Robert Stutzman and Ajay Oppelaar are hoping their Mango Ginger Poke with Garden Island Gazpacho will be a big hit at the third Kauai Poke Fest that will be held on the Hawaiian island of Kauai on June 3.
Stutzman and Oppelaar, the owners of Duncan’s Hawaiian-themed eateries Aloha Bowls and Kahuna Burger, have been invited to participate at the popular Kauai Poke Fest by its organizers.
They will compete against 18 other professional and amateur competitors’ poke creations based on presentation, originality, and taste to determine the winner of this year’s festival.
Award-winning chef, TV personality, author and philanthropist Aarón Sánchez, and Ronnie Rainwater, chief culinary officer at Emeril’s Restaurants in Las Vegas, will judge the competition and the contestants must make enough of their poke, which is a diced raw fish served either as an appetizer or a main course, to feed 600 people at least one ounce each of the dish that is very popular in Hawaii.
Oppelaar said all the rest of the competitors are from the Kauai area, so their inclusion at the festival makes it a truly international event.
“We had the Mango Ginger Poke, which is one of my creations, on our menu when we first opened Aloha Bowls, and we think and hope that it could do well in the Kauai Poke Fest,” he said.
The winner with the highest rating by the judges will have their name engraved on the coveted Crystal Poke Bowl, enjoy a seven-day stay at Koloa Landing Resort where the competition is being held, and the winning poke recipe will be added to the menu at the resort’s Holoholo Grill.
“There will also be a lot of media attention for us at the resort if we win,” Stutzman said.
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In other awards news, a number of building projects in the Cowichan Valley are among the 46 finalists at the 16th Annual Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Commercial Building Awards, which will be held on April 6 in Nanaimo.
They include the Nest Collection in the competition’s multi-family townhouse category, which is a collection of 10 lakefront cottages nestled along Cowichan Lake that is part of the Woodlands Shores on Cowichan Lake development.
Another is the modular daycare facilities located at 1033 Eagle St. in Duncan.
For this unique project, a total of five similar design single storey facilities, totaling more than 15,000 sq. ft. were constructed under a design-build contract for five different locations on a challenging island location.
Cowichan Tribes’ residential project located at 2770 Boys Rd. in Duncan is another finalist in the affordable-housing category.
This is the largest residential development that Cowichan Tribes has ever undertaken.
The 96-unit Eyuhwum residential project located at 300 Government St. in Duncan is also on the list in the affordable-housing category.
These apartments, built through a collaboration with Cowichan Tribes, have a contemporary design and an open concept layout that boasts phenomenal mountain, forest and city views.
And last but not least is the residential “6-Plex on Jubilee” town-home project, located in downtown Duncan, in the multi-family category.
The goal of this project was to establish new form and character in a manner that improves and enhances the neighbourhood, creating a sense of community.
John MacDonald of the Business Examiner, which is coordinating the building awards, said it’s going to be a great event as the 46 outstanding finalist buildings that were completed in 2022 are celebrated.
“These are very important buildings in each community, and this event has always been about celebrating the hard work, commitment and ideas that go into each and every one of them,” he said.
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The Tourism Cowichan Society’s AGM will be held on April 5, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Brentwood College School’s Foote Athletic Centre Field House.
Tourism Cowichan staff and its board of directors will provide updates on programs, financials, bylaws and policies.
The AGM is open to all members of the community, and the board encourages attendees to stay after the AGM for an opportunity to reconnect in person and network with fellow tourism business owners and operators.
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The Downtown Duncan BIA also has its AGM coming up.
It will be held April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Elks Hall.
“We’re excited to show our members all we’ve accomplished in 2022, and you can look forward to a guest speaker that will bring some new learning your way,” a statement from the DDBIA said.
“We’re still firming up details on who the guest speaker will be. Thinking about joining the board? There are up to four positions available, and nominations are encouraged from the floor that evening.”
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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