Had lunch at Star Noodle in Lahaina today. We really enjoyed the food and service. Sheldon is the chef, a Hilo boy who married a Lahaina girl, a Leeward Community College culinary school graduate. I was really happy to see that a local boy has done so well. James Beard nomination and he will be on Top Chef as a contestant in the upcoming season. I truly enjoyed the food , flavors, and combinations he had. A lot of young chefs have jumped onto the farm to table bandwagon and while that is great, some choose to be too simple, just putting a farm or ranchers name on the dish and not taking a chance on the plate----calling it rustic is not a way to hide a lack of creativity or working the dish. On the other extreme, you see young chefs trying too hard or not fully understanding what is happening. The ultimate judge is the customer. It's good to have diversity and more choices for the people. I think you will hear more about Sheldon as the years expose his talents.
