Recipe Contributors

Making irresistible, original recipe foods with Aloha Spirit since 1950. Welcome to our ohana & mahalo for helping us spread Aloha Spirit.

Angela Barrett is a self-proclaimed foodie. She writes for Big Bear's Wife, where she shares recipes, restaurant reviews and craft tutorials. She started cooking at the age of 21 when she married her husband, with the goal of becoming the "perfect housewife" and getting her husband to eat something other than steak and potatoes.

I’m a wife, a mom, and a dessert blogger at Crazy for Crust. Oh, and I’m addicted to crust. And cookies. And cake. Well, pretty much I’m addicted to sugar. (I’m also addicted to books, reality television, Gilmore Girls, talking, and Instagram. But that’s another story.) I’m in my kitchen daily baking up crazy goodies and then I blog about them, with a slice of my life. Enjoy!

Dawn Parks is the Executive Chef / Owner of the Wild Thyme Catering Co. in San Diego. She graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 1997 and has built her knowledge and experience working with notable brands such as the Aloha Group, W Hotel and the Salk Institute. www.thewildthymecompany.com

Isabel Cruz comes from a Latino family where the large and frequent gatherings were always centered around food. Self taught, she pulled influence from Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican family and friends as well as Asian cultures she encountered growing up in LA. Eventually, those Latin and Asian influences became infused in Isabel's cooking, resulting in fresh, exotic food with bold and unique flavors. See more of Isabel here

Chef Rich has a passion for preparing local, organic, and sustainable food from scratch. She also has a passion for classic cars, old school hip hop and being a mama to her beautiful baby girl. Kari’s recipe for Hawaiian poke earned her the 1st place prize in the “Traditional” category of the first ever I Love Poke Festival in 2010. Visit Kari’s website: www.foodfarmsd.com/

Heredia is a chef from the new school of cooking. In fact, he didn’t go to school for training at all. With the help of his family, Ricardo was exposed to good home style cooking from a mix of cultures including Mexican, Caribbean, Hawaiian and Filipino. His passion for food and the need to provide for his family was the driving force that helped him become Executive Chef of Alchemy in San Diego

This island girl, hula dancer, chef & entrepreneur has been entertaining ohana and friends with her island style culinary talents since she was nine. Her passion for food continued to grow as she worked for the family catering company and later completed culinary schooling in Japan. Chef Alva recently opened the first Hawaiian restaurant in Lakeside, CA, Hawaii’s Island Eatery.

Neens grew up in the island-style communities of San Diego. Far from Hawaii, but close to plate lunch, surfing and ukulele jammin, Neens is the creator of the Musubi Map and the I Love Poke Festival, both vehicles that reflect his passion for all things Hawaiian. He was raised on local-style home cooking thanks to his Mom, Gles, also known as the Filipina Betty Crocker. This recipe is one of Neens’ favorite dishes that he grew up eating, courtesy of his Mom. Thanks, Mom!