From Farm to Table: Touching the Earth Farm and Blue Dragon Restaurant—It’s All in the Family

By Fern Gavelek

Fresh! That’s the best word to describe the culinary ingredients at the Blue Dragon restaurant. In fact, you can’t get much fresher. Most of the fruits and vegetables used at the Kawaihae restaurant are grown just 15 minutes away—as the crow flies—at the owners’ own farm in Hawi.

“We’ve got a vast array of fresh product to work with from the land and sea,” observes Blue Dragon Manager Brian Schultz. “Here at the harbor, the fish come to us straight from the ocean. We’re constantly in communication with the farms so we can utilize what they’re picking that day.”

Ben Nicholson, who oversees operations at the two farms, Touching the Earth and Sage Farm, agrees. “We harvest and an hour later the food goes down to the Blue Dragon,” he shares. “I talk to the restaurant chefs twice a week. They tell me what they need and I tell them the availability.”

While other Hawai‘i restaurants also work intimately with farms, the relationship between Touching the Earth Farm and the Blue Dragon is unique—they both have the same owner. Owning the farm came first, according to Hawi’s Bennett Dorrance, a proponent of sustainability. He explains, “We’ve had the farm for 10 years. It enables us to create a situation where we can grow and sell healthy food locally. We also support the local economy by employing people.”

The Kawaihae restaurant was purchased a couple years ago and opened last June. “It came along for sale and it gave us another excuse to grow food,” continues Dorrance. Wife Delphina adds that the couple had their first date there (the former Blue Dolphin) “and so it’s near and dear to us.” Delphina, who is a musician, says owning the restaurant gives them the opportunity “to support musicians and arts on the island” as the Blue Dragon stages a lively entertainment schedule in its “Musiquarium.”

Nicholson, who owns nearby Sage Farm, oversees both the fruit and vegetable crops at both farms, which are certified as organic. Touching the Earth Farm has 11 acres under cultivation—10 in fruit and one in vegetables.

Planning what to grow for the restaurant was a team effort. Blue Dragon’s culinary team, Executive Chef Morgan Bunell and Sous Chef Thomas Lohmann, sat down with Nicholson and made a list—everything from avocado to zucchini, including such exotics as dragonfruit and dryland taro.

“We’re trying to be creative and do something different with all our fresh ingredients,” explains Chef Lohmann, who most recently worked at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott. For example, the Blue Dragon uses three kinds of beets—ruby, golden and the candy-striped chioggia— and features them in a roasted beet (called Up-Beet) salad that’s served with crunchy carrots, apple and cheese from the Hawai‘i Island Goat Dairy in Ahualoa.

In addition to salads, the just-picked veggies and fruit appear in a host of different ways: in the Rock’n Moroccan Tomato Chutney, as sautéed Garden Greens or in the Sake (To Me) Stir Fry. The innovatively prepared produce is integral to the culinary offerings that showcase fresh island fish, free-range chicken, beef, lamb and shrimp.

Entrees range from a spicy green or “mellow yellow” Dragon Curry, to a savory upcountry chicken cacciatore (“Holy Mole”) to a satisfying Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Whiskey Horseradish Demi Glaze. All main dishes are accompanied with choice of mashed potatoes, jasmine rice or creamy polenta. A break from potatoes or rice, the novel corn polenta is concocted with the restaurant’s vegetable stock.

“The daily fresh fish can be ordered pan-seared, grilled or steamed with your choice of a lilikoi, lemon and roasted pepper beurre blanc or a lighter tomato vinaigrette with farm fresh vegetables,” describes Chef Lohmann.

Blue Dragon, which bills its food as “coastal cuisine,” uses seafood in a variety of pupus and salads. Top-grade ahi appears in the Poke Bowl: it comes with sticky rice, ocean salad and cucumber relish, adorned with colorful sliced avocado and mango. Poached prawns are featured in the Buckwheat Noodle & Shrimp Salad and the unique Dragon Ballz are polenta-crusted lump crab served with a chipotle aioli.

“We do all our own filleting of fish and make our own fish stock,” adds Lohmann.

Schultz says the restaurant’s grains and flours are organic and “we make our own hummus and baba ghanouj.” The latter is a tasty puree flavored with spices that showcases the farm’s eg lant. It’s served with succulent Alladin’s Lamb Kebobs, accompanied with yogurt and Spicy Mint Chutney, quinoa tabouleh (Lebanese-style salad) and warm flat bread.

Blue Dragon Pastry Chef Tim Max creates the restaurant’s focaccia breads (they’re served with every meal) and the luscious desserts. The Blue Dragon also fashions its own chips to complement the ceviche.

“We were hoping to make our chips using taro, but working with Brian, we learned the taro isn’t ready,” confides Chef Lohmann. “So we’ve substituted sweet potato and we’re happy with the result,” To satisfy the demand, Nicholson is growing three varieties of sweet potatoes.

The innovative menu, which changes every three months, divides offerings using musical terms: preludes, intermezzos, segues, standards and finale. The theme ties the food into Blue Dragon’s focus on performing arts, which are staged nightly. Fun names describe the style of music on tap: Melodious Mondays, Island-Style Tuesdays, Fun-Ky Fridays and Saxy Saturdays. A curtained stage sits front and center inside the restaurant and, since the Blue Dragon has no roof, it’s dining and entertainment under the stars. There is no coverage charge, but patrons are invited to make donations.

“It took us awhile to remodel, and now that we’re open, we look forward to supporting the community through upcoming fundraisers,” adds Schultz. He says plans are in the works to promote local musicians performing at the Blue Dragon. The on-site sound studio has been busy recording “best of the Blue Dragon” sessions for a planned CD.

Hours are 5-10 p.m. nightly with the lounge open until midnight or last call. Reservations usually are not needed, except for large groups, phone 882-7771. ❖