Hawaii for Foodies: Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort

After a fun day checking out Greenwell Coffee Farm and devouring some excellent poke from Da Poke Shack, I spent the evening enjoying another perfect Hawaiian sunset from my terrace at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.

As I wrote before this place has a special place in my heart and I woke refreshed and hungry! I had the pleasure of brunching with one of the representatives from the hotel property who was a total delight. And a foodie!

She showed me all the different fruits, vegetables, and herbs that Chef Jayson Kanekoa has planted all over the resort, right under the noses of the guests! If you look at this photo you will probably check out the pool, the palm trees, or the ocean (click on the photo to see it a bit larger).

But I see taro plants for chips served with the house poke (and Chef Jayson is an award-winning poke creator!) as well as other dishes, Kona coffee plants the chef uses for a rub on his prime rib and basil for cooking as well as some of the bar's specialty cocktails! All these things and more a planted in the area in front of the restaurant just a hop, skip, and a jump away from that gorgeous pool.

The culinary team at the Marriott goes out of their way to use local products and purchase from farms on the island and in the Hawaiian Islands in general. The salad mix changes every season with greens from local farmer Flavio Miche of JA Farms, I had the lovely spring mix with a mahi-mahi sandwich (served with a Wow Farm vine-ripened tomato) which was delicious.

And if you time your trip right, you could sign up for one of the hotel's Chef Shuttle adventures where Chef Jayson will take you out to meet the farmers, do some shopping with him at the local fish market, and break bread over a meal. What a treat!

What's more, proof that the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort is not the perfect spot for foodies that the fact that they are hosting the Hawaiian Food & Wine Festival! It is the first time the festival has been on the Big Island and it is going the Marriott is hosting.

So if you are thinking about a visit, why not consider booking your stay between August 29th and September 7th? There will be more than 80 internationally-renowned chefs and culinary personalities from the Hawaiian Islands, and U.S. mainland gathering for two weeks of food and wine experiences highlighting the Aloha State’s bounty of local ingredients.

Count me in!

How about you? Have you stayed at a hotel where the chef does food tours? Have you stayed at the Waikoloa Marriott and didn't even realize they were so focused on food? Do tell!

My visit to Hawaii was courtesy of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. As always, all opinions are my own.

You can also view more of my trip to the Big Island in my Big Island of Hawaii for Foodies Wanderlist on AFAR.

More of my Hawaii Big Island stories:

• [mis]Adventures in Loco Moco in Hilo
• [mis]Adventures in Kona
• [mis]Adventures in Hilo Redux
• Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
• Hawaii – Hilo Grown Tour
• Hawaii – AgriTourism
• Hawaii – Greenwell Farms
• Hawaii: Hamakua Mushrooms
• Hawaii – Volcano Winery
• Da Poke Shack

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