Maui’s Own Sustainable, Organic Farm Tours and Chef Lunch at O’o

We had been impressed with Pacific’O restaurant in Lahaina during our last visit to Maui, especially knowing that the produce came from the restaurant’s very own organic garden. The food had been clean and flavorful, not overly complicated, made with quality ingredients and interesting preparations. We were further impressed this time around, not only with the delicious fare and romantic tiki-lit setting on the beach, but that Pacific’O and sister restaurants’ “Farm O’o, was now open for tours.

Being proponents of farm fresh produce, and the green movement toward a more organic and sustainable cuisine culture, Robbie and I were intrigued to schedule a tour and lunch at the 8.5 acre O’o farm in Kula, upcountry Maui. O’o means “to mature or ripen,” and is a perfectly suited name for this farm, whose proprietors, grounds keepers, and chefs are experimenting with just about every fruit and vegetable, to see what will grow and ripen in the temperate Hawaiian climate. About 50-60% of the restaurants’ food now sources from this farm.

The tour guide, Richard, also the farm manager, not only knows his way around the farm, but is adept at describing and explaining the growing and harvesting processes of the farm. He sites references to Alice Waters, Slow foods, Michael Pollan books, and discusses the organic and sustainable movements. The O’o Farm, the first of its kind in the stateof Hawaii, is a great place to learn about food, farming, and the farm-to-table movement.

Following the tour, the group joins for lunch in an open air pavilion overlooking the farm to enjoy fresh baked bread and seasonal fare made from the produce picked that morning. Richard plays the guitar for ambiance, the chef chats with the guests, and we all sit and fill our bellies with the freshest and tastiest food on Maui.