FSR July 2023

Behind the Scenes BY MALINA SEENARINE

Hawaii’s Eco-Eatery Chef Peter Merriman is creating tasty, sustainable dishes at Merriman’s

Waimea by connecting with Hawaiian farmers while becoming the first carbon-neutral restaurant in the state. WHEN PETER MERRIMAN first arrived in Hawaii in 1983 to work as a chef in a hotel restaurant, he quickly noticed the majority of food offered in the community was made up of con tinental cuisine. He hoped to open a restaurant that was more reflective of Hawaiian culture and use ingredients grown locally in his dishes, so in 1988, he opened Merriman’s Waimea, an inventive restaurant served in a simple, yet elegant moutainside setting. A couple years later, Merriman helped launch the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement with other chefs to make Hawaii a culinary destination. By build ing relationships with local farmers, the chefs were able to use the resources of Hawaii to create dishes that were reflec tive of the island, such as Merriman’s Hirabara Farm Earth Grown Lettuce Salad, which uses vegetables grown from its namesake. Now 30 years after he first stepped foot in Hawaii, Merriman’s Waimea is Hawaii’s first carbon-neutral restaurant, and 90 percent of the ingredients used on the menu are obtained using sustain able practices. By continuously imple menting these sustainability practices

MERRIMAN’S FARM-TO-TABLE MENU IS 90% LOCALLY SOURCED AND SHOWCASES HAWAII’S FRESH SEAFOOD AND PRODUCE.

different places. So when I got offered a job in Hawaii, I was like, sure, Hawaii sounds nice. When I got here, I discov ered the food wasn’t nearly as excit ing as I thought it would be because it was still a plantation economy. At that time, it was mostly sugar and pineap ple, and cattle that were exported from Hawaii, and so not much was grown for local consumption. I was disappointed in the lack of fresh food, but I was like, wait a minute, and I started pursuing locally grown products—not so much to be regional, but I just wanted the best flavors and I knew that fresh was best, right? I just want great-tasting food. In pursuit of great taste, I ended up stum bling upon the whole regional sustain ability concept.

CHEF PETER MERRIMAN

and introducing new ones, the restau rant has been able to reduce its carbon footprint and has plans to bring these practices to its other Merriman’s loca tions in Kauai, Maui, and Oahu. What sparked your interest in creating a restaurant that was reflective of local Hawaiian cuisine? It was just a desire to do food in a new way. I was a cook at various places in North America and Europe, then I was just kind of traveling around cooking in

MERRIMAN’S HAWAII

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