Jeremiah Tower, considered one of the pioneers of modern American cuisine, will be in Honolulu in May for the kickoff event of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival.

Tower, known for his groundbreaking years at Chez Panisse in Berekely, Calif., in the 1970s, and later at Stars in San Francisco, will headline a six-course dinner that will also feature Hawaii chefs Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, George Mavrothalassitis, Chris Kajioka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka.

The festival announced the “California Dreamin’” dinner today. The May 9 event at the Kahala Hotel & Resort will include a live interview with Tower moderated by promoter Shep Gordon. Tickets are $500, available at HFWF.me.

The two-night launch marks the announcement of the lineup for the festival, which takes place Oct. 6 to 28 at venues on three islands.

Tower is legendary for the revolution in California cuisine that he and Alice Waters launched at Chez Panisse, a movement later adopted across the nation. Anthony Bourdain produced a documentary about Tower, “The Last Magnificent,” in 2016.