It’s a balmy evening in Maui. The sun finishes setting, casting hues of lilac and rose into the sky until the stars come out to dance together. The deep, colossal sound of a conch shell echoes outside while tiki torches are lit. You dig into dishes you’ve never imagined before, like Filipino Crepes and Island Style Ceviche, surrounded by some of your closest family and friends.
This is exactly how it was meant to be, right in this spot. After all, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua’s new restaurant, Banyan Tree, was so named for a reason. “Traditionally, a banyan tree was where everyone would get together and exchange or share from their different cultures to do their trading system,” explained Chef Isabelle Toland. “So the restaurant is not the same necessarily in terms of exchanges, but more than anything it’s a place to gather, sit down and be comfortable.”
Banyan Tree not only acts as a cozy, intimate spot for guests to come together, but the cuisine offers a place for different cultures to blend as well. “I was born in France, lived in Los Angeles for a little bit and then when my parents split up we moved to the Philippines, and eventually my dad moved to Hawaii. So when I was ten, every summer and Christmas break was spent on the Big Island.”
This has influenced her cooking style, specifically at Banyan Tree. Chef Toland prepares dishes with lots of butter just like the French, along with lemons, tomatoes, and tarragon, but the menu also features classic Hawaiian recipes which are deconstructed and redesigned and Filipino dishes given a local twist.
“It’s got a Filipino style using a lot of European flavors in there as well,” said Chef Toland.
The blend of these particular cultures also means a meal is more than just a meal. At the restaurant, guests are encouraged to order items with the vision of sharing everything, family style, as opposed to their own separate courses. In doing so, Chef Toland and the team at Banyan Tree hope to create more of an experience for a couple or a group of people to enjoy since people come to Hawaii for vacation and connect with each other in a new way.
But no matter what culture, what style of eating, or what flavors Chef Toland brings to the food at Banyan Tree, there remains an emphasis on supporting local farms and farmers. This means she likes to know where the ingredients come from and that the flavors of the foods come through in the final dish. And of course, fresh is always best.
“With some things on the menu, it will just say ‘Farm Salad,’ and that’s because I don’t want it to get stuck on the ingredient itself,” Chef Toland explained. “I have farmers that will call me with an ingredient list of what’s ready for harvest, and I’ll just say, ‘Yes, send that to me.’”
More than anything, she says, it’s those ingredients that makes it special and unique to the island—that memorable dish you won’t be able to find anywhere else. “Food in Hawaii is so many cultures put together,” she mentioned, “so it’s more about vegetation and thinking about the plants that were here back before anything else was planted here. I really think that’s what makes Hawaiian food.”
Theresa Christine is a freelance travel writer based in Los Angeles, CA. You can follow along with her adventures around the world by subscribing to her newsletter Delve here.
