The Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa is proud to announce its 3rd annual “Mangoes at the Moana” event on Saturday, July 9 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Located in the resort’s Banyan Courtyard, visitors and kamaaina are invited to mingle and “mango” through various booths and action stations offering local mango products. Mango enthusiasts can attend a Mango Growing Seminar (beginning and advanced workshops) along with a Mango Bootcamp focusing on health and wellness. The Mango Recipe Contest and Best Mango Contest are popular favorites among the local community and will be held in the resort’s Lani Kai Room.

Several celebrity guest judges will be determining winners for each contest including Bravo’s Top Chef and Cooking Channel’s Unique Eats celebrity chef Lee Anne Wong, 2011 Mrs. Hawaii Lara Leimana Fonoimoana, and 2011 Miss Teen Hawaii International Ashley Soderberg.
In addition to a day-long lineup of mango-themed events, the 3rd annual “Tree to Table – a Mango Throwdown” will also be featured in the Banyan Courtyard and Lani Kai Room from noon to 4 p.m. The Mango Throwdown will feature local celebrity chefs in a friendly cooking competition to create the dishes featuring mango as the main ingredient. Guests are welcome to taste each chef’s creation for $2 per script; number of scripts for each booth will differ.
A portions of proceeds will go to benefit the University of Hawaii’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific which is a network of seven unique culinary education centers within the University of Hawaii system. Participating chefs in the Mango Throwdown include:

• Azure Restaurant, Chef Jon Matsubara

• Beachhouse at the Moana, Chef Rodney Uyehara

• Chai’s Island Bistro, Chef Chai Chaowasaree

• DK’s Steak and Sansei Seafood, Chef D.K. Kodama

• Kahala Resort, Chef Wayne Hirabayashi

• Michel’s at the Colony Surf, Chef Hardy Kintscher

• Roy’s Waikiki, Chef Jason Peel

• Rum Fire, Chef Darren Demaya

• Tango Contemporary Café, Chef Goran Streng

• Tiki’s Grill & Bar, Chef Ronnie Nasuti

• 12th Avenue Grill, Chef Kevin Hanney

Lee Anne Wong, one of the finalists for the first season of Bravo’s popular cooking reality show, Top Chef, will be our celebrity guest judge and emcee for the Mango Throw Down and Best Mango Recipe Contest. She was the culinary producer for the first four seasons of Top Chef and is the host and associate producer of “Unique Eats.” She is currently on the Cooking Channel which is a spin-off of Food Network and the show has been picked up for a fourth and fifth season. Lee Anne is now executive chef for Kogi New York.

July 9, 2011

Best Mango Recipe Contest - 8:45 am - 11:30 am, Lani Kai Room
Best Mango Contest - 9:00 am - 11:00 am, Lani Kai Room
Courtyard Activities - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Banyan Courtyard
Mango Bootcamp - 11:00 am, 12:00 noon, Moana Lani Spa
Mangoes Throwdown - 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm, Banyan Courtyard, and Lanikai
Mango Seminars - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Lani Kai Room