Off-Premise

Here’s our photo gallery highlighting all of the different things going on during the Off-Premise: HUBurban dining event.  Many thanks to the vendors that participated and helped make the dinner a truly unique experience!

[ART]
Kenny Ng from The Art Smith (web) (facebook)
Jeff Gress of Gress Designs (web) (facebook)
Roxy Chasle & Matt Ortiz from Vers Hawaii (web) (facebook)

[BAR]
Mike Prasad from MXLGY (web) (facebook)

[FOOD]
Shaun Henderson from Aloha on the Rocks (web) (facebook)
Miso & Ale (web) (facebook)

[VENUE]
The Greenhouse Innovation Hub (web) (facebook)

[RENTALS]
Royal Party Rentals (web) (facebook)

[STAFFING]
Off-Menu Catering Services (web) (facebook)

Contributed by Mike Lukacs, Royal Party Rentals

Off-Premise never ceases to amaze me. Every time I get a call from Jaymi that they have the date and venue for their next Off-Premise dining event, I know I’m in for a surprise. Whether it be a sit-down dinner in our Waipahu warehouse or an elegant night at the Oasis World Estates Oceanfront Oasis, I know it’ll be something I’ve never done before.

When I got to the logistics meeting, I was shocked to see over a dozen people sitting at a conference table. It’s usually a handful of us at most so I was interested to see what was up with this one. I was introduced to the Chefs from Miso and Ale as well as our hosts John Garcia and Doc from the Greenhouse Innovation Hub. Just after that short meeting, I knew this Off-Premise would be a hit. Everyone was so awesome and excited!

My part was fairly simple, Royal Party Rentals was responsible for setting up the food station outside the Greenhouse. We set-up two 15×15 (15 feet by 15 feet) frame tents covering the sidewalk and jetting out onto Auahi Street. We also set Miso and Ale up with all their cooking equipment which included: Metal Uprights, Hot Boxes, Work Burners, Propane Grills, etc. These guys were on a mission! Inside we kept it fairly simple. We were able to use a lot of the existing furniture so that made our lives easier. The Lokahi Group designed cool dining areas, each unique from the other, within the Greenhouse. Simple touches like pipe and drape and uplights helped create a slight party vibe.

Although I couldn’t attend the event, I stopped by just as it was starting. The place looked great and everyone seemed to be having an amazing time. Hats off to all the companies involved. Looks like we have another one under our belt! Royal Party Rentals is always glad to be a part of the Off-Premise crew!

Off-Premise Recap: Off with an Urban Kick
by Jaymi Ann Seo, Lokahi Group

Two weeks before our targeted Off-Premise date and no chef, we all thought we would have to postpone this event. When Kevin from Off-Menu Catering Services called and said we were on, I was so interested to see who he got to handle the food.

The first meeting took place just sixteen days before the event. I walked into The Greenhouse Innovation Hub and saw a dozen guys sitting around a conference table. I was introduced to our hosts, John Garcia (who happens to be a fellow Kalani Alumni), and Doc Roc. They were so awesome and open to our design ideas! I knew using their space would be a blast! Next, I met our savior Chefs Chris Okuhara (another Kalani Alumni!), Chris Gee, Titus Nakagawa, and Gavin Murai. These guys make up Miso and Ale, starting as a pop-up gastropub and hoping to open up their own spot. After hearing about their food plans for the evening, I was really excited! Everything sounded so delicious and original!

The best thing about this event was the vibe that I got from everyone. I’m not too sure if it was the adrenaline that comes with planning a “last minute” event or just that we are all very eager and hardworking people but this event had so much positive energy!

Because our Venue and Chefs were so unique, we chose to do something we have never done before. We decided to scratch the normal seated dinner and go for an interactive walk-up food station. Innovation and Exploration are very important at The Greenhouse, so we really wanted to showcase that throughout the dinner. Food stations seemed appropriate and really helped force everyone to mingle!

Working with Miso and Ale was a blast as well! I know when our food write-up gets done, you’ll be able to hear all about their wonderful dishes. But all I can say from my side is that I can’t wait for them to find their permanent location! I will be the first person in line!

Thank you to all of our diners who made this event a truly unique dining experience. I look forward to many more Off-Premise dinners with you!

Off-Premise Recap: Starting Off Memoir-able
by Gavin Yuasa, Lokahi Event Services Group

photos courtesy Emma Prince-Wilson Photography

2012 is shaping up to be a great year for Off-Premise!

To ring in the New Year, Off-Menu Catering Services Manager Kevin Fujinaga partnered with Chef Peter Foster, and his talented Memoirs Hawaii kitchen staff, to create a special Off-Premise dinner menu.

Memoirs and Off-Menu had previously joined forces in the summer of 2011 while working out the logistics for a high-end plated dinner.  Additionally, the Memoirs team was tremendously helpful in arranging for the use of Aloha Tower Marketplace as the January 2012 Off-Premise venue.

Unfortunately, a skiing accident prevented Chef Peter Foster from personally taking part in the event.  However, the rest of the Memoirs crew, headed by Operations Manager Dan Weston, didn’t let the absence of their head chef get in the way of preparing  a fantastic dinner for the 65 guests in attendance.

The airy, spacious dining area, with historic Aloha Tower just off to the west amidst a sunset harbor vista, was beautifully accented with decorative touches provided by John Berry of Event Essentials Hawaii.  The resultant marine-inspired dining hall little resembled the original humble food court.

The evening began with a refreshing sparkling tropical welcome beverage, a Lilikoi Mimosa, and a trio of passed appetizers: Ahi Avocado and Beef Tartare Sesame Cones, and Shrimp Cakes with Goat Cheese.  These delicious bites really set the tone for the rest of the dinner.

The servers ushered guests to their seats so we could begin dinner service.  Kevin welcomed the guests to our first Off-Premise dinner of the year, and introduced Dan to provide the inspiration of the menu and assured everyone that Chef Peter oversaw the development and creation of each dish.

With water and wine glasses full, the kitchen began turning out the courses.  The first course was a salad of  Tomato, Asparagus, and Shaved Fennel with Lemon Ahi Marrow and Pecorino Dressing.  The colors were vibrant and the flavors just delightful, and our guests were ecstatic!

Soon after, the kitchen began plating the next course seeing as everyone polished their plates fairly quickly.  A Braised then Seared Pork Belly with Spiced Rotkohl and Thyme Spitzkohl adorned each diner’s plate, teasing those who haven’t yet received their serving as the wait staff placed them on the tables.

In between courses, guests were allowed to take their shot at our Food Scrabble Game Board.  There were two boards with different starting words, Memoirs and Premise, to start our guests off.  They were given six random letters each with a different value, and could either use the letters they had or trade with another diner.  Everyone was given until the end of the third course to place their food-related answers on one of the boards.

After the guests were checked and the kitchen staff were ready, the servers began to bring the third course: Seared Mahimahi, Baby Vegetables, Farm Dirt and Bacon Tomato Tarragon Vinaigrette on Celeriac Puree.  The presentation was beautiful with a perfectly cooked filet of Mahimahi, accented by the vinaigrette and sprinkling of farm dirt.

We slowly began to check out what terms lay in wait on the Food Scrabble boards.  Unfortunately, some of the letters shifted with the wind but luckily, their answers were written in the space we provided on the game board.  Meanwhile, plates of Memoirs’ Waialua Chocolate Crunch Bar with House-spun Sweet Ice Cream with Kauai Caramel were being passed to the guests and offered either coffee or tea to round out the evening’s dinner.

As our guests began to savor the last few morsels of their crunch bar, we started to announce the six winners of our Food Scrabble game who were called up to claim their prize.  The room was filled with a great feeling of joy, that revealed our accomplishment of kicking off the year with a great Off-Premise dining experience.  We were certain we would have many more amazing events to come.

All of us at Off-Premise would like to thank our guests for joining us in a fantastic evening of fine dining and fun.  We would also like to thank our wonderful vendors (Memoirs Hawaii, Off-Menu Catering Services, Event Essentials Hawaii, Royal Party Rentals, and Emma Prince-Wilson Photography) for helping to make this most recent Off-Premise dinner a smashing success!

