Cooking Hawaiian style: Celebrating culinary heritage, cultural diversity

Lanai Tabura, the award-winning host of Cooking Hawaiian Style, shares his insights into Hawaiian cuisine, cultural connections, and the journey that has led to the series’ global success.

“Cooking Hawaiian Style started with a good friend of mine … Frank Abraham,” Tabura tells PMN News.

“He called me one day because he created a website, and the website was basically an aggregator to gather as many local Hawaiian-style recipes as he could, and it just started growing tremendously.

“And I said we should put a TV show together because many of these recipes are being lost.”

The show has been running for 12 years since its launch in 2013, and Season 20 is now available on the PMN website video page.

Tabura reflects on the show's journey and expresses gratitude for the challenges and opportunities he has encountered.

“I didn’t think it would grow to what it is today, which I am grateful for, but again, it was just a fun project.”

Tabura shares the importance of preserving traditional Hawaiian recipes when discussing the show's essence.

“I just wanted to capture the original recipes. We wanted to remind people this is where this came from. When you make this dish, this was the generic or basic way to make it.”

Listen to Lanai Tabura's full interview below.

Preserving traditional Hawaiian recipes

Tabura talks about the various influences immigrants have had on Hawaii’s food landscape since the 18th century.

He says Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, Portuguese, and Korean immigrants have blended traditional foods with native Hawaiian ingredients, creating a diverse culinary landscape celebrated worldwide.

“When you have this many different types of immigration, different ethnicities, you have different spices, you have different flavours and different tastes,” Tabura says.

Passion for cooking

Tabura’s passion for sharing these culinary traditions is rooted in his upbringing.

As the eldest of four brothers, he was raised by a single mother who taught him to cook from an early age. He credits her influence for his deep connection to Hawaiian food.

Crispy Pata by Joey Macadangdang on Cooking Hawaiian Style. Photo/Cooking Hawaiian Style.

“It was inspired by my mother, and then Anthony Bourdain put the gas on the fire, so to speak, to get me doing all these other things in the media field because he was the one that said, look, you need to share these stories of the history of Hawaii and the food so other people can understand why is it Hawaiian-style food and why is it Hawaiian food,” Tabura says.

Impact on Hawaiian community

While the journey has been rewarding, Tabura acknowledges their challenges when filming the show.

“People think it’s a fake backdrop [but] we’re filming on the beaches of Hawaii. So we’re dealing with the elements. We’re dealing with the sun and the rain. Is it going to be nice weather? When you shoot 26 shows in seven days, you only have seven days because of funding.

“We never know if we’re going to do another season. That’s why I’m always so grateful and surprised that we’re going to do another one … it takes a team.”

The show has made a significant impact on the community.

“The feedback has been incredible,” Tabura says. “Not just in Hawaii anymore. It’s all over the US. We’ve been lucky to have the show on in Dubai, Canada, and Australia. And the feedback has been really good.”

A lasting legacy

As Cooking Hawaiian Style continues to inspire viewers around the globe, Tabura remains focused on preserving the legacy of Hawaiian cuisine while celebrating the unique cultural diversity that defines it.

“I think with the next generation being creative and sharing our recipes in a more pretty light, I think it’s just going to get bigger and bigger.”

Cooking Hawaiian Style Season 20 is now available on the PMN website. Click below to watch Episode 1.