Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi

What are the basic ingredients necessary to stock a Chinese pantry? Find out from Television cooking star Martin Yan when he takes Roy on a shopping expedition in Honolulu's Chinatown. A rice noodle factory and a Chinese grocery are a few of their stops. Yan then shows how easy it is to prepare simple sauces and marinades from the products gathered on his Chinatown adventure.

Guest chef Alan Wong and Roy travel to the Big Island of Hawaii to visit with the Hirabara family. Kurt Hirabara is an expert in high density farming - developing high yields on limited land. Besides producing a prolific bounty, the Hirabaras are well known with Island chefs for producing a superior product - greens that are vibrant and rich in color with a delicate and subtle flavor.

"Hawaii Cooks" follows the food from the farm to the chef's table when Roy takes chef Norman Van Aken to Frankie's Nursery. There, they pick up a few exotic fruits for a recipe Van Aken will prepare later with Yamaguchi. Often called the Johnny Appleseed of Hawaii, Frankie Sekiya has searched the globe for rare and exotic tropical fruits to propagate on his windward Oahu farm.

Loretta Barrett Oden, celebrated chef of Santa Fe's Corn Dance Cafe, shares her stories and Native American cuisine with "Hawaii Cooks." Roy visits with her at this year's "Cuisines of the Sun" at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows. This year's event theme: "Creative Native."

"Hawaii Cooks" salutes the artistic and creative by profiling two chefs/restaurateurs who found success in the most unexpected of circumstances. Founded in 1993, Beau Soleil is a funky neighborhood cafe run by Holly and Moumen El Hajji. The cafe started while the couple was house hunting: "Wouldn't it be great to open a small deli in the building fronting our new home?"

In less than 14 years, Strawberry Connection has evolved from being a wholesaler of premium strawberries to a cafe, specialty food product wholesaler and gourmet grocery. Located in the light industrial area near Honolulu International Airport, Strawberry Connection is a culinary haven for chefs and foodies.

A Maui chef and farmer are the focus of this episode of "Hawaii Cooks." Maui farmer Robbie Friedlander raises baby lettuce and a variety of herbs on his Haiku, Maui farm. A small operation with less than 15 acres in production, Friedlander handles every aspect of the farm from growing to sales and distribution.

"Hawaii Cooks" visits Ihilani Resort and Spa to find the complete spa and cuisine experience. The resort's spa and cuisine program work together to create a healthful and rejuvenating experience for the guest. The resort's chef, Mark Adair, works with guests to develop menus and recipes that can also be prepared at home.

The Four Seasons Hualalai takes the concept of providing fresh products for their guests' dining experience to the extreme by having its own fish and shrimp pond on hotel grounds. "Hawaii Cooks" visits the fishponds and talks with Executive Chef Mike Goodman on what it's like to have such fresh products and how they have influenced his restaurants and menus.

eyond sustenance, cuisine can rejuvenate and soothe your soul. "Hawaii Cooks" visits with two establishments that are committed to preparing meals that not only nourish your body but add vitality as well. A classically trained French chef, Josselin began putting broths infused with ginseng and ginger and other restorative herbs on his menu following his own personal interest.

Hawaii Cooks explores the rare and the unusual with visits to two farms growing specialty produce. Hana Herbs on Maui produces delicate fiddlehead ferns, a farmer's dream because they require no pesticide, fertilizer, irrigation or expensive harvesting machinery. We then travel to the lush Hamakua coast of the Big Island to Ninole Orchard.

What's it like to run a small restaurant? "Hawaii Cooks" talks with Kelvin Ro, proprietor of the Honolulu restaurant Kahala Moon. Ro credits his staff with helping him survive the challenges of restaurant ownership. During the restaurant's first year, Kahala Moon was forced to close for several months due to a serious kitchen fire, but the tenacity of his staff helped Ro recover.