Chef Allen Hess, a driving force of the second wave of Hawai‘i Regional Cuisine, is the award-winning mastermind behind FORC in the quaint, upcountry town of Waimea. His ingredient-driven menu not only showcases the vibrant flavors of Hawai‘i but also serves as a testament to his deep-rooted passion for local ingredients, which he considers the main stars of his culinary creations.

Q. What are some memories you hold surrounding food or cooking while growing up?

A. I remember going trout fishing with a friend and their family. Everyone had gone to bed, but I stayed up to work on the trout. I fileted all the trout, made a Ritz cracker crust and cooked them up. When the parents woke up, they were surprised that I cooked them—and I even made a butter sauce with lemon.

Q: What was your first job in the industry?

A: My first job was as a dishwasher at a country club's golf course. I slowly moved from dishwasher to prep cook, but I remember loving being a dishwasher—scrubbing the kitchen and cleaning the mats. While I was in high school, I also completed a Regional Occupation Program and was placed part-time at the local Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Q: What was your culinary school experience like?

A: After high school, I attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. They have a culinary program with a business program attached. I finished culinary school and did most of the business program. I wish I had finished the whole thing but an apprenticeship under John Besh in New Orleans came up, and my culinary instructor encouraged me to take the apprenticeship. After the apprenticeship, I worked at Pan Pacific Hotel and then the largest catering company in San Francisco, which was a lot of fun. Then, I transitioned to smaller restaurants and even got a job offer to work at a high-end resort in the Caribbean.

Q: How did your path lead you back to Hawai‘i and ultimately open FORC?

A: I decided to move back to Hilo and started cooking at Merriman’s. Then, a Sous Chef position opened at Roy’s. I was there for a few years before Alan Wong’s opened at the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai. I was there for a while and was lucky to travel with them. Then, I became the Executive Chef at Merriman’s Waimea and opened my first restaurant, Allen’s Table. It was a brief endeavor, but I learned a lot about business. After that, I became the Chef de Cuisine at Mauna Lani’s CanoeHouse before another opportunity to open a restaurant in Waikōloa arose. I ended up opening Mai Grille and Aloha Bols, which offers healthy local food. As Mai Grille expanded, it was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of pans in the air, but then the pandemic hit, and it changed the landscape of business and employment. We decided to step away from a few of the locations and focus on opening FORC.

Q: How would you describe your menu to someone who has never dined with you?

A: I would emphasize that we put the true flavors of Hawai‘i on a plate— there is no local person making mac-nut-crusted fish or wasabi mashed potatoes at home. There isn’t even dairy in Hawaiian cuisine. So, we focus on things like making fresh lau lau and often use beef in our lau lau where we use the ribs, the oxtail, and even the skirt steak.

Q: How do you differentiate between local ingredients and ingredients native to Hawai‘i?

A: When you’re talking local ingredients, you’re talking about ingredients that were grown here. Native ingredients are more important in the traditional cuisine of Hawai‘i. For instance, I have a bunch of beautiful grilled zucchini right now, so that is an example of local ingredients. But those zucchinis do not necessarily integrate into the culture or the people of Hawai‘i. Native ingredients would be more things like ho‘io, lū‘au leaf, taro and poi.

Q: With local ingredients in the spotlight these days, what are some things to remember?

A: When using local ingredients, we need to remember their freshness. However, just because something is grown here doesn’t mean it will always be a good product. For instance, if you force pumpkins to grow out of season, the skin can become thick and hard to chew. It’s important to uphold a standard of quality with local ingredients.

Q: How did you become involved with the “Mauna Lani Culinary Classic?”

A: I’ve had a long-standing relationship with people like Bruce Bromberg, Sergio Caceres and Mauna Lani Resort. There is a history for everyone involved— we all have relationships with one another, and we’re all chefs who lean on each other.

Q: What can guests expect from the “Chefs on the Beach” event?

A: The cool thing is that this will be a lū‘au event, and the Mauna Lani team is working really hard to provide a true lū‘au experience. With lū‘aus, the feeling is the most important part. It’s about your family and your community, and to provide that feeling, you must believe in what you’re doing and truly live it.

Q: What are some ingredients you always have in your kitchen at home?

A: There will always be sashimi or some sort of fish, and we’ll have local sea salts. We grill a lot at home, and there is nothing better than finishing something off with nice sea salt. We also have a lot of local produce.

Q: What are some of your favorite dishes at FORC?

A: My favorite is the fresh lau lau because we can change it up all the time. It is served with hō‘i‘o and poi made fresh from kalo grown in Waipi‘o Valley. I also really like our whole roasted fish, which is served with shoyu and truffle. The fish is delivered four times weekly, so it’s super fresh.

Visit Chef Allen at FORC, located in the heart of Waimea town, and at the “Chefs on the Beach” event held on August 31^st as part of the “Mauna Lani Culinary Classic.”

FORC; 65-1214 Lindsey Road, Waimea; (808) 731-4656; open Thursday through Monday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. with Happy Hour from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; forchawaii.com.