A kids’ adventure in entrepreneurship has inspired three new Jamba Juice lemonades, introduced last week statewide.

School and youth groups were invited to develop drink flavors through the Lemonade Alley program’s “kidpreneur” challenge and sell the drinks to benefit their chosen charities.

Jamba Juice turned the creations of students from August Ahrens Elementary and Maryknoll Schools into new drinks. Sample them from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at any Jamba Juice location.

The winning lemonades were chosen in three age divisions:

>> Mahalo Mint Lemonade (kindergarten to grade 4): Dominique Ragmat, Ava Thompson and Flora Thompson of August Ahrens ran their stand for Make A Wish Hawaii.

>> Lemonberry Float (grades 5-8): Quianna Madayag, Skyelar Agustin, Keohi Kaahanui, Keisha Batugal and Royce Uy, also of August Ahrens, chose the Hawaiian Humane Society.

>> Lemon Cherry Chiller (grades 9-12): Jen Lin, Ryan Michel, Quinn Tanaka, G. Kenna Tanouye and Chelsea Michel ran their stand for their school, Maryknoll.

Gyu-Kaku restaurant comes to Kapolei

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ opened a new location at Kapolei Commons on Monday, serving lunch, dinner and cocktails daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The Kapolei Commons Gyu-Kaku, near the new Regal movie theaters, is 3,445 square feet and can seat 129 customers with a staff of 60.

Co-owners Rick Nakashima, Ted Davenport and Lyle Matsuoka anticipate that the “second city” location will be the chain’s flagship, Nakashima said in a statement.

GK Hawaii Restaurants Inc.’s other franchised Gyu-Kaku locations are in Kaneohe and Mililani Mauka. Two additional Gyu-Kaku restaurants, on Kapiolani Boulevard and in Waikiki, are company-owned.

Nakashima and Davenport also own and operate five franchised Ruby Tuesday restaurants on Oahu and Maui.

Kona coffee brought onto Ark of Taste

Here, there, everywhere, it seems, we see references to Kona coffee, whether on the menu at our favorite coffee bar, on the shelves of supermarkets, or as a prominent ingredient in gourmet chocolates or seasonings.

So when Kona coffee ended up on Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste, a national catalog of more than 200 foods facing extinction, it was noteworthy.

After all, the “Kona Coffee Belt” on the Big Island includes more than 650 independent farmers. But the labeling of millions of pounds of “Kona blends” — containing as little as 10 percent Kona coffee mixed with other coffees — has imperiled the economic future of Kona coffee farmers, qualifying the coffee for the catalog.

Slow Food promotes sustainability, cultural diversity and quality. Its Ark of Taste champions endangered foods to keep them in production, preserving the cultures in which they are rooted as well.

The Kona Coffee Living History Farm, a project of the Kona Historical Society, is a prime example of the ties between food and culture. The farm will hold an open house to spotlight Kona’s heritage, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 1.

Taste Kona coffees, learn to pan-roast coffee, take tours of the coffee mill and farmhouse, and learn to make chicken hekka at a demo by Sandy’s Drive In.

Shuttle service from Kealakekua Ranch Center runs 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center is at 82-6066 Mamalahoa Highway in Captain Cook. The farm is at 82-6199 Mamalahoa Highway. Call 808-323-3222.

Arboretum classes take a spicy turn

Take a journey along the spice route in a two-part series at Lyon Arboretum.

Vikrant Bhasin, chef-manager at Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center, will explain the use of such spices as curry leaf, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and more:

>> Saturday: An interactive cooking demonstration includes the making of Village Style Chicken Coconut Curry and a discussion on how curries can be complex, subtle, dry or wet. Bhasin also will make his own blend of garam masala. Samples include the curry with sides of rice pulao and raita salad.

>> Oct. 22: Learn to make a dish from Sumatra’s Minang­kabau culture.

Classes run from 1 to 3 p.m. Each session costs $40 plus a $15 supply fee. Call 988-0456.

Kona Grill lands in Waikiki

Kona Grill has joined the new restaurants in the revamped International Market Place in Waikiki. The restaurant and sushi bar, part of an Arizona-based chain, has opened on the third level under chef Alejandro Baez.

The menu includes such entrees as macadamia-nut chicken, Kona Churrasco (flank steak with chimichurri sauce) and miso-sake sea bass.

Kona Grill is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and until midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Call 756-9591.

The subject is cheesecake

Baker extraordinaire Hector Wong creates beautiful and delicious cakes, the stuff of glossy magazines and gourmet cake shops. His impressive repertoire was developed through meticulous testing and retesting of recipes.

Wong shares his expertise for baking the perfect cheesecake on Oct. 1 at CookSpace, focusing on a basic cheesecake crust and batter, plus his techniques for creating a sauce and a rose-design topping out of mango slices.

The class runs from 1 to 3 p.m. at CookSpace, on the second floor of Ward Warehouse, above T&C Surf Designs. Cost is $57.59. Register at cookspacehawaii.com. Call 695-2205.