Balance in a Bowl: Hawaiʻi Rooted

Brandon Baptiste uses his culinary training to put a new spin on shave ice at Wailua Shave Ice on the island of Kauaʻi.
Brandon perfected his culinary skills working under Chef Thomas Keller at Per Se - one of the best restaurants in New York. He ended his pursuit of super-chef stardom to be with his family on Kauaʻi, where he opened up Wailua Shave Ice. Today, he applies the skills and attention to detail he learned as a chef to shave ice - the local version of a snow cone.
He’s reinvented the possibilities of what shave ice can be with fresh, natural flavors and innovative, elevated recipes. Lines form early in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi because people are passionate about his shave ice. Baptiste has even expanded, opening successful Wailua Shave Ice shops in San Diego and Portland.
When he described what makes shave ice unique to Hawai'i, he mentions that Hawai'i is a combination of all the different cultures that came together, and in turn came up with flavors and pairings from Japanese, Filipino, and Portuguese cultures. You can find things that you don’t typically find in their original countries that they’ve had to meld together. To him, that is what Hawai'i quintessentially is.
Discover more of Brandon’s #HawaiiRooted story at www.gohawaii.com/hawaii-roote...
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[@tulipthorn]

I want that large bowl of shave ice! Yum!

[@ericchiu165]

Fantastic

[@inashamsia]

Passion fruit 😍😍😍

[@osmanhossain676]

Indian and Pakistani