In the next episode of Kama’aina Backroads™ we cover the Hamakua Springs Country Farm’s 2nd Annual Tomato Recipe Contest, an exciting event that puts much of the focus on culinary students at Hawaii Community College. Over the past 2 years that we’ve covered this, we’ve met a wonderful mix of people that work hard on this special program, including Professor and Chef Allan Okuda, Kitchen Manager Deirdre Kent, and Chef Sandy Barr.
It is truly heartwarming to learn that Chef Sandy Barr was executive chef of the famed Merriman’s Waimea, working for many years alongside Peter Merriman, co-founder of Hawaii Regional Cuisine; heartwarming because after she retired from a long and satisfying career at Merriman’s, Barr decided to teach Hawaii’s young about the field that has given her a full, satisfying life. OOOH, don’t you just want to hug this lady?!