Wailea Kitchen is proudly supported by local Maui fishermen, farmers, and small businesses. We offer vegetarian and vegan menu items, and our fruits and vegetables are sourced from Maui local organic farms. Our Menu is created to serve our favorite island dishes, and cultures of Polynesia, and beyond. Using clean ingredients, fresh foods, and local products, we bring to you a dinner truly made and
inspired by our island Maui. Drinks are always made with fresh pressed juices like organic sugar cane, fresh Maui citrus, and local dragon fruit. We use sunflower oil (which cost nearly five times more but is GMO-free) which is noticeably more tasty. We stay away from domestic animals because of multiple reasons. First they have been caged in an inhumane way usually. Second today’s cows, chickens, pigs and even fish are fed genetically modified corn rather than their natural diet. Support local and eat healthy delicious food! Hawaiian style dining is about sharing food and tasting different things while being social with the ones you love. We place an emphasis on locally sourcing produce, fish, and meats that support Hawaiian families and farming communities. Hawaii currently imports over 90% of the food supply and we aim to create less dependency on imported food and create more demand for local. This menu survives if the boats stop coming to Hawaii. Most dishes (except wild meats and seafood entrees) are vegan, as we do not use butter or cream in the kitchen. However you are able to add wild proteins to most vegan dishes if you desire. Chef Christopher supports eating or preparing meats that have lived a humane life, as humans have done for thousands of years. On the other hand, Chef opposes large scale conventional meat production made for profits as it not natural or good for the animals, human health, and the environment. Everything on earth survives off of another living thing but it is not good to imprison or torture animals. We vote with every dollar we spend. Therefore we choose to vote locally with hunters, fishermen and farmers. We add 3% to every bill and give it out once a month on the 11th for our little improv Christmas party. The money goes in cash to the employees or employee of the month and we buy gifts for the staff who cover shifts or are especially wonderful that month. Chef Christopher does this to try and get great employees to want to stay here and enjoy the job. Also it is often times difficult to get that big chunk of money that is needed to do things and this can help one person at a time. About Chef Christopher Malik…
Chef Christopher Malik Cousins is uniquely trained in the art of food. As a kid, he was adopted by the Silverwater Cafe in Port Townsend WA was taught the art of crafting cakes and pies then went on to become a server at Larry Blake’s in Berkeley CA. This gave him confidence to make a bold decision and move on his own to Maui at the age of 17 with no more than $40 in hand. As many of you know Maui is a special place and either accepts you or kicks you out. His first job on the island was on the Molokini snorkel boats but he found a second home as valet at Carelli's on the beach. From Carelli’s, Chef Christopher went on to open Seawatch Wailea in the front of the house. In time Chef found his way back to the kitchen at Stouffer's Wailea (now the Andaz). Finally he got his first leadership role as head Chef at Kai Ku Ono, now Fred’s Kihei and then at the Greek Bistro for Gianni the Greek who was a great mentor for Chef Christopher. Gianni’s two sons are both successful restaurant owners as well. Determined to be a famous chef, Christopher made another bold move to Manhattan. He started at the Garage on West 4th and 7th Avenue and then to Union Pacific on 22 and Park. After two cold east coast winters Christopher came back to Maui with newfound entrepreneurial spirit to start Local boys shaved ice shops which have been running for 20 years. Later he went on to create The Farmacy health bars, all vegetarian healthy take out restaurants on the North Shore for local foods and people. All this has lead Chef full circle back to Wailea Kitchen with a unique opportunity to create something different and try to influence the way food or restaurants operate here and then beyond. The menu at the bar and the kitchen changes almost daily because Chef has made a commitment to local farmers, hunters and fishermen to buy what they have instead of requesting things to fill a menu. For this reason some of the prices and flavors are subject to change a bit. Restaurants are always striving for consistency and attempting to maximize profit or even worse enticing people with beautiful delicious food that is not safe or healthy. Chef Christopher hopes to achieve consistency only with consistently creating new, exciting, unique dishes with quality ingredients that will inevitably change with the seasons.
“Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food” Hippocrates