Off-Premise Recap: First Anniversary
by Jaymi Seo, Lokahi Event Service Group

As planning began for our October dinner, we slowly came to realize that it was our One Year Anniversary.  We knew we had to do something amazing!  As we took a look back at all of our events, we realized that each one of them had a special flare.  We really needed to take the best of all our events and pull it together to create our Anniversary Event.

As usual, the process started with a venue.  We reached out to Thomas Meharey of Oasis World Estates about the Beachfront Oasis Property.  Tommy was thrilled to be a part of our event and graciously donated the venue.  Tommy and the Oasis World Estates staff are always a joy to work with as they are so accommodating and supportive of our sometimes unique vision!

Second, the hunt for a Chef began.  Earlier this year, Kevin from Off-Menu Catering Services had the joy of catering celebrity Chef Richard Muszynski’s Wedding.  Chef Rich is the Owner of Ricard Chocolat in New York, NY as well as the Chef/Owner of his own catering company, Bountiful Feast.  Throughout the planning process, Kevin and Rich formed a quick friendship and knew that eventually their careers would cross.  When talking about our menu, Kevin knew that Rich’s Contemporary/New American Cuisine would be a treat for our Off-Premise Diners.  Rich was game!

Once the key elements were locked down, Event Essentials Hawaii went to work.  They really wanted to showcase the beauty of the venue and all of its surroundings.  They chose a pretty moss green and ivory color palette and accented it with touches of white and gold.

October 29th came so fast!  There were so many planning elements that were involved.  We really went all out this month!

Once the courtesy shuttle dropped our diners off, they were greeted with a tribute to our first Off-Premise. Our “Guess Who” Ice Breaker.  Once the instructions were explained, they were ushered inside to a photo opt with the beautiful indoor waterfall only seen at Beachfront Oasis!  Cucumber, Mint and Honey Infused Vodka served as a welcome cocktail and was a refreshing surprise that got everyone ready for the passed appetizers that would soon be heading out of the kitchen.  Two appetizers were passed throughout the crowd:

Corn Fritter
Island Mango, Jalapeño, Red Pepper Chutney

Tuna Nicoise
Blue Fin Tuna, Olive, Tomato, Cilantro Coulis

Just before dinner, Kevin gathered everyone to watch a short film about the evening’s Chef.  Guests were intrigued and excited to be dining with the star of “Pressure Cooker,” a pilot film featuring Chef Richard Muszynski and could not wait for the meal to come.  They found their seats on the lawn and anxiously waited.

The table was set with a beautiful pearly white charger and accented with a gold rimmed dinner plate.  Each guest had a beautiful hand cut Nautilus Shell place card holder, a perfectly folded napkin holding a customized menu and two perfectly placed orchids to tie it all together.  The tabletop was simple, yet elegant.  Now, let’s eat!

AMUSE BOUCHE
Baby Bay Scallop Citrus Ceviche
Lemon Zest, Radish Greens, Toasted Coriander Seed

1st COURSE
Kabocha Squash Soup
Ginger Root, Fenugreek, Granny Smith Apple Slaw and Toasted Sunflower Seed

2nd COURSE
Blue Shell Crab Panzanella Salad
Rocket, Baby Fennel Confit, Oven Dried Tomato, Soft Saffron Aioli

3rd Course
Cider-Brined Berkshire Pork Loin
Bacon, Pomegranate Pistachio Relish, Shaved Brussel Sprouts, Cider Jus

While the diners were enjoying their meal, Royal Party Rentals went to work to transform the original cocktail lounge into a sleek, black and red dessert lounge.  Once the formal dinner was complete, guests were invited into the lounge to help the Chef prepare a Flaming Spanish Coffee as their after dinner drink.  Servers hand passed the final elements of the dinner:

Warm Dole Plantation 72% Bittersweet Chocolate Espresso Cake
Malt Anglaise & Chantilly

Assortment of Petite Fours
from Ricard Chocolat

Guests were left with custom chocolates from Ricard Chocolat (set to open soon on Oahu).  We couldn’t have been more pleased with our First Anniversary Party!  Many thanks to Chef Richard Muszynski for a wonderful dinner, and Tommy Meharey for providing the venue for this milestone event.  We hope all of our diners enjoyed it as much as we did.  We are all looking forward to what’s to come in 2012!  From what I hear, they have some pretty amazing dinners lined up.  Hope to see you all again soon!