Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Deron & Kit Furukawa, co-owners of Maui Chili Chili Oil. In this podcast Deron & Kit talk about what their product is, the inspiration behind launching the business, how they left their tradition career backgrounds to start this business, getting their big break at the Made In Maui festival, the time frame starting with when they created the first recipe to getting products in stores, using their social media to pull back the curtain on...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Peter Merriman, Executive Chef & Restaurateur with Merriman's Kapalua, Monkeypod Kitchen, & Ulu Kitchen. In this podcast Peter talks about when to make changes on restaurants that have continued success such as Merriman's and Monkeypod, what defines a great guest experience, whether he can dine at his own restaurants as a customer or does work always creep into his mind, what went into opening Ulu Kitchen at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa i...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Richard Elliott, General Manager of the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort. In this podcast Richard talks about his background growing up in Jamaica, eventually moving to Chicago where he got his first job with a hotel property, when he realized there would be potential for a career in the hospitality industry, his path to becoming a general manager, the value of networking, the similarities and differences working with properties in city locations vs...
Diane Woodburn speaks to Stephanie Mallek, CEO and co-owner of Kula Lodge. In this podcast Stephanie talks about dealing with the recent fire at Kula Lodge, the history of the property, her father Simon Vodjani's experience in the restaurant industry, an update on the damage that was done to the restaurant, how a small part of the interior was salvaged by a local firefighter, the impact of the fire on employees, the process of rebuilding, her vision for the future of Kula Lodge, how the...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Daryl Fujiwara, Event Coordinator for the Festivals of Aloha. In this podcast Daryl talks about the history of Festivals of Aloha, the logistics behind putting on these events, the importance of communication while planning a festival series like this, a rundown of the two-month long event series starting with First Friday in Wailuku on September 5th and running each weekend until October 26th, the venues involved that include events in Wailuku...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to David Gridley & Maria McMillan about the upcoming 2025 Seed To Cup Coffee Festival on August 10th. In this podcast David & Maria talk about how they first got involved working in the coffee industry, how the Maui Coffee Association supports local coffee growers and producers, how David founded Maui Oma Coffee Roasting Company and Maria took over in 2018 when he retired, the challenges the industry has faced over the years for Maui coffe...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Jayson Asuncion, Executive Chef at the Royal Lahaina Resort. In this podcast Jayson talks about his first culinary influences while growing up in Lahaina, moving to the west coast for culinary school and his first jobs in the industry, when he realized this was the career path he wanted to pursue, working for both independent restaurants and resort properties, what led to his move back to Maui, how he's seen the food scene evolve on Maui over t...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Erica Erickson, founder of Da Beehive store in Paia & the Maui Honey Bee Sanctuary. In this podcast Erica talks about how she got into working with bees, going from weekly swap meet sales to opening a store in Paia, the challenges getting the store opened up, what types of bee products are available, why Maui is an optimal location for bees, why she opened up a bee sanctuary upcountry, the types of tours and experiences offered at the sanct...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Owen Campbell, CEO & Co-owner of Mana Recovery Center. In this podcast Owen talks about the mission of Mana Recovery Center, the inspiration behind starting Mana Recovery Center, what needed to be in place to open Mana Recovery Center, different addiction treatment options offered to the community, the most rewarding part of his job, his advice for overcoming the stigma of needing help to treat addiction, goals for the future for Mana Recov...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Ryan Luckey, Executive Chef at The Pint & Cork. In this podcast Ryan talks about his family ties to Lahaina, how his grandfather and father were involved with The Carthaginian II replica whaling ship in Lahaina, his culinary influences growing up, his first jobs in the culinary industry, his career path at different stops across West Maui, the differences in working with a resort restaurant vs independent restaurants, how he's seen the culi...
Diane Woodburn speaks to Jeremy Solyn, Chef/Owner of NyloS located in Paia. In this podcast Jeremy talks about his first job in culinary industry working in the Hamptons as an 18 year old, his career path that eventually brought him to Maui, what it was like to be the recipient of Best Chef's Table at the 2025 Aipono Awards, what guests can expect to experience at a NyloS dinner, how he worked through the economic downturns with the pandemic and Maui fires, dealing with some of the curr...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Ryan Cruz, Executive Chef at Hotel Wailea. In this podcast Ryan talks about dropping out of business school to change his career path to the culinary industry, why fried shrimp brings up special family memories growing up, how he started on his culinary path, how public speaking classes from his business course help with his current career, lessons he learned early on in his days working with Wolfgang Puck restaurants, how his career took him a...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Zach Sato, Chef/Owner of Havens Harborside Fish & Chophouse & Havens Kahului Food Truck. In this podcast Zach talks about how he got his start in the restaurant industry, his favorite family dishes growing up, advancing his career once he became a chef, the decision to open his first restaurant, how the pandemic forced him to pivot on his plans, running his own restaurant vs working as a chef in an existing restaurant, the decision to launch ...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Rhonda Alexander-Monkres, Executive Director of the Ho'ōla iā Mauiakama Disaster Long Term Recovery Group. In this podcast Rhonda talks about the mission of the organization, bringing together various nonprofits and community leaders to help streamline recovery efforts, how the group supports different recovery needs, working on the challenge of rebuilding owner occupied housing, the importance of flexibility when trying to overcome challenges ...
Diane Woodburn speaks to GM Josh Hargrove & Hotel Manager Selawe Tau of the Westin Maui Resort and Spa and chair of the 46th annual Maui Charity Walk. In this podcast Josh & Selawe talk about their career paths, the history of the Charity Walk, why the event is important for the Maui community, the goal this year for Maui to raise $2M for local nonprofit organizations, what the role of chair entails for an event of this scale, how people can get involved to either enter a team o...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks Meli James, co-founder of Mana Up. In this podcast Meli talks about what Mana Up does, the inspiration behind launching the company, the process going from the initial business idea to the first day of company operations, initial challenges the company had to overcome, ways that Mana Up helps local businesses, examples of Maui businesses that have grown with the support of Mana Up, how pop-up Aloha Markets like the current one at Haneda Airport in...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Kyle Fleming, co-founder & head brewer at Pauwela Beverage Company. In this podcast Kyle talks about brewing fermented beverages like Kombucha, differences in brewing kombucha vs beer, Kyle’s background that led to this career, starting the business in January of 2020 and having to immediately adapt to the pandemic, their biggest challenge getting the business started, sourcing ingredients from local Maui farms, what was needed to scale up ...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Alexa Caskey, owner of Moku Roots. In this podcast Alexa talks about her culinary influences growing up, when she made the decision to adopt a vegan diet, misconceptions people commonly have about vegan food, going from an engineering background to opening her first restaurant, the biggest challenge leading up to opening Moku Roots Lahaina in 2018, learning to be more efficient as a business during the pandemic, why a zero waste approach for a ...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Isaac Bancaco, VP of Operations for Koholā Brewery. In this podcast Isaac talks about his first culinary inspirations, his favorite dish to make with his grandmother, his career path in the culinary industry, what he learned from mentors like Ming Tsai and Roy Yamaguchi, evolving his career beyond the role of an executive chef, how the restaurant industry prepares people for any career, how he splits time within different parts of the business,...
Jason Evans of SilverShark Media speaks to Max Novena, Executive Director of the Sentry PGA golf tournament. In this podcast Max talks about his first introduction to golf, what inspired him to pursue a career in sports, his experience working with major sports leagues like the NBA & NHL, details for the upcoming Sentry PGA Tournament held at the Plantation course in Kapalua from January 2nd-5th, why community engagement and impact is a top priority for the Sentry, a few examples of...