October 23, 2022
During the early part of my career, I spent three years travelling non-stop while installing property management systems in hotels. Typically, I would spend anywhere from one week to several weeks at a property either teaching classes or supporting them after they cutover to the new system. I got to see 35 different states and travelled to three other countries. It might sound like a dream job but we worked long hours and not every project went well.
In 1988, I was part of the project team that had installed their property management system at the Royal Lahaina Hotel. It was a project in a great place with a fun project team and the project went well. I always looked back on the project with a lot of fond memories, and here was I was, almost 35 years later attending a HFWF event at that hotel. It was a full circle moment.
We arrived a little bit early so that I could spend some time reminiscing. We then headed to the area where the cocktail reception was being held. My last few visits to Maui, I had been staying at the large resorts with perfectly landscaped gardens around the pools. Although it was nice, there were people everywhere, we had to get to the pool early if we wanted to get a chair with shade. The Royal Lahaina felt roomier, less landscaped, less people and more relaxing. I thought we should probably look at staying there on a future visits.
The cocktail reception was under a huge banyan tree and during the reception, we were treated to a double rainbow – not once but twice. We then headed to the beach front dinning area to enjoy a five course dinner with wine pairings. We got a little rain during the the sommelier’s description of the first pairing but it was short lived. In all of the years of attending HFWF events, we have never had an event rained out, this was a close one.
The chef lineup for the meal was impressive including Roy Yamaguchi, Jonathan Waxman, Peter Armellino, and Caroline Schiff. All of the chefs had to utilize local ingredients for their dishes, showcasing Hawaiian agriculture. It was a very impressive meal.
At one point, Johnathan Waxman told the story of how he worked at the Whaler’s village in 1972, just a few doors down. He also mentioned that Roy worked for him as a line cook at Michael’s restaurant in Santa Monica. I guess I wasn’t the only person feeling like they had come full circle.
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