Everyone’s familiar with those hard, crunchy banana chips that can crack a tooth, but Lafayette Kona Farm has a chewier, sweeter dried banana alternative.
Andy Lafayette and his wife, Kazune, have produced and sold premium coffee and grafted Sharwill avocado trees since 1981, but for the past five years, a 2-acre banana patch that started out as a filler crop has accounted for 95 percent of their total sales. “Business just exploded,” Lafayette said, and now they regularly supply markets on four islands and in three airports.
Their certified organic apple bananas, sold under the Shogo’s Banana Patch label, were named after their son Shogo, who was born with cerebral palsy and is a quadriplegic (his twin brother is Keito).
Lafayette said he takes Shogo, 16, in his jeep every day to work on the ultra-fertile ancient farmlands of Hookena mauka because his son finds such joy in visiting the banana patch. Shogo has developed into a pseudo farm manager as he tags along with his father, and Lafayette is in turn inspired by his son’s enthusiasm.
When their pallets of fertilizer arrive at the local store, the clerks will leave Shogo a voicemail on his phone, Lafayette said.
“He is very involved as farm manager and loves his job.”
Lafayette and a couple of volunteers dedicated to organic farming harvest the bananas with old-school machetes, but their dehydrator is top of the line, he said.
His wife does all the packaging, mailing and is the brains behind the business, he added.
It’s odd to hear an entrepreneur say, “We don’t need any new business,” but Lafayette said they can barely keep up with orders.
The bananas can be found on Oahu at Down to Earth stores; Kokua Market Natural Foods, 2643 S. King St.; and other locations, or order through lafayettekonafarm.com. A 6-ounce bag is $8; 1 pound is $16.
Call 808-333-4757 or email shogosbananapatch@gmail.com.
— Pat Gee, Star-Advertiser
WHAT IS IT ABOUT HAWAII’S FOOD?
We have our poke and poi, our two-scoops rice, our Hawaii Regional Cuisine.
These disparate elements make the food of Hawaii an object of interest to those outside the islands — at least that’s the premise of a panel discussion next week, “Why is the Mainland So Fascinated by Hawaii’s Food?”
The free discussion, at 6:30 p.m. May 31 at Artistry Honolulu, will include Hawaii chef Sam Choy; Jordan Keao, chef and owner of San Francisco’s Hawaii-inspired ‘Aina restaurant; Martha Cheng, author of “The Poke Cookbook”; and Keoni Chang, corporate chef for Foodland supermarkets. Noe Tanigawa of Hawai‘i Public Radio will moderate.
Among topics will be the role of the local cuisine in the tourist industry, and the next likely “five-star food export” (poke being the current one). A reception will follow.
Artistry Honolulu is at 461 Cooke St. Valet parking will be $7. Reservations are required: Go to 808ne.ws/foodtalk or call (213) 542-8461.
The talk is sponsored by Zocalo Public Square, a forum for cultural discussions under Arizona State University, and the Daniel K. Inouye Institute.
