EXECUTIVE CHEF EDWIN GOTO has been overseeing all of the restaurants at Mauna Lani Resort since 2002.  Goto is a recipient of a James Beard nomination for Best Chef of the Northwest/Hawaii region  and has cooked at the James Beard House in New York as part of the Foundation's "Best Hotel Chef Series.".  Goto has put his signature on each of the hotel's dining menus. "The purity and freshness of food here on the Big Island is so great, that we can serve food that isn't fussed with and overdone. All of my menus are ingredient-driven with the best products that the Big Island has to offer," states Goto.

EXECUTIVE SOUS CHEF SHAWN SMITH joined the Mauna Lani team in July 2007 and quickly began sharing his expertise with the culinary team. Smith came to Mauna Lani from the Halekulani Hotel where he was the Executive Sous chef for more than 10 years.  In 2006 Smith was also the Corporate Chef Consultant for Asakuma Corp. of Nagoya Japan.  During his time in Japan Smith implemented a training program for restaurant chef and managers, developed an export beef and Kona Coffee program as well as a micro-brewery concept. Smith's has a creative culinary flair which includes Pacific-Rim, Indo-Pacific, Continental, California Nouvelle and Classical French cuisine.

CANOEHOUSE  CHEF DU CUISINE  DEE ANN TSURUMAKI was happy to return from Hong Kong to her beloved Hawaii in 2007 and she has handled the transition of chef duties seamlessly while infusing her own culinary creativity. "I wanted to return to Hawaii and find a situation where I could demonstrate multiple food styles based on my 35 years in the industry," said Tsurumaki. "The CanoeHouse is a perfect venue for me to highlight Pacific Rim, Euro-Asian, Traditional Asian and American specialties." (See CanoeHouse for menus and recipes.)

Images  L to R Goto, Tsurumaki, Smith