In 2019, the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival drew 10,000 attendees and earned enough to donate more than $400,000 to various community groups.

This year’s festival, which begins next week, will at the most draw 979 guests, and organizers hope they’ll break even.

Before the world turned upside down, CEO Denise Yamaguchi and her staff had put together a schedule similar to the previous nine years’ — galas packed with celebrity chefs, held over multiple weeks on three islands.

Then came COVID-19.

In May, Yamaguchi said, they crafted a whole new series of events. Instead of huge outdoor parties on resort properties, they planned 10 dinners at individual restaurants, with far fewer chefs involved. Instead of selling individual tickets, they’d sell tables, creating bubbles for dining groups.

Venues were lined up and chefs from across the country signed on. Then they waited.

“This year we had to be super nimble,” Yamaguchi said. “If the rules changed, we had to change, too.”

A month ago, they decided to go forward, with the first dinner set for Nov. 6. It was a leap of faith, considering that the city was still in Tier 1, with dine-in restaurant service limited to people of the same household.

“We’ve taken some risks, but they’re calculated risks,” she said.

And so far they seem to be paying off. Four events are already sold out, and the city has moved up to Tier 2, allowing for mixed groups at tables.

It’s still a premium event; the lowest- price ticket still available is $800 for a table for four. Almost all that money will go to the restaurants hosting the dinners, unlike in previous years when proceeds were shared with local nonprofits. “If we sell out,” Yamaguchi said, “hopefully that will be a better night for (the restaurant) than they’d normally have.”

This year’s model still supports the core mission of the festival, she said, to promote Hawaii, the food grown and served here, and the hospitality industry. It also gets out the message that it’s safe to dine out, and that restaurants need diners’ support.

Yamaguchi hopes that 2021 will bring back a more normal festival. “If not, we’ll figure something else out.”

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

The 2020 Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival runs Nov. 6 to 21. Events are collaboration dinners pairing local chefs with guest chefs from beyond the islands.

Tickets are sold by table and vary by event. Of reservations still available, prices start at $800 for a table for four and go up to $2,500 for a private room that seats five.

Go to hfwf.me for tickets, prices and details on each dinner and the chefs. Call 738-6245.

Seats remain for these dinners:

>> Viva La Vino!: Chefs Michael Chiarello, David Lukela and Alex Stratta present a Mediterranean menu; Nov. 6, Swell Bar at ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach.

>> SpikEd!: Chefs Ed Kenney and Spike Mendelsohn teach social responsibility in the foods they cook; Nov. 7, Mud Hen Water.

>> The Spice of Life: Chef Vikram Garg presents a tribute to the late Floyd Cardoz; Nov. 8, TBD …

>> Masqued: Costumes encouraged at this magic-themed dinner by Raphael Lunetta, Lance Kosaka, Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Wade Ueoka; Nov. 14, 53 by the Sea.

>> ‘Duck, Duck, Goose and Amor’: A tribute to the late pastry chef Ed Morita, with chefs Michael Ginor and Shaymus Alwin, Nov. 15, La Vie, Ritz-Carlton Residences

>> Native Feast: Chefs Sean Sherman, Kealoha Domingo and Terry Lynch celebrate indigenous foods of Hawaii and the Americas, Nov. 18, Maui Brewing Co., Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger