‘Q’uisine of Hearts Happens This Sunday

Eat your heart out in style—and to benefit keiki nutrition awareness—at the annual ‘Q’uisine of Hearts. Time is 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 10 at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Enjoy a tantalizing bruschetta buffet, plus omelet and eggs benedict stations, offered by West Hawaii community college students. Attendees will be tempted with bite-sized, scrumptious specialties by local pastry chefs, bakers, chocolatiers and confectioners.

Culinary students at Kealakehe and Konawaena high schools will pour fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies. Kombucha—the fizzy, tea-like elixir with symbiotic microorganisms—will also be on tap, along with 100 percent Kona coffees, Mauna Kea Tea, handcrafted ales, champagne and wine.

Hilton’s award-winning pastry chef, Eddie Enjardo—who last year wowed the crowd with his decadent Three Hearts Desert— is serving a heart-shaped mousse made with Hawaii-sourced dark chocolate, ginger, oranges and macadamia nuts.

Debuting at this year’s event is Melissa Logan, new executive pastry chef at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Other culinary participants include Elena’s Chocolate, Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, Tropical Dreams Ice Cream, Kailua Candy Company, Kimball’s Catering and Short n Sweet Bakery/Market/Café.

Serenading the scrumptious “eats” will be romantic piano music, including some of your favorite love songs. During the silent auction, bid for “sweetheart” floral arrangements, private catered dinners by top Big Isle chefs and tempting cookies and cakes prepared by culinary students.

Tickets, priced at $45 for adults and $20 for children aged 5 and up, are for sale at The Spoon Shop, Kona Wine Market and Clark Realty in Kona or at Tropical Dreams Ice Cream in Waimea. Tickets can be conveniently charged by phone at 808-329-2522 or purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

‘Q’uisine of Hearts, sponsored by the ACF Kona Kohala Chefs Association, has a Chef and Child Foundation focus. The CCF team in Kona provides nutrition education annually to over 1,000 West Hawaii children and their families. In addition, CCF supports Green Tables, a farm and garden philanthropic initiative for children by Les Dames d’Escoffier Hawaii in Waimea.

For information, contact 808-333-5442.