{"id":1678,"date":"2026-06-22T05:05:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2026-06-22T05:05:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T05:05:55","slug":"kauai-pokefest-crowns-winner-as-chefs-serve-up-ono-poke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1678","title":{"rendered":"Kauai Pokefest crowns winner as chefs serve up ono poke"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; Oahu chef Justin Firmignac from Haleiwa Joe\u2019s is the newly crowned Kauai Pokefest champion! Firmignac and his team got the highest score for their Alii Momona poke made with fresh ahi and Dungeness crab. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1676\">Canoe club fights eviction from Ewa Beach shoreline after nearly 20 years<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still don\u2019t believe it. I\u2019ve worked so hard for this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Firmignac and more than 20 professional and amateur teams served up their original poke recipes to big crowds at the 6th annual Kauai Pokefest at Koloa Landing Resort in Poipu Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>This year, celebrity judges included world-famous chef and Food Network legend, Emeril Lagasse. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking for the real style of poke; the temperature, the fish, a little bit of the creativity,\u201d Lagasse said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see who\u2019s the winner!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lagasse was joined by returning judges Master Chef Ronnie Rainwater of Las Vegas fame, two-time Top Chef Finalist Chef Sheldon Simeon and the Godfather of poke, beloved Hawaii Chef Sam Choy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the best poke is right here in Hawaii, not only in Honolulu, but there\u2019s a lot of other places on the island and there are so many unique chef creations. They\u2019re doing a great job and the quality of the fish has only gotten better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chef Simeon said across the festival, there were Korean, Vietnamese and Thai-inspired dishes, just to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the food really means a lot when they\u2019re pulling from their roots,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Chef Rainwater added, \u201cThese contestants are getting the most fresh premiere local fish that you can get. As long as you treat those ingredients right, you\u2019ll usually come out ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Previous winners were back with new tantalizing dishes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m making a warm shrimp poke, so I have pumpkin pur\u00e9e with confit tomatoes, and I made the shrimp head oil,\u201d said 2025 winner Chef Mark Oyama.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Meanwhile, 2024 winner Don Gusman served up limu kohu, limu olipoa and limu manuwea with fresh ahi as throwback to his Maui roots.<\/p>\n<p>The mouthwatering spread really was a feast for the eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Kristy Kahanui of the Lawaia Fish Company created the Kauai Catch Crudo, and said all of the ingredients in her creation was caught or grown on Kauai.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe call it \u2018Oh No You Didn\u2019t!\u2019 Because we got ono and ahi mixed together. Two meaty fish,\u201d said Chef Chan Berrengue of Kapakahi Grindz.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1674\">Hawaii youth coaches balance tough love and being dads<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Berrengue once again teamed up with Meghann Matsuda of Red Eye.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach fish represents one of us because we are two different businesses put together, and we also have an opihi shooter,\u201d said Chef Matsuda.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI already tried the opihi shots. [The] opihi shots were really tasty,\u201d said Hanepepe resident Alfred Farias.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love my Hawaii poke. They take sea asparagus and mix it with limu kohu and oh, it\u2019s so good,\u201d said Kapakahi resident Terri Workman.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really good! Ono! Especially with the chili pepper water!\u201d said Waimea residents Raelene and Diandra Malama. <\/p>\n<p>Aaron Bambling, Koloa Landing\u2019s general manager, said the Kauai Pokefest gets bigger and better every year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s getting stronger. Last year there was about 900 people. This year we\u2019re a little over one thousand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Each dish at the festival was made possible by 1,000 pounds of fresh ahi donated by Kauai Fresh Fish.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnd all of it was caught in Hawaii waters, and that\u2019s what\u2019s so rewarding for me as a fishmonger here in Hawaii, is supporting these local fishermen,\u201d said Cadena Ragsdale of Kauai Fresh Fish.<\/p>\n<p>This year, money raised from the Kauai Pokefest will go to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can potentially screen this disease and it\u2019s events like this that help allow us to really move the needle,\u201d said LJ Duenas, executive director of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association.<\/p>\n<p>Reel Aloha Poke and Fish Company by Manao Alu came in third, and Hawaiian BBQ poke bowl by Franco Abero III came in second.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1672\">Shark warning issued for waters near Pipeline<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These mouthwatering chef creations were also being judged by one of the most recognizable chefs of all time, Food Network legend Chef Emeril Lagasse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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