by Yelp users.

    The Top 10 most reviewed businesses include: Wurstküche, Los Angeles, CA, Mother's Bistro & Bar, Portland, OR, The Misfit Restaurant + Bar, Santa Monica, CA, Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House, Portland, OR, Base Camp Pizza South, Lake Tahoe, CA, Tiki's Grill & Bar, Honolulu, HI, Slater's 50/50 Rancho, Cucamonga, CA, B Street & Vine, San Mateo, CA, Spike Africa's Fresh Fish Grill & Bar, San Diego, CA and The Attic, Long Beach, CA.


    “We are thrilled to reveal the Top 50 Rated Daytime Hot Spots,” said Leo Squatrito, Vice President, Nightclub & Bar Media Group. “Each venue on the list is a successful culmination of outstanding operations, energy and unique offerings delivering an incredible experience for daytime customers looking to enjoy food, drinks and sunshine.” 

    To create this list, Yelp identified businesses in the U.S. with a large number of reviews mentioning keywords indicating that a business is a daytime hot spot. These businesses were then ranked based on both total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning the keywords, giving more weight to recent reviews. Using the data as a starting point, Yelp used their local expertise to curate the top 50. This list isn’t exhaustive but it serves as a great snapshot of daytime hot spots. Businesses were compared on a nationwide basis.

    “Nothing says summer is officially here like a mimosa or a frosty brew while the sun is still shining,” says Darnell Holloway, Director of Business Outreach, Yelp, Inc. “These awesome local businesses offer something for every adventurous day drinker, from craft beers in Big Sur, to cabanas in Vegas, to pickle backs in NYC.”

    Have you ever visited these hot spots?  Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, andInstagram with #NCBTopRated, and be sure to write a review if you check out any of these Daytime Hot Spots in 2015.

    Take a look at which business made the list below: 

    1.      Big Sur Taphouse (Big Sur, CA)

    2.      Harpoon Brewery (Boston, MA)

    3.      Werewolf (San Diego, CA)

    4.      Base Camp Pizza (South Lake, CA)

    5.      Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, CO)

    6.      Leadbelly (Chicago, IL)

    7.      The Eagle OTR (Cincinnati, OH)

    8.      Hangar 24 Craft Brewery (Redlands, CA)

    9.      Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery (Boulder, CO)

    10.    Kudu Coffee & Craft Beer (Charleston, SC)

    11.    Bakersfield OTR (Cincinnati, OH)

    12.    Lagunitas Brewing Co (Petaluma, CA)

    13.    32 Shea (Phoenix, AZ)

    14.    Tasty n Alder (Portland, OR)

    15.    Spike Africa’s Fresh Fish Grill & Bar (San Diego, CA)

    16.    Mother’s Bistro & Bar (Portland, OR)

    17.    Angel City Brewery (Los Angeles, CA)

    18.    Polite Provisions (San Diego, CA)

    19.    Truck Yard (Dallas, TX)

    20.    Wurstküche (Los Angeles, CA)

    21.    The Rarebit (Charleston, SC)

    22.    Rodeo Goat (Fort Worth, TX)

    23.    Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden (Austin, TX)

    24.    The Misfit Restaurant + Bar (Santa Monica, CA)

    25.    Pour House (Oceanside, CA)

    26.    Telegraph (Oakland, CA)

    27.    B Street & Vine (San Mateo, CA)

    28.    Modern Times Flavordome (San Diego, CA)

    29.    Rosenthal Wine Bar & Patio (Malibu, CA)

    30.    Encore Beach Club (Las Vegas, NV)

    31.    Jacob’s Pickles (New York, NY)

    32.    Slater’s 50/50 (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)

    33.    Cove Bar (Anaheim, CA)

    34.    Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House (Dallas, TX)

    35.    The Dandelion (Philadelphia, PA)

    36.    Moon Tower Inn (Houston, TX)

    37.    Seacrets Bar & Grill (Ocean City, MD)

    38.    Tryst (Washington, DC)

    39.    Grand Banks (Manhattan, NY)

    40.    The Attic (Long Beach, CA)

    41.    Barleymash (San Diego, CA)

    42.    Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House (Portland, OR)

    43.    Fig Tree Cafe (San Diego, CA)

    44.    Flying Iguana Taqueria and Tequila Bar (Neptune Beach, FL)

    45.    The Beach Bar (Honolulu, HI)

    46.    Flora-Bama Lounge & Package (Perdido Key, FL)

    47.    Tiki’s Grill & Bar (Honolulu, HI)

    48.    Southport Raw Bar (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

    49.    Bongos Beach Bar and Grille (St. Pete Beach, FL)

    50.    URBN Coal Fired Pizza Bar (San Diego, CA)