‘The Hawaii Farmers Market Cookbook’ is back for second helpings

HONOLULU—Mike Nevin, the food and beverage director at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and chef of the museum’s Pavilion Café, is included in the new book The Hawaii Farmers Market Cookbook—Volume 2: The Chefs’ Guide to Fresh Island Foods. Nevin is a pioneer restaurateur—in the late 1980s, he introduced Honolulu to fresh, contemporary Italian cuisine with his groundbreaking restaurant Il Fresco in Ward Center.

Published by Watermark Publishing and edited by Joan Namkoong, this companion volume to the original Hawaii Farmers Market Cookbook contains more than 75 recipes featuring locally sourced ingredients by 18 of the Islands’ top chefs. The cookbook made its debut at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market on June 26..

In the book are three Nevin recipes—pasta with pancetta and fresh tomatoes, short ribs with hoisin, Meyer lemon, and shallot vinaigrette.

Along with Chef Nevin, the book features recipes from such chefs as Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, Ed Kenney, Hiroshi Fukui, and Vikram Garg.

The Hawaii Farmers Market Cookbook Volumes 1 and 2 were created under the aegis of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation (HFBF).

Diners can sample Nevin’s simple, Mediterranean- and Asian-accented contemporary dishes at the Pavilion Caféfive days a week. The café is open Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Popular items include the oversize piadina, which was recently featured in Saveur Magazine, and the soba noodle salad topped with grilled mahimahi, and the daily pasta special, a constant bestseller.

Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (808) 532-8734.