The thing about living with a chef, says Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi, is that you learn to consider things that most people probably never think about while cooking.

As in, “How will the beets look?”

Her husband, Roy — yes, that Roy — posed the question when Denise told him she wanted to combine her favorite beet salad with a quinoa salad.

“Roy helped me figure it out. Normally people boil beets, but I roast them — olive oil, and salt and pepper, then wrap them in foil and toss them in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour.”

The beet-quinoa combo turned out to be a favorite of hers, both for its healthful deliciousness and its ease.

“I learned to cook because I’m married to a chef,” she said. “I try to be a healthy, active person, so I tried to learn healthy stuff. But I’m not a person who cooks all the time.”

That’s understandable, since Yamaguchi has her plate full as executive director of two organizations, the Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation and the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival. The foundation supports small farmers, provides outreach and public awareness, and educates youth about the industry. The popular festival draws chefs from across the globe who spotlight local ingredients in gourmet dishes at festival events. In the past five years, the festival has given more than $1 million to 21 local culinary and agricultural beneficiaries.

Yamaguchi’s salad starts out as two separate salads. The quinoa part combines the grain with carrots, red bell pepper and chopped kale, tossed in a lemon-curry dressing. The finished product accounts for its name, Quinoa Tabbouleh-Like Salad, since the tiny grains tossed with finely chopped kale resemble tabbouleh. The beet salad is a mix of the root veggie, arugula and beefsteak tomatoes.

The simplicity of the dish reflects the kind of food the couple eats at home.

“We eat a lot of Japanese food, usually something like pan-seared salmon or natto or tofu,” she said. “And we like a lot of tsukemono (pickled vegetables).”

No matter what they’re preparing, though, the Yamaguchis make sure of one thing: They use the best-quality ingredients possible. It does make a difference, they insist.

Backing agriculture

Yamaguchi, 47, an ‘Iolani School graduate, grew up in Nuuanu. After interning with U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and earning a master’s degree in business from George Washington University, she returned to Hawaii to work with nonprofits such as the Hawaii Foodbank and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, where she focused on government and private funding. She says her interest in government affairs was cultivated while working for the senator. She also worked for Norwegian Cruise Lines and served as a vice president at Bishop Museum.

When she met Roy Yamaguchi and ‘Nalo Farms owner Dean Okimoto 10 years ago, Yamaguchi became a fundraiser for the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation. At the time, the agricultural foundation was part of the farm bureau. In 2010, when the foundation split from the farm bureau, Yamaguchi began running it.

The foundation manages the HAF Ag Park in Kunia, 218 acres of agricultural land on the upper Kunia plains, made available to displaced, often immigrant farmers. Some 20 small farms there are provided with assistance to help the farmers gain self-sufficiency and access to markets in Hawaii.

The park is on 2,400 acres of land owned by Island Palm Communities, a public-private partnership with the federal government that constructs military housing. Most of that land is leased to Monsanto Hawaii for seed corn production, but Island Palm designates 10 percent to local farmers, which Monsanto sublets to the foundation.

While Monsanto has become controversial internationally for its biotech work, Yamaguchi said pertaining to the park, the company has been nothing but generous to park farmers, sharing infrastructure and providing technical expertise.

“They have been stewards to our farmers. They have been hugely supportive,” she said.

As to its educational focus, the foundation provides various curricula to public schools. There’s Veggie U, a 25-lesson program for fourth-graders on local farming; an aquaponics program for middle-school students; and In the Field, a program that funds excursions for high-schoolers to three types of farms: conventional, biotech and organic. Next year the foundation plans to launch a second-grade program on the subject of seeds.

“We don’t have enough farmers. To get kids interested in careers in ag, you’ve got to start early, so we hit them in elementary, middle and high school,” Yamaguchi said.

Festival champion

The food and wine festival has it origins in an event called Roy’s Dinner that benefited the farm bureau. The chef ran the dinner for 10 years, “but after a while he felt that he was preaching to the choir,” said Yamaguchi.

The chef had visions of something much bigger: a food and wine festival. So Yamaguchi did some research and presented him with a plan for what became the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival. The event started out in 2010 under the umbrella of the foundation, but Yamaguchi said it grew so quickly that in 2012 it split off.

“We didn’t know how big and meaningful it would become,” she said. “Our vision was for a destination-driven event that would benefit everyone. We decided to hold it in the fall because that’s a time when hotel rooms are empty; this would be something to attract visitors with.”

The first festival on Oahu in 2010 drew 2,500 people, 10 percent of whom were isle visitors. This year’s attendance to Oahu, Maui and Big Island events was 7,600, with 25 percent visitors.

“I feel good about this job,” Yamaguchi said. “It has a big impact on our culinary scene, and Hawaii is now getting attention for its food and chefs, not just the sun and surf.

“But most importantly, it allows what Hawaii Regional Cuisine did for the original chefs to continue. It now highlights up-and-coming chefs — it moves the scene forward and takes Hawaii Regional Cuisine forward.”

A HEARTY 2-IN-1 SALAD

This dish is a combo of Denise Hayashi Yamaguchi’s two favorite salads: Quinoa Tabbouleh-Like Salad and Beet Tomato Salad. They can be enjoyed together or separately.

Quinoa Tabbouleh-Like Beet Salad

» Quinoa Tabbouleh-Like Salad
» 1-1/4 cup quinoa
» 2 cups water
» 2 tablespoons vegetable broth powder
» 1 cup grated carrots (large grate)
» 1/2 cup chopped green onion
» 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
» 3 cups or more chopped kale
» 1/2 cup craisins or raisins

» Quinoa dressing:
» 1/4 cup local Meyer lemon juice
» 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
» 1 teaspoon curry powder
» 1 teaspoon Spike seasoning, or more to taste
» Black pepper, to taste

In small pot, bring water to boil and add vegetable broth powder. Add quinoa to water and lower heat to simmer. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Turn off heat and leave on stove; let sit, covered, 15 minutes.

Transfer quinoa to large mixing bowl, fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, make dressing: Combine all ingredients and incorporate well.

Mix vegetables and quinoa. Pour in dressing and mix again. Add craisins and mix one more time. Set aside.

» Beet Salad:
» 2 to 3 large beets
» Salt and pepper
» 2 to 3 beefsteak tomatoes
» 1 bag baby arugula
» Olive oil
» Radish slices for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a sheet of foil large enough to wrap beet, place beet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and pepper, and wrap.

Place beets on baking sheet and roast in oven for 1 hour (or more, depending on size of beet). Test for doneness by piercing beet with fork; if it is easily pierced, it is cooked. Remove from oven and cool.

When cooled, peel beets under running water.

Dice beets into large pieces. Dice tomatoes about the same size.

To assemble the two salads together, plate arugula and drizzle with olive oil. Top with beets, tomatoes and quinoa salad. Add radish slices for garnish if desired. Serves 5 to 7.

Approximate nutritional information, (based on 6 servings and not including salt to taste or olive oil): 330 calories, 12 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 650 mg sodium, 49 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 17 g sugar, 10 g protein

Variation: When eating the beet salad alone, add goat cheese and drizzle balsamic vinegar along with olive oil. Add watermelon for an extra-refreshing dish.

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., a nutritionist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii-Manoa.