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Contact: Ellen Endo
310-328-0907
EVENING OF ALOHA TO WELCOME HAWAII'S BEST
International recording artist Jake Shimabukuro and award-winning chefs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong will bring the best of Hawaii to Southern California when the Go For Broke National Education Center presents its sixth annual Evening of Aloha Gala Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel.
This year, in addition to welcoming the Islands' top talents, Go For Broke will honor all World War II veterans of Japanese ancestry and pay special tribute to those organizations across the country that have helped raise the public consciousness about the veterans' remarkable achievements and their legacy.
Nowhere, except at Evening of Aloha, will attendees be able to feast on a gourmet meal prepared under the supervision of two of America's most celebrated restaurateurs, Wong and Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi is best known as the creative visionary behind Roy's Restaurants, blending European cooking techniques with the fresh local ingredients found in Asia and the Pacific Rim. He calls this style of cooking Hawaiian Fusion cuisine.
Born in Tokyo, Yamaguchi vividly recalls visits with his grandparents to Maui, where he had his first tastes of fish, crab, octopus and lobster bought fresh at oceanside piers. Thusly inspired, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York at the age of 19, and ultimately became a Master Chef.
His first experience as executive chef was at Le Serene in Los Angeles in 1979, followed by a few months at Michael's in Santa Monica, working for California cuisine originator Michael McCarty.
In 1984, Yamaguchi opened his own restaurant in Los Angeles called 385 North, and in 1988, he moved to Hawaii in 1988 and opened the now legendary Roy's. Today, there are 35 Roy's Restaurants including 25 in the continental United States, seven in Hawaii, two in Japan, and one in Guam.
Honored early in his career with the prestigious James Beard "Best Pacific Northwest Chef" award, Yamaguchi has hosted six seasons of the PBS-TV show, Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi seen on more than 300 stations in all 50 states, as well as in over 60 countries. Equally notable, he was a featured chef on the acclaimed TV Food Network program, My Country, My Kitchen which takes viewers back to his roots in Japan.
Yamaguchi has also published three cookbooks, Roy's Fish and Seafood, Roy's Feasts from Hawaii and Hawaii Cooks: Flavors from Roy's Pacific Rim Kitchen.
Critically acclaimed Wong trained with the legendary chef Andre Soltner at New York's Lutece before opening his own place, aptly named Alan Wong's Restaurant, in Honolulu in April 1995. Within a year, the James Beard Award Foundation had selected him Best Chef for the Pacific Northwest/Hawaii region and nominated his establishment for the title, Best New Restaurant.
Since then, Wong has gone on to pursue many successful culinary ventures including opening The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong in Honolulu in 1999, The Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong on the North Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, and Alan Wong's Hawaii in Tokyo Disneyland. He is also the author of a cookbook, "Alan Wong's New Wave Luau" containing over 100 recipes.
Bon Appetit Magazine recognized him as the "Master of Hawaii Regional Cuisine." Alan Wong's Restaurant is the only Hawaii establishment listed by Gourmet among America's Best Fifty Restaurants in both 2001 and 2006 (ranked number six and eight respectively). Today, the restaurant continues to receive top ratings in Zagat, Gault Millau and Wine Spectator.
Locally, Wong, a graduate of the University of Hawaii and the Kapiolani Community College culinary program, has received the Hale Aina Award (six times) and the Ilima Award (seven times) as the Honolulu's favorite restaurant.
While Wong and Yamaguchi provide a feast for the palate, Jake Shimabukuro will demonstrate his revolutionary playing techniques on the ukulele, playing jazz, blues, funk, classical, bluegrass, folk, flamenco, and rock.
Throughout his career, Shimabukuro has combined his love for music with a commitment to helping others. In 2001, he donated the proceeds to his recording of "Ehime Maru" in tribute to those the families of those who died when a Japanese fishing vessel collided with a U.S. submarine in Hawaiian waters.
He became an enthusiastic supporter of Go For Broke after performing for the veterans at the 2004 Evening of Aloha. That same year, he was named Hawaii's goodwill ambassador to Japan and received a commendation from the Japanese Foreign Minister for being an active voice in U.S.-Japan relations.
His mother gave him his first ukulele lesson at age four. "When I played my first chord I was hooked," says Jake, "I fell in love with the instrument." Experimenting with various guitar effect pedals allows him to create sounds never thought possible on the tiny four-string, two-octave instrument.
His new solo album, Gently Weeps (Hitchhike Records 1105) includes a cover of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Last year, a video clip of Shimabukuro playing this song in Central Park began circulating the Internet and to date has been viewed over 1.5 million times around the globe.
Shimabukuro toured with Jimmy Buffett in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and made his first national television appearance in December 2005 on NBC's The Late Show with Conan O'Brien. He is also featured on Ziggy Marley's Grammy Award winning Love is My Religion and contributed to the soundtrack of the Buffett-produced film, Hoot.
He also received four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's Grammy) and four Hawaii Music Awards for h is solo and band albums.
Presenting sponsors for this year's Evening of Aloha are Michelob and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. Approximately 1,200 attended last year's event.
Anyone interested becoming a sponsor or attending the Nov. 10 Evening of Aloha may contact Stephanie Nagami at Go For Broke by calling (310) 328-0907 or email her at stephanie@goforbroke.org.
