Executive Chef Jeffrey Vigilla, who was raised on a farm in Hilo, is broadening the farm-to-table movement at Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa with a new program, "Hawaii’s Best. Harvested Locally."
The program, which is rolling out in phases through the end of this year, works with local farms and suppliers to showcase products made and grown in the islands.
"We want to tell them (diners) a story that they’ll remember long after they’ve returned home," said Vigilla as he savored a bite of pizza topped with Hamakua mushrooms and goat cheese from Surfing Goat Dairy at Tropics Bar & Grill.
Vigilla, who brings three decades of cooking experience to the Hilton, said all of its restaurants and banquet menus uses local agricultural products, including produce, seafood, meat and spices. Soon the hotel will begin labeling all its menus to credit local farmers for the ingredients used.
"Customers should know if the produce that they are eating came from Hirabara Farm or they are enjoying a mushroom from Hamakua or some greens from Nalo Farms or Kona sea salt," Vigilla said.
Vigilla grew up harvesting fresh produce from the gardens behind his home.
"The tomatoes, squash, corn, onions, eggplant, mint, avocado, oranges and mangoes were so delicious," Vigilla said.
The Vigilla family also raised pigs, chickens, ducks and cattle, he said.
Vigilla learned his cooking skills at the farm, where he often prepared meals for 40 or more relatives of Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese and Caucasian ancestry. From his Hawaiian grandmother he learned to prepare the traditional foods of the culture and cook in the imu on their property.
"As chefs we want to be able to touch, taste and see firsthand where our food sources come from," he said. "We source locally to give us an opportunity to do so."
The hotel wants to give diners the same opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of what makes the food they eat in Hawaii unique, said Vigilla, who returned to the isles in 2009 after traveling around the world in various cooking roles with Hyatt, LXR Hotels and Ritz-Carlton.
"Customers are seeking out locally sourced menus and products. Not only do they taste better and are fresher, but visitors want to experience local foods no matter where they travel," he said.
Corporate meeting planners also are looking to do business with places that get products locally, have thriving recycling and energy conservation programs and practice other sustainable efforts, Vigilla said.
"In Bali Steak & Seafood we use nearly 85 percent locally sourced ingredients," he said.
Vigilla is even modifying Hilton’s signature recipes to reflect the local market. "Nationally, all hotels have to feature a few of the same or similar dishes," he said. "We were given the recipes, but our chefs will substitute local products wherever possible."
In addition to the menu relabeling and retooling, Hilton Hawaiian Village is creating in-room films that showcase local farms and spotlight Vigilla, one of six Signature Chefs for Hilton Worldwide.
The hotel also will hold receptions for customers, meeting planners and staff where they can sample local products and meet nearby farmers and suppliers. Eventually the hotel will sell packaged products including local ingredients.
Hilton will highlight Waialua Estates chocolate, Manoa honey, Hamakua mushrooms, Kahuku sea asparagus, Kona sea salt, Big Island Abalone, Ho Farms tomatoes, Shinsato Farms pork, Wailea Agriculture hearts of palm and many more products, Vigilla said.
"Our goal is to really support our local farmers and suppliers," he said. "We as a state need to be more sustainable like the Hawaiians were back in the days of the ahupuaa (a mountain-to-sea concept of self-sustaining resources)."
