Mark your calendar for the 2008 Mealani “A Taste of the Hawaiian Range” Food and Agriculture Festival. Come help us toast our 13th anniversary. This annual event will be held on October 3, 2008 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort on the beautiful Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The food show will be open to the public at 6:00 p.m. and run ‘til it's all gone or to 8:00 p.m., which ever comes first.

Indulge your appetite as local celebrity, resort, and restaurant chefs invent mouth-watering dishes that showcase the best Hawaiian agricultural products and the finest culinary talents of the Pacific Rim. The festivities will delight food fans and music lovers alike.

Featured chefs will create extraordinary dishes using locally grown range-fed meats including beef, lamb, pork, mutton, sausages, pasture poultry, and goat,* all complemented by fresh Big Island vegetables. We also hope to lasso in mountain oysters again for the event. Many supporting businesses also share their exceptional products rounding out the evenings' affair with samples of Kona coffee, specialty teas, microbrew soda, ice cream, key lime pies, candies, malasadas, soft drinks and other novelties. Also on the menu are decadent desserts ranging from malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts) to exotic treats featuring Hawaiian chocolate and succulent local fruits. * Meats are subject to availability.

Who should attend this event? Our planning committee is committed to making this year's festival another great tasting event of ono-licious range cuisine and invite all to this great event including chefs and restaurateurs to taste new and exotic agricultural products, businesspersons and tourists who are interested in a delightful culinary affair, aficionados of locally grown products or just anyone looking for great food, a good time, and a great deal.

For general information, please call (808) 981-8285 on the big island, or email Susan Miyasaka at miyasaka@hawaii.edu
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