Growing up along the waters of Corpus Christi, Texas, Chef Mark Arriola was surrounded by a family that valued spending time together and sharing food. Today, he continues to forge relationships over food by creating partnerships with local ranchers, farmers and fishermen, bringing the best ingredients to the kitchens of Living Foods, a café and grocery shop in historic Kōloa. Living Foods features a hyper-local menu emphasizing handmade products that reflect their dedication to supporting the local community, protecting the ‘āina (land) and the unique way of life on Kaua‘i.

Q: What are some of your earliest memories surrounding food or cooking?

A: My grandfather was a butcher, so I remember we always had meat on our table and often less common cuts of meat. I remember Sunday BBQs when the grill would always be going and all my aunts, uncles and cousins would come over. My grandmother was also a great cook, and she cooked classic Mexican dishes, but what stood out was my grandfather because he always played around [with his cooking]. He didn’t have recipes but would experiment and have fun in the kitchen.

Q: What was your first job in a kitchen?

A: When I was fifteen, I worked at French’s Crab House on the water in Corpus Christi. I was hired to shuck oysters, and we would go through a thousand oysters a day! I was there for a while and learned a lot. I waited tables, worked the line and always enjoyed being in the kitchen. That environment captured me at an early age, and I stayed in the restaurant industry ever since.

Q.: Was there a moment that you realized you wanted to be a chef?

A: At first, I worked in restaurants until I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I went to college and was a Psychology major, then a Marine Biology major. In my twenties, I realized I had worked in restaurants throughout everything, so I went into Hospitality Management. Later, I attended culinary school in Colorado, and once I got into my first culinary class and kitchen lab, it was clear I wanted to do that.

Q: How did you move from culinary school in Colorado to Maui, working at Merriman’s Bamboo Bistro?

A: It was the luck of the draw. The director of my culinary program knew Peter Merriman and called him to tell him about me. It just so happened Peter was opening a new restaurant on Maui and needed a sous chef. After talking on the phone, Peter flew my family and me to Maui and offered me the job! I was there for about four years when we decided to move back to Texas after our second child was born. We moved to San Antonio because we had family support and ended up opening a small restaurant.

Q: How did your path lead you back to Hawaiʻi, specifically, the island of Kaua‘i?

A: We had been in San Antonio for a while, and my wife said she was ready to return to Hawai‘i. I called Peter right away and asked if he needed any help anywhere. Luckily, he needed a chef on Kaua‘i, and three days later, we signed a deal! I took over as Executive Chef of Merriman’s on Kaua‘i, and that’s how I met Nicole Freedland, a General Manager at the Beach House and now the President & Managing Partner of Living Foods. An opportunity presented itself for us to reopen Living Foods, which had closed down during the pandemic. We kept the name because people knew of it, and we kept the concept, but the food and market have changed. We opened in September 2021, and it’s been great!

Q: How would you describe Living Foods’s menu to someone who has never been there?

A: I’d use the word fresh. Everything we make is made in-house and from scratch. We bring in a steer every week and break it down in-house. Our lettuce is grown locally, and our fish is sourced from local waters. We even have a farmers market right outside our restaurant every Wednesday and will head out there to buy directly from the farmers.

Q: What are some of your favorite menu items at Living Foods?

A: I think our salads are great! I wanted to focus on building salads that were like entrées. One of my favorites is called the Provisions salad. This salad is dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, with the flavor profile coming from all our fresh herbs. We use parsley, tarragon, mint—tons of chopped herbs—and crunchy romaine lettuce from Hirabara Farms on the Big Island. It also has feta cheese for the salt, chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and avocado for some creaminess. It’s a solid salad!

Q: Why are your relationships with local farmers, ranchers and fishermen important?

A: One of the things very important to me is supporting our community of growers. We don’t set prices for our products, rather, we let them tell us what they need to sell their products for. During the pandemic, everything was closed down, and many of our farmers, ranchers and fishermen struggled to sell their stuff. One example is Kevin Yamase, whom we consider “The Fish Whisperer” of Kaua‘i. His boat was sitting, and he wasn’t fishing during the pandemic. This man worked his whole life fishing, putting his girls through school and supporting his household with what he caught. Knowing he needed help, I decided to get him fishing again and, through social media, would buy his catch, butcher the fish and sell it at cost to the community. Folks got cheap fish and he was able to do what he loves. Working with farmers is cool. We’ve gone through seed catalogs and asked them to grow specific crops for us. Many people will have kale, lettuce or herbs, but we can work with local farmers to tap into other things not grown on the island while supporting their businesses.

Q: What are some ingredients that are mainstays of your kitchen at home?

A: I grow a lot of herbs and chiles. I use dry chiles to make sauces and love fresh jalapeños. I also like having different limu (seaweed) types in my fridge and freezer. I like to use limu when cooking fish. I’ll steam the fish, chop up the limu with a little shoyu (soy sauce), ginger and garlic, and spread that on top of the fish.

Whether creating dishes to reflect the flavors of Kaua‘i or working with local farmers to bring new produce to the island, Chef Mark Arriola is working to bring together the culinary community on Kauaʻi so everyone thrives in sustainable ways.