Hawaiian food festival features Sam Choy and local chefs!

The I Love Poke Festival & Competition is coming to the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, October 6th at The Stonehouse Cafe. This event is a celebration of Hawaiian food culture as well as a competition where chefs will face off against one another to compete for the title of “Best Poke.” Guests will have the chance to sample each chef’s creation while enjoying other island-inspired bites and live music.

Competing chefs will include Chef David Dekker of 13 Coins and former winner of Sam Choy’s Poke Bowl in Hawaii; Chef Steven Ariel of Trace Seattle; Chef Jason Velasquez of Stone Lounge; Chefs Maylin Chavez and Melissa Mayer of Olympia Oyster Bar; Chef Geo Quibuyen of Food & Sh*t and more. To raise the stakes further, two-time I Love Poke champion Chef Chris Aure, who won both the I Love Poke San Diego and Orange County competitions earlier this year, will travel from California to give the Pacific Northwest a run for its money.

“I always go with my heart, and my heart told me Seattle. Our friends Chef Sam Choy and Max Heigh have poke food trucks here, and they encouraged me to bring the event here,” said Nino Camilo. “I came up for a visit and Seattle welcomed me with open arms. This is all about getting people together and celebrating the beautiful culture of Hawaii through food. This is just a backyard barbecue for us, but we’re inviting the public to come and enjoy. That is the true heart for I Love Poke and I feel Seattle is all about it.”